Archives

January 2018

1 January

• For #NewYearsEve in 2007 @vnemma and I went into London to see the fireworks. Outside Buckingham Palace, this happened. The silver flutes were one if our engagement presents. #10years on it seemed appropriate... ????❤????xxx Happy New year everyone, hope 2018 is everything you want it to be!
• New Year's Day Christmas with the Jefferys/Spencer side of the family...
• Thanks to an all too generous Christmas present from @vnemma's Mum and Dad of a new bucket and paddle we now have loaf-shaped bread from my circa. 13 year old bread maker. Here I present a multiseed loaf...
• Musings on the first day of a new year

2 January

• Creativity and Me

3 January

4 January

5 January

6 January

• Found a Fisher Price toy like I used to have in an antique shop. Winding it up and listening to it made me happy...
• Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio- A fellow of infinite jest, Of most excellent fancy.
• Twelfth Night sees the closing of #TheDarkIsReading

7 January

• Cup of tea? @rad.tofu would be proud of me... #tea
• May I present to the deliciousness that is Celery Bake... #celery #celerybake #NigelSlater #recipes #tender
• Cold and crispy today at the duck pond to see Douglas for the first time in 2018...
• Like an ivy covered stag... #trees #nature #walks
• Cold and crispy walk at Gavray Meadows...
• Old lanes and field systems... #theoldways #farminghistory #nature #walks
• Contentment is too blankies to separate arch rivals... #nemises #bella #nellie #catsagram #cats #catsofinstagram

8 January

• Love a good storm scene! #AStrangerAtGreenKnowe #greenknowe #LucyBoston #storms #stormsinfiction #books???? #amreading
• The Old Green Knowe that continues to inspire

9 January

• Mushroom risotto in our week of fish and vegetables... #risotto #recipes #FrancescoDaMostto
• Just reading my kindle... #amreading #books???? #kindle #catsofinstagram #catsagram #cats #Arthur #donottellhimhewasnamedafteramouse
• Reading about storytelling

10 January

• Into the office slinky... #work #reportwriting

11 January

12 January

• Inspired by @laurapicklechop's meal last week, my first go at a @deliciouslyella recipe. Simple, wholesome food... #recipes #eatinghealthy #deliciouslyella

13 January

• Saturday night in the kitchen...
• Sausage and polenta. Suitable for vegetarians and carnivores alike... #sausages #polenta #cauldron #omnomnom #recipes
• "It's only ten to nine," I said... "I know," said Arthur, "And I wants my dinner." . #iflookscouldkill #cats #catsagram #catsofinstagram
• The old doppleganger myth, which dictates that if you do ever meet your double, you die...

14 January

• Garden visitor... #robin #garden #birds
• Signs of Spring in the cold, winter's day... #witchhazel #gold #winter #flowers
• Chickens! Doing what chickens do...! #chickens???? #garden
• Weekend visit to see Douglas á l'Orange doing duck stuff. Took a while to find him today so he didn't get as much bread... #duck????
• I've long been a fan of #DavidAlmond's books, but just five books into 2018 I think I may have found this year's challenge. Is phonics? Or something Chauseresque? . #thetruetaleofthemonsterbillydean #amreading
• Tonight's healthy dinner, Tahini Aubergines. Thanks again, @deliciouslyella! . #recipes #aubergine #eatinghealthy

15 January

• Monday morning. Going nowhere fast...

16 January

• Bookaholic? Or just in love with stories...?

17 January

18 January

19 January

• Anything but a monster: a story told in Phonetic Geordie English

20 January

• #amwriting is not always easy... ✒???????? #writersofinstagram #catsofinstagram
• #Repost @thinkhumanfest • • • Our photography competition is open for entries! On the subject of relationships, challenges and changing society we are inviting submissions on one of four themes: #Identity, #Empowerment, #Provocation, and #Empathy. . See the link in our bio for full details. Entries close 31 March 2018! . #photography #photocontest #photographycompetition #competition #contest #thinkhuman @oxfordbrookes #oxfordbrookes
• A hearty winter meal of Lentil Balls with Tomato Spaghetti... #lentils @deliciouslyella

