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The Footpath That Wasn’t Where the Map Said It Was
We were already halfway across the first field when Patricia said, “This isn’t it.” Not annoyed. Just certain. I said it probably was. It usually is. You follow the line, you end up somewhere. That’s the arrangement. The line on the map went straight on. Straight on was a hedge. Not a friendly one. Thick, ... Read more
The Man Who Already Knew Bertie’s Name
He said “Bertie” before we’d said a word. We’d pulled in by a bend in the road above the estuary. One of those places you don’t plan to stop, but do anyway. Low wall, rough bench, bit of a drop down to the water. Bertie was already off, halfway down the slope, nose working. The ... Read more
The Yorkshire Books We Keep Finding in Spain
You’d think that once you spend the winter in northern Spain, Yorkshire would give you a bit of peace. Apparently not. We discovered this yesterday in a small bookshop in Santiago de Compostela, which we’d wandered into after coming down from the cathedral square. We’d driven in from the house earlier that morning. It’s only ... Read more
North Yorkshire Moors Railway from Pickering (Winter Steam Train Day with Bertie)
We took the steam train from Pickering on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway just after Christmas, one of those cold Yorkshire days where everything feels slightly slower than it should. We’d come back properly this time, not just passing through on the way back to Spain, but settling into it again for a few weeks. ... Read more
The Ryedale Windypits in North Yorkshire (Winter Walk and the Wind That Comes Out of the Ground)
We walked out to the Ryedale Windypits in North Yorkshire just before Christmas, on a cold, bright morning where the wind felt like it was coming from somewhere deeper than it should. We were back properly this time, long enough to see people, sit at tables that ran on a bit, and let Bertie remember ... Read more
Bertie and the Tide at Esteiro
It started as one of those half-decided Sundays. The sky cleared around ten, the sort of light that makes you think you should get outside before it changes its mind. So we packed a flask and set off toward Esteiro. It’s only fifteen minutes from home, but it feels like another world once you reach ... Read more
Ermita de San Antonio de Corveiro (Clifftop Chapel Near Cedeira, Galicia)
We stopped at the Ermita de San Antonio de Corveiro, a small clifftop chapel near Cedeira in Galicia, on a slow drive along the coast one grey morning.We’d left town later than planned, the road bending west with the sea on the left and that low cloud that never quite lifts. A small sign for ... Read more
Pulpo at Home: What Luis Forgot to Tell Us
Late morning. Pot on. Timer set. Luis’s rule is simple: timing and the lid. Here’s what he didn’t say, learned today in our kitchen with a dog under the table and Wordle waiting. What we cooked1.2 kg frozen, cleaned octopus. Tall 8-litre pot. Coarse salt. Good olive oil. Pimentón dulce with a pinch of picante. ... Read more
Finding the Cheese Lady, Again
We’re ten minutes outside Santiago in a small house with a sticky kitchen door. Market day. Tote, coins, notebook. Bertie at the threshold doing his union stare. At the Mercado de Abastos we split jobs. Patricia checks prices and boards. I ask to taste. “¿Puedo probar?” Small pieces, no fuss. The Cheese Lady is on ... Read more
Pulpo, Peppers, and the Man Who Forgets to Charge His Hearing Aid
The octopus arrived before the invitation. Luis turned up unannounced, holding it by the head like he’d just won a weird seafood lottery. It dangled there, limp and purple, while he bellowed something about lunch, padrón peppers, and how no one in the village can cook anymore. He wasn’t asking. He was summoning. “¡Coméis conmigo!”No ... Read more