I’ve seen enough “gourmet” recipe books in the local charity shops to know they’re mostly nonsense. They’ll tell you that you need hand-picked saffron or a reduction of vintage port just to figure out how to make a hearty stew, but frankly, that’s a load of rubbish. If you’re standing in a kitchen in the […]
Continue Reading
I spent thirty years surveying properties from the Test Valley up to the edge of the Marlborough Downs, and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that people love to spend money on things they don’t actually need. I saw a neighbour last week spending a small fortune on those heavy-duty, vacuum-sealed plastic covers […]
Continue Reading
I remember standing in the driveway of a lovely little flint cottage near Sevenhampton last autumn—built, I’m fairly certain, around 1890—watching a young couple walk through the front door with nothing but a look of pure, unadulterated hope. They had fallen head over heels for the mullioned windows, but they hadn’t done the groundwork. They […]
Continue Reading
I was up in the loft of the old rectory last Tuesday, and I tell you, the amount of heat escaping through those unsealed roof tiles is enough to make a man weep. I see these glossy brochures every month suggesting you need a five-figure smart-home installation or some fancy, high-tech gadgetry just to manage […]
Continue Reading
I was sitting in the village hall last Tuesday, listening to a committee member drone on about “strategic frameworks” and “resource allocation models” for a new community project. It’s enough to make you want to head straight back to the workshop and shut the door. If you’re looking up how to start a mens shed, […]
Continue Reading
I remember sitting in my armchair last November, staring at a pile of glossy brochures that promised “holistic rejuvenation” and “revolutionary healing journeys” after my hip replacement. It was all nonsense, the sort of expensive fluff you’d see in a high-end boutique in Salisbury rather than a real home. They make it sound like you […]
Continue Reading
I was halfway up a rickety step-ladder last Tuesday, squinting through a drizzle that felt more like a sponge, when I realised the problem wasn’t just a few loose felt shingles. Most people think they need a specialist contractor or a complete structural overhaul when they start looking into how to fix a shed roof, […]
Continue Reading
I was out near the old mill last Tuesday—the one with the rebuilt lintel from 1924—trying to clear a section of dry stone wall that had given up the ghost. I ended up halfway through the afternoon with a blister the size of a five-pence piece because I’d trusted a glossy brochure over my own […]
Continue Reading
I was sitting in the village hall last Tuesday, listening to a consultant in a sharp suit drone on about “strategic urban regeneration frameworks,” and I nearly walked out. People love to wrap simple things in layers of jargon to make them sound more expensive than they are, but when it comes to community land […]
Continue Reading
I was standing in a hallway in a lovely mid-century detached over in Chawton last Tuesday, watching a young couple walk through a property that had been “staged” to death. The place smelled of nothing but expensive lavender spray and looked like a showroom where nobody actually lived. It was all designer cushions and sterile […]
Continue Reading