21 January

• Lentil meatball served in a cup of avocado...
• Snowy Sunday afternoon.... #selfie #Arthur #catsofinstagram #catsagram
• Snowatching... #Bella #catsofinstagram #catsagram
• Mad. The man is incorrigibly bonkers mad... @21stcenturyyokel #TwentyfirstCenturyYokel
• Another delicious meal from my new best #recipe friend, @deliciouslyella, in the form of a Miso Aubergine & Bok Choy Stir Fry... . #aubergine #healthyfood #eatinghealthy

22 January

23 January

• For those times when you think I've ignored you... see, it's not just me! #lostinanotherworld #dreamuniverse #21stcenturyyokel @21stcenturyyokel
• And so it has come to this. And it's back too where out all began two novels ago for the final chapter... #amwriting #MrTumnal2 #TheImaginaryWife

24 January

25 January

26 January

• Me. My name in trees... #trees #mynameintrees

27 January

• Saturday night is pizza night... #pizza #mozzarella #battlestargalactica
• Fuel for the epilogue... #vanatallinn #MrTumnal2 #TheImaginaryWife #amwriting
• Because after an #epilogue every novel needs an afterwards... #amwriting #MrTumnal2 #TheImaginaryWife

28 January

• Tonight is a good night. #TheEnd #amwriting #MrTumnal2 #TheImaginaryWife
• 346 pages; 66,733. I like to call this Draft 1.5 of #TheImaginaryWife, the sequel to #MrTumnal... #amwriting #betareadersneeded
• @catnamedafteramouse seemed too think that this seat was all his?

29 January

• I know it's only the view of one reader but one reader who doesn't really do fantasy, so allow me to continue beaming from ear to ear... #feedback #amwriting #MrTumnal2 #TheImaginaryWife . . (And yes, I love the character of Watts too!)
• Does #amreading my own novel pre-publication count towards my @goodreads 2018 #ReadingChallenge?

30 January

• Oxford in the morning... #nofilter #cold #redsky
• Tonight's colourful, nutritious meal: sweet potato and carrot mash bowl... #recipes #healthyfood #healthyeating @deliciouslyella

31 January

• Working up cover ideas and sketches for my forthcoming third novel! #amwriting #MrTumnal2 #TheImaginaryWife

February 2018

1 February

2 February

• Looking forward to getting gouache out and bringing this to life...
• Friday night sketching of the new venue of the Hawkesbury Upton Literary Festival. @debbieyounghawkesbury, I'll provide you with a proper scan for the website tomorrow if you like?
• Friday night sketching of the new venue of the Hawkesbury Upton Literary Festival. @debbieyounghawkesbury, I'll provide you with a proper scan for the website tomorrow if you like?

3 February

• Revealing the details... #ampainting #illustration #coverdesign #MrTumnal2 #TheImaginaryWife
• Artist's studio...?!?
• Playing with shadow and skin tones... #ampainting #illustration #MrTumnal2 #TheImaginaryWife
• Finished off my drawing of Hawkesbury Upton Primary School, the venue for this year's festival. May get some gift cards printed that people can buy. What do you think?

4 February

• Really hope I'm not ruining this... #people #coverdesign #illustration #ampainting #MrTumnal2 #TheImaginaryWife
• Characters emerging... #coverdesign #illustration #ampainting #MrTumnal2 #TheImaginaryWife
• Another bowl of yummy deliciousness in the form of Roasted Aubergine and Tahini... #eatinghealthy #101thingsyoucandowithaubergines #aubergine???? #recipes @deliciouslyella
• Signs of Spring #snowdrops #gallantrophile
• Spring colours at Stowe...
• They've restored the long neglected hermitage since my last visit... #hermitage #stowe #cabilitybrown

5 February

• The devil is in the detail. Eliminating the offset mouth nosecombo and addressing those wandering eyes... #ampainting #illustration #MrTumnal2 #TheImaginaryWife
• Monday night progress. Revealing some background textures, and I(I think) that imaginary wife is staring right out at you from the #coverdesign! #MrTumnal2 #illustration #ampainting

6 February

• "how much of a rucksack her father sounded" Umm... No, no idea. Amy guesses?!? #amediting #writersofinstagram

7 February

• I may be #amediting part two but that doesn't stop me laying down some plotting for part three... #ForgottenFriends

