My car was hit while parked and the bounder drove off. So now this is classed as my fault and I’m classed as a high risk driver for five years according to my insurers. 😭😭😭😭

It was such a brilliant day @litfest and I’ve come home laden with new books and pamphlets… can’t have too many books, right?! @almostasif.bsky.social

A fabulous day @litfest.bsky.social - all the poetry you can eat with @katiescribbles.bsky.social followed by the world’s greatest hotpot at The Merchants. Lancaster is great.

Great evening thanks to @litfest.bsky.social - always so grateful to have a brilliant festival so close. And after watching the Elizabeth Burns Memorial Prize event - the kids really are alright!

Obligatory picture of the insta-grotto, but from the outside

These beautiful #poetry books are all on SALE at just £7.99 each until the end of February, along with FREE UK postage across our shop. Don't miss out on big book savings📚 ninearchespress.com/shop

It’s fair to say I am very inexperienced when it comes to DIY of any kind. And now I realise why you don’t decorate in February

Book number seven of 2025 is Elizabeth Gifford’s The Lost Lights of St Kilda. I read it because of our upcoming Hebrides trip, but I really wanted a happy ending! A lovely last few chapters in front of the fire. #AmReading

Just back from “Ten Things to do in Small Cumbrian Town” - great theatre, very funny and a superb night out. Some of it so well observed I’m still laughing/cringing at my own life.

I've worked on creating the north west section of this #NationalTrail with @naturalengland.bsky.social since 2015, alongside writing this guide - so it benefits from behind-the-scenes insight, and where short lengths of trail may not yet be open, link routes are mapped so there's no need to wait!

If you can, please support indie bookshops like Cumbria’s amazing @samreadbookseller.bsky.social over the big chains ☺️ www.samreadbooks.co.uk/product/pre-...

COVER REVEAL 🎉 Been a long time in the making but thank you #CiceronePress for commissioning me back in 2018 to write a guide to the brand new #KingCharlesIIIEnglandCoastPath in the north west: 367 miles from Scotland to Wales. It's out on 30th September and you can pre-order now! ☺️

Really enjoyed meeting loads of other #Cicerone authors & publishing team this weekend - more news on my contribution to the portfolio soon but in the meantime was supercool to be able to present a little about how we use #GIS software at #NaturalEngland to create the #EnglandCoastPath #KCIIIECP 😊

A little teaser of that thing that took over most of my 2024. #Cicerone #BeenWriting

Oh SWs, I appreciate you putting us out of the misery of Harrison and Fallon’s marriage!

Book number six of 2025; Julie Beckett’s The Archers Unseen. The fact I think I knew all but a couple of things in there makes me realise how much I like TA and how old I really am! I’ve been poorly all week so am under a blanket with my book and the cat. #TheArchers #AmReading

How many people are at this panto 😂😂😂😂 #TheArchers

Oh god….. so much panto. #TheArchers

What the hell is going on with #TheArchers - after the brilliance of George, Joy, Tony we now have whole episodes of bloody panto and Vince apparently having nothing to do.

Found myself with no work this evening. Catching up on The Mirror and the Light. This might be the best tv the BBC ever made. Every single scene is superlative.

Book number five of 2025 is going to stay with me for a very long time. Samantha Harvey’s remarkable Orbital. The prose is out of this world (all puns intended.) #AmReading

Had a lovely evening. We finally watched Wicked with a lap full of snacks and the cat.

I’m at the point of tiredness where it’s tomorrow and I’m not sure I am going to sleep. Children and wind are a combo at the best of times. Hurricane force winds and children upped the ante. And it was the day of the week where I don’t leave the same room for seven hours. I hope I sleep.

Book number four is the remarkable Foster by Claire Keegan. She never ever disappoints. Still got a lump in my throat! #AmReading

Book number three of 2025. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro. A very different feel to Klara or Never Let Me Go but intriguing and beautifully written. Frustration set in at times. #AmReading

The Joy/Rochelle storyline in #TheArchers is written so well. To me the dialogue feels very realistic. Both central players know their own versions of whatever happened so they don’t need to articulate it. Hence the lack of clarity for the listeners. Making superb, tension inducing drama.

