Hello Chums... Well I hope you've had a good summer. I've had a magnificent hunting season but will soon have to drop hints about my basket going back on the kitchen windowsill for the winter... You'd think they'd know wouldn't you, but no, I have to do a lot of staring at that stupid plant and...

More summer bounty. This sumptuous reprint of The Pebbles on the Beach by Clarence Ellis has to be this year's Must Have beach accessory, the fold-out cover offering an extended pictorial guide to help you discern your schist from your chert... It's a gem of a read, a timeless book I wish I...

July has run away with me this year, all that fine talk about quilts and notebooks, plus painfully slow rural broadband (is it the heat?) have all slowed down my computer endeavours, so I am behind with a heads up about the 2018 Wainwright Prize shortlist, but it is here and the winner will be a...

As you can see Magnus is far too busy prowling fields to sort this, but he sends his best regards, so I am assuming the Mantle of Benevolence to bring you news of prize draw copies of The Song of Achilles and Circe by Madeline Miller, and my thanks to Bloomsbury for responding so willingly to m...

Good morning Chums.. It's been all go here and I have to tell you something a bit miraculous. It's cold enough to freeze the whiskers off lesser felines but somehow I seem to be able to walk on water. Obviously a skill only invested in few cats and one I will use wisely. And can I just ask ...

Hello Chums, Magnus here. Gosh, bit of a sad Magnus me, missing the Tinker I am...he was always game for my surprise leap off the shed roof onto his shoulders...or for the invaluable assistance and advice I brought to his gardening sessions... And he seemed so grateful for the dead rat I left...