8 February

• Just considering whether it is possible or not to go into a second-hand bookshop and not buy an #EdwardArdizzone book? #books???? #bookstagram #bookaholic
• Does anyone else ever #dreamread? . #amediting #MrTumnal2 #TheImaginaryWife #dreamreading

9 February

• Considering my #amediting schedule, buying this might have been a mistake... #books???? #amreading #SkySong @moontrugger
• Lost...
• Bleak and beautiful #blackandwhite #beach #Suffolk #Aldeburgh

10 February

• The #coverdesign moves ahead for #MrTumnal2 #TheImaginaryWife... got a space for barcode and blurb now!
• Early #Valentines❤ present from @vnemma. She knows me so well...! ???????????? #EdwardArdizzone
• Posted on Instagram
• Posted on Instagram
• Posted on Instagram
• Very cold and wintry trip made exciting by seeing a Red-headed Smew. It even got the guys at @rspb_love_nature excited too!

11 February

• I went to a proper second-hand bookshop that smelt of old books like all good booshops should... #books???? #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram
• Starling watchers' #selfie: waiting for the murmuration
• It was like a scene from some medieval battle with a smaller band of outlaws at Dunwich Heath facing up the massed hoards on North Bank (@rspbminsmere)
• Starling murmuration over #RSPBMinsmere... 11/2/2018 #nofilter
• I don't like to see #books???? abused but these little #flickcartoons in the corners of my #EdwardArdizzone book are actually quite delightful...

12 February

• Seagulls sunning themselves..
• It looks to me that this old Victorian pub has splat-landed right on top of the older building!
• Fish'n'Chips by the seaside...
• Getting that all important sea air...

13 February

• It’s pancake day Yes, it’s pancake day Yes, it’s p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-pancake day Well, it’s pancake day It’s really pancake day Yes, it’s p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-pancake day . #pancakeday2018????

14 February

15 February

16 February

• A creative and delightful fairytale

17 February

18 February

19 February

20 February

• Tea, toast, and editing. Well I do have a novel to publish in April... . #amediting #authorsofinstagram #writersofinstagram #MrTumnal2 #TheImaginaryWife

21 February

22 February

• A bit concerned for our conductors hearing in his left ear, as the flutes and the oboes were the only section not picked out to go over bits during this... #backtothefuture

23 February

• Feeling proud of my achievement of turning around a print design job within the tightest of deadlines. Couldn't have done it without Team Marketing but phew I'm glad this week is over... #thinkhuman @thinkhumanfest

24 February

25 February

• Winter Duck. We've missed seeing our boy for a few weeks but he still knows us and likes his food.... #duck???? #Douglasalorange
• This her on was being mobbed by Black-headed gulls.. . #winterwalks❄️ #heron #nature
• Getting there... #amediting #MrTumnal2 #TheImaginaryWife
• Tonight's sauteed sesame and aubergine noodle bowl was super-noodily yummy! #recipes #eatinghealthy

26 February

27 February

• Blizzard Tuesday... #snow❄ #cold

28 February

March 2018

1 March

• The #snow❄ is still barely 1cm deep and already it's looking a lot like an exodus from Oxford... #stormEmma #beastfromtheeast
• Happy First Day of Spring everybody! #spring #meterologicalspring #cold❄ #stormEmma #beastfromtheeast

2 March

• Mr Blackbird in the snow! #snow❄
• The upside to #snow❄ in March is that you get to see shy send reclusive Fieldfares when they start to frequent your #urbangarden... #fieldfares #birds #winter #spring @chris.packham @lindsey_chapman56 @bbcspringwatch
• Guess i know what I'm doing after @oxfordbrookes applicant day! #Repost @evemuirhead • • • We’re back on the ice this weekend in Perth! ???? Winner books their tickets to the world champs in Canada! ???????? Best of 3 - Games 6pm Sat, 2pm & 6.30pm Sun. Watch here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/43132815 Or if you can pop along, Tickets here - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/scottish-curling-world-championship-playoff-tickets-43096089564 @liveactive_lal @scottish_curling @teamgb
• It's like daylight out there even late at night! #snow❄
• Master of the remote, the novel, and the green blankie... #catsofinstagram #catsagram #cats @catnamedafteramouse
• Winter wonderland! #March #spring #snow❄