Hey there writers! This week's Five Things Friday is out! Available to paid subscribers for now, then to free subscribers on Monday, so make sure you're signed up! (Also: a photo of our beautiful not-our-cat Penguin) halekatie.substack.com/p/five-thing...

Another fabulous trip to The Lowry to see An Inspector Calls. Great cast, superb direction and an honour to be there for the first experience of”straight” theatre for many of the kids. I hope it’s the start of a lifelong, magical journey for them.

Writers! Last week's Five Things Friday opportunities are now available to free subscribers! Prizes for children's writers, novelists, and essayists - plus a residency in the US 👀 halekatie.substack.com/p/five-thing...

Fairly unmoved by Harrison and Fallon’s (supposed) temporary separation. But DO NOT split up Ed and Emma on the back of this. I remember that tyre changing cosiness #TheArchers

Such a stunning day. A short walk, but by gum, it was a cracker.

Second trip to the Lowry in a week. Last week to see Come From Away (pleasure) and this week to see An Inspector Calls (business) - both superb productions.

Book number two of 2025 is Emma Donoghue’s latest, and boy is it a good un. The Paris Express picks up pace along with the train. Nobody does historical literary fiction quite like ED. Confirmed fan. And grateful for brilliant Christmas presents. #AmReading

Felt pretty narked to have to leave the Lake District early to be sure to make work on Monday. Especially after a lovely morning (icy) walk to a pub for lunch. But the heating is on now, all my work is prepped and I am going to pour a wine and eek out Christmas a couple more nights.

Ended up on 28books for 2024. Not really a resolution but aiming for 30 plus next year. Book number one of 2025 was ECR Lorac’s Fell Murder. Just as great second time around (reread for book club.) #AmReading

Please read this ... this is England. www.theguardian.com/education/20...

I adore a good rest and am an massive fan of Christmas. It felt really good to get back into some research today though. Charlotte Mason, what a legend! #AmWriting

Obvs I did not write the headline 🤣

A very satisfying morning of research. Finally read the whole of Essex Cholmondeley’s biography of Charlotte Mason. What a woman! And makes my 28th book of 2024.

Just caught up with The Archers and I don’t know how to feel! I’m happy for Joy but also very wary and I wanted a happy ending for her and Mick! #TheArchers

I discovered the sheer joy of a Cumbrian instant nativity tonight. Where the sheepdogs take their jobs very seriously, the shepherds are better equipped than you might consider necessary and there is concern for a “poorly hoof.” Merry Christmas. 🎄

Am about to begin a reread of this gem (for book club) ECR Lorac’s Fell Murder. Set right outside my village. So grateful to @samreadbookseller.bsky.social for introducing me to Lorac.

Just finished The Company of Owls by @pollyrowena.bsky.social and it is magnificent. I loved it. A beautiful reflection on what it is to know the nature around us, especially in my home county. (And I get a name check 😂)

This is honestly one of the best parts of Christmas. I love that they do this.

#140: The owls of Grasmere, with Polly Atkin ...in which Dave takes a midwinter stroll with author Polly Atkin to discuss The Company of Owls, Polly's new book about her tawny owl neighbours in Grasmere.

Why are your “Sainsbury’s have you forgotten” suggestions like an A-Z of your most humiliating choices? I’m SURE I buy apples far more than say super noodles? In fact I don’t think I have ever bought super noodles!

Festive afternoon tea in the Lake District. A tradition I will never tire of.

Merry Christmas from the Forest of Bowland

It’s been a rough few days. Out of nowhere my back went into severe spasm and I’ve not really been able to move. Tonight, it’s painful, but I’ve managed cat snuggles and sitting down.

It’s been an exceptionally long day. At work at 7.30am for a day of driving a big minibus through Big Bad Darragh. Home to decorate the Christmas tree and use up the last of the market veg box in a curry soup thing. 😴