Elsa’s Stand

Today the wonderful, witty and wise Cathryn Hein is visiting my blog. If you haven’t tried any of her rural romances then you’re in for a treat. She writes clever heartwarming stories that often have cheeky, memorable animals in danger of stealing centre stage. Her latest release, ELSA’S STAND, is part of a series and I Continue reading


What’s not to love about a wedding?

  Let me say upfront that I’m a bit of an Anglophile – clearly, since I married a man from Manchester and he’s still by my side thirty-three years after we met!  I’ve always thought the Royals bring a special little touch of romance to a country that can be rather grey and dreary… But Continue reading


Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

As an aviator and a trainer ‘Proper Prior Planning’ has been a mantra I’ve lived by for the last twenty-eight years. It seems it’s going to stand me in good stead for sailing! Graham and I are gearing up for our first blue water cruise to New Caledonia and Vanuatu and, hopefully, Fiji, departing early May if Continue reading


Ich Bin Wilhelm

Guten Abend, meine Freunde, My name is Wilhelm and I am the Silent Wind generator aboard Roobinesque. (I have no idea why but the lady of the vessel insists on calling me Wilbur, as though I’m a slow moving cart-horse. Clearly I am a hardworking powerhouse, made with German precision, so I thought I should Continue reading


It’s a taxing time of year…

Every year I vow I will be more organized. Every year I start the way I mean to go on. Every year I fall by the wayside… Then the alert sounds on my calendar and I realise the appointment with the accountant is a couple of weeks away. Luckily our accountant is a lovely lady Continue reading


Pssst! It’s me :-)

Helene’s left us alone for a couple of days so I thought I’d work on raising my profile some more. I’m chatting to Nero and Bunson – the Battistel’s hounds – about being a star! I think Helene better start taking tips from me 🙂 Find us at  : Gabbawrites And here’s another endearing photo Continue reading


I think it was something I ate…

Hi it’s Zeus here again. It’s been a while since I took over the blog and I had planned on regaling you with stories of my adventures, but it was a rough night last night, for me anyway, and I’m all wrung out… But I promised Helene I’d do the blog last night so the Continue reading


A day in the new office

Well howdy folks, it’s the Salty Sea dog, Zeus, here. This sailing caper is nowhere near as glamourous as my silly humans would have you believe. They dragged me down to the boat, didn’t bother with the mandatory safety equipment and just tossed me aboard!  Then they kept cooing about how well I was handling Continue reading


When old is new again

We’re doing a bit of a clean out today and hiding in the bottom of one of our sailing bins I uncovered GW’s wetsuit. It’s a tatty old thing that 37 years ago was state of the art neoprene – a newfangle fabric regarded with a high degree of suspicion. At the time GW was Continue reading