3 March

• Pink snow anybody...? @oxfordbrookes
• Contrasts of colour and monochrome... @oxfordbrookes #snow❄
• Snowboy explores the garden... #snow❄ #snowman
• Post-Applicant Day drink... #hornblower #beer???? @abingdonconcertband @oxfordbrookes
• Getting my post-#winterolympics fix of #curling... #teammuirhead @evemuirhead #lovecurling #worldcurlingchampionship

4 March

• Gulls on the lake #snow❄ #frozen #ice
• Douglas á l'Orange survivived the #beastfromtheeast and #stormEmma. He and his mates v were very happy with their porridge oats... #duck???? #snow❄ #cold

5 March

6 March

• Another delish @deliciouslyella meal tonight in the form of creamy mushroom and garlic pasta... #recipes #eatinghealthy

7 March

8 March

9 March

• On writing and editing in the digital and analogue ages... #amwriting #amediting #amreading #DavidMitchell #TheBoneClocks

10 March

• Cecily and Woody Bunny are now settling into their new extension... two bedrooms, en suite... I swear that proportionally they have more living space than me! #bunnies???? #BicesterZoo

11 March

12 March

13 March

• You know that Spring is about to sprung when Ye Olde Almond Tree blooms... #blossom #Spring #leavingwinter
• A hearty, warming meal of Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew for dinner tonight... #eatinghealthy @deliciouslyella
• It's not just the author who is behind every novel. Just working through my thanks... #MrTumnal2 #TheImaginaryWife #acknowledgements

14 March

• Anyone going too Godstow Abbey expecting to find this is going to be sorely disappointed! It's not ed vn #Oxford!! #misleadingmarketing #PhilipPullman
• Last week I lost a prawn whilst I was cooking my dinner, couldn't find it anywhere, and then tonight I found it in the pocket of the oven gloves...

15 March

16 March

17 March

• A night at @creationtheatre is not to be missed. I feel like I want to read #Dracula now...

18 March

19 March

20 March

21 March

• I love this illustration so much. I remember attempting an immature copy of it when I was little. So inspiring! #Repost @illustration.magazine • • • Spring is sprung, at least in theory, so hang spring cleaning and head off to the river bank with Ratty and Mole, shown here in Arthur Rackham’s lovely edition of Wind in the Willows published by Limited Editions Club in 1940. Rackham was asked to illustrate the first edition, but didn’t have time and eventually completed it as his final commission - the intro says he could work for only an hour or two a day. This copy is the non-limited cheaper version published by the Limited Editions Club’s Heritage Press imprint. #kennethgrahame #windinthewillows #ratty #mole #mrtoad #illustration #bookillustration #illustratedbook #childrensclassics #arthurrackham #illustrationmagazine #bibliophile #bookcollection #bookcollector

22 March

23 March

24 March

• For someone who has a book to publish next month, starting to read this might be a dangerous thing to do... @moontrugger #SkySong #amreading
• I detect a theme emerging... @@abingdonconcertband #backtothemusic

25 March

26 March

• A little lunchtime work on some preparatory sketches my first #illustration commission: Hector's House Bookstore from @debbieyounghawkesbury's #SophieSayers books.

27 March

• Got tho work this morning to discover that the Easter Bunny had been busy in the office...

28 March

29 March

30 March

• Inspired by @laurapicklechop I absolutely loved this Donburi recipe. Might ease off on the carrots and cucumber slices next time though... #BowlsofGoodness #eatinghealthy #eatingveggie #notvegetarian

31 March

• Something special for Easter Saturday that won't break the bank balance. And in case you thought I was eating too much vegetarian food... #lamb???? #breastoflamb #BlueTexel #Easter

April 2018

1 April

• Happy Easter! ???????????? #simnelcake

2 April

• Buddha Bowl. It was yummy and healthy but when they said 2-3 people I think they meant 6-8! @vnemma and I have only scratched the surface of this leaving plenty for lunch tomorrow... and maybe the next day...

3 April

• Dabbling into Spring waters with Douglas á l'Orange... #duck????

4 April

5 April

6 April

• #EmmaTherapy on a plate. Brie and bacon Dutch pancake with cranberry sauce and drizzled with maple syrup... #ME #CFS #chronicfatigue
• I think I need some #ThomasTherapy as I try to recover from walking into my favourite bookshop to be told that they are loving #MrTumnal... ???? Maybe browsing my haul of #EdwardArdizzone books will help... #sonnetstoo #historyofwisteria
• When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes... . I've decided that this is the only way to read sonnets... . #sonnets #Shakespeare #books???? #oldbooks #oldbooksmell
• #EdwardArdizzone captures every mood in a few, simple lines... this one could be me, when I'm #amwriting...

7 April

• Working on the full-size illustration of Hector's Books from @debbieyounghawkesbury's Sophie Sayers series of mysteries... #artistsofinstagram #illustratorsofinstagram
• Hector's Books of Wendlebury Barrow, serving up books, teas, and cakes along with solving the odd mystery along the way... #SophieSayers @debbieyounghawkesbury #amillustrating #illustratorsofinstagram

8 April

• It's nice too get away from the computer on a wet Sunday afternoon for some quality drawing time...
• If ivy takes an age to draw then walls take longer...
• Grilled Aubergine and Tagliatelle makes for a yummy Sunday night meal

9 April

10 April

11 April

• We've got a new remote control holder!

12 April

• Just penned a sketch of my favourite bookshop...

13 April

• Look what's just arrived... hot off the press!
• With all due thanks...

14 April

15 April

• After the steak as chips of last night, a good hearty bowl of sweet potato and chickpea curry tonight... #veggienotveggie #eatinghealthy #weekendmeals @deliciouslyella
• Just wondering whether my currently/to read pile is a little unsustainable...? #books???? #amreading ????

16 April

• Enid Blyton themed ginger cake for the #WonderlandCafé at Saturday's @HULitFest...

17 April

• Bun Loaf, just like the Swallows & Amazons would cut into on Wild Cat Island, also destined for the #WonderlandCafé at Saturday's @HULitFest... . Are you coming?

18 April

19 April

20 April

21 April

• "Compelling storytelling wrapped around a highly original premise" says @debbieyounghawkesbury. #TheImaginaryWife launches today at @HULitFest and worldwide in all stores: http://shepline.com/the-imaginary-wife/ . #MrTumnal #booklaunch #newbooks #publishedtoday #booksfortheweekend
• Reading done. Just got the really scary panel chairing to go...
• Books. So many books... @hulitfest
• The poet and novelist extraordinaire, Dan Holloway!
• Chairing my first panel discussion at a Hawkesbury Upton Literary Festival is a scary business. We discussed Writing for Children, and the notion that there is no such thing as children's fixtion, just bloody good stories.
• A day of #books???? and all things literary in the Cotswolds at @HULitFest...

22 April

• Would like to thank @debbieyounghawkesbury for all her hard work tirelessly organising the triumph that was the Hawkesbury Upton Literary Festival, and for once again inviting me to speak. Here's to #HULitFest5 next year! Have a rest though first, Debbie...
• Reflecting on yesterday at @HULitFest. Met so many authors and readers, conquered some more personal demons, met my incredible editor, possibly got recorded for the radio... simply incredible.
• Lunch in the garden with my @vnemma ????
• Lazing about on Sunday afternoon...
• #SundayNightSketching and next up on my bookshop series of drawings... #penandink #illustration #illustratorsofinstagram

23 April

• Spring in the woodland... #Spring #nature #flora #woodland
• One day I will actually visit Tetbury and then I will spend some time in the Yellow-lighted bookshop... #illustration #illustratorsofinstagram #penandink
• Happy Birthday to Old Will Shakespeare! #ShakespearesBirthday

24 April

• Tuesday night relaxation, as I continue my bookshop series of illustration... #bookshopsofinstagram Illustration #illustratorsofinstagram

25 April

• Timeshift that is uniquely different and entirely different

26 April

27 April

• I discovered that the @ylbooks have another shop in Nailsworrg and it looks adorable! Another one to add to the visit list... #FridayNightDrawing #penandink #illustration #illustratorsofinstagram

28 April

• Saturday afternoon chilling... #books???? #amreading #cats ##catsofinstagram #catