My Blog

Ducie’s Diary: November 2023

Well, that’s another November done with and my working year is effectively over. I traditionally take December off to concentrate on friends, family – and me, because, if you can’t […]

Ducie’s Diary: July 2023

Although I didn’t mention it at the time, last month’s post was written on a tiny island in the Cyclades, where we were finally enjoying a much-postponed and much-needed break […]

Ducie’s Diary: June 2023

Here in Chudleigh it’s time for the Summer Spectacular, a combination of traditional Carnival and more modern events. So far, we’ve had Open Gardens and the Summer Fete. Lots of […]

Ducie’s Diary: May 2023

Here in the UK, it’s Bank Holiday Monday and the start of Half Term week. Usually, that’s a cue for cold, wet weather. But today, the sun is shining brightly, […]

Ducie’s Diary: April 2023

For the first time this year, I’ve been working with the doors open to the garden. I can hear the birds singing in the trees above the gently burbling stream, […]

Ducie’s Diary: March 2023

British Summer Time, Daylight Saving Time, whatever you call it, we’ve passed the point where the clocks go forward an hour. I have to confess that our walk this morning […]

Ducie’ Diary: August 2022

What a glorious month it’s been weather-wise. I appreciate that not everyone enjoys a heatwave, and I’m as concerned about water shortages and other environmental issues as everyone else, but […]

Swanwick 2022 Day 7

By the time you read this, me and the chilli plant (I mean, the chilli plant and I) will be in the car, heading for Devon. It’s a long drive […]

Swanwick 2022 Day 6

Having overslept yesterday morning and stayed up until very late last night (well, this morning really), how come I’m wide awake before 5am? My internal clock is shot to pieces. […]

Swanwick 2022 Day 5

Morning all! I’ve overslept this morning, which is a sure sign the week’s activities are starting to tell on me. Of course, everything is relative: it’s still only 6.30am, but […]

Swanwick 2022 Day 4

“Halfway through the week already. Who can believe it.” I know that’s what people will be saying over the breakfast table this morning. Hard to believe, after all the planning, […]

Swanwick 2022 Day 3

A fist banging on my door at midnight is not something I would normally associate with Swanwick! (Apart from the year we had the fire alarm, of course.) When we […]

Swanwick 2022 Day 2

I had cause to look back through my Swanwick blog entries yesterday. (We were trying to remember the name of one of the guest speakers from way back. But that’s […]

Swanwick 2022 Day 1

Okay, so I know in last month’s diary, I said I wasn’t going to do a daily post this year. But I also qualified it by saying I might change […]

Ducie’s Diary: July 2022

There was a certain inevitability about what happened this month. After two and half years of feeling vulnerable and keeping ourselves to ourselves, plus two major bouts of knee surgery, […]

Ducie’s Diary: June 2022

It’s been a month of two halves, has June. I’ve achieved quite a bit, as you can see below. We had great weather for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations here in […]

Ducie’s Diary: May 2022

I may have said this about other months during the year, but May really is my favourite. It’s the time when the garden seems to explode with life and colour. […]

Elizabeth Chats With…Jess Kotzer

For a while now, I’ve been talking about Authors in a Pickle, my  internationally-based networking and support group. This month, I want to turn the spotlight on another of my […]

Ducie’s Diary: April 2022

April is supposed to be quite a harsh month, weather-wise, with lots of sharp rain showers and some chilly breezes. But we’ve got off quite lightly here in the UK […]

Ducie’s Diary: March 2022

What a beautiful spell of weather we’re having here in the UK. For the past week, I’ve been working with my office doors wide open and we’ve eaten lunch in […]

Elizabeth Chats With…Maureen Boon

My guest this month is a fellow member of Chudleigh Writers’ Circle. She retired as Headteacher of Vranch House, an independent school for children with physical disabilities in Exeter, having […]

A Passion For Audio Books

Today’s blog post is a little different from my usual interviews. I’m handing over to fellow Chudleigh Writers Circle member, Celia Moore, who is going to talks about her love […]

Ducie’s Diary: May 2021

What a difference a month makes. In April’s diary, I was talking about spending Easter with friends in the garden wrapped in blankets and cuddling a hot water bottle. For […]

A Rose For Every Sense…

This time last month, we came to the end of my gastronomic tour around the world. If you missed it, you can find the start of the tour here. Today, […]

Ducie’s Diary: April 2021

As predicted in last month’s diary, the Easter weekend saw us taking tea (and other beverages) with lots of friends in the garden. Our brand-new gazebo wasn’t needed, as the […]

My Working World: O is for…

It’s time for another in the occasional series looking at places I’ve worked around the world. We’ve covered the first half of the alphabet in the past couple of years […]

Ducie’s Diary: March 2021

In the introduction to last month’s blog, I suggested winter was on the wain. Last week we passed the Spring Equinox; and last night we moved into British Summer Time […]

My Working World: N is for…

It’s time for another in the occasional series looking at places I’ve worked around the world. We’ve covered the first half of the alphabet in the past couple of years […]

A Game of Three Halves

For the past few years, my first post each January has been a review of the previous year’s writerly achievements followed by my plans for the coming twelve months. I’ve […]

Elizabeth Chats With…Kimwei

This month’s guest is a singer-songwriter; spoken word artist; music tutor; and the current Grand Bard of Exeter. When you become Bard you take an oath, a commitment to the […]

Ducie’s Diary: July 2020

It’s hard to believe we are already into the second half of the year. One minute we were in mid-March, waiting for spring to begin, and suddenly we’re already well […]

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