Dougie 'wakes up' to smell the roses.

Down time. Sunday in Spike Deane's garden. Work can wait. We'll shake some different tree tomorrow.

I was born a city boy. And I have grown into a suburban adult, it would seem.

We awoke a little late. I think we have a plausible excuse (see the preceding 55 hours). As I should have anticipated, there were no...

We bade farewell to Stephanie, the cats and the Trullo early. Joe drove us across the 'heel' to Taranto from where our train for Milano...

We begin our long journey back to Australia tomorrow -- north to Paris by train then two flights back to the big southern island. So here...

The chirping of cicadas in 70 year old olive trees is the only sound to disturb the peace. Do cicadas chirp? I am too hot to care. The...

We drove from coast to coast across the 'heel' of the 'boot' that is mainland Italy. From the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea. From...

My brother warned me that life in the Trullo would be rustic ... that's the word he used. Rustic. Did he mention it would be rustic and...

My younger brother provides my verifiable first memory. In a taxi. In the rain. In Aberdeen. I was -- what? -- three and a half years old...

Our first Italian train -- Frecciarossa 9281. The 7:20 a.m. from Paris Gare de Lyon to Milano Centrale, arriving 2:07 p.m. Change trains...

Taking the train between Edinburgh Waverley and London King's Cross has been one of my favourite journeys since my first trip in the late...

You cannot be serious! We took a mid-morning train to Edinburgh Waverley. As far as I know, it's the only train station named after a...

We visited Betty again today for three hours. By the time we said our goodbyes my mother was tired. It was time for us to go. Betty was...

Today we visited the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum; Glasgow's finest and my favourite for all kinds of reasons (not all of them to...

The promenade at Weymouth is a peaceful place at seven o'clock on a Sunday morning. The only sounds are those of the natural world. The...

We are still in Hardy Country -- in a place where his best loved book collides with John Schlesinger's film. A day when 1874 (Thomas...

We were in need of a good location. Spike had arranged to meet her father's sister, Anne, and her husband, Jeff, somewhere in Weymouth....

Sometimes the simplest delights of a long holiday are found in the most unexpected places. This morning that turned out to be adjacent...

To paraphrase the 1977 Second World War "blockbuster" movie, A Bridge Too Far starring Dirk Bogarde, Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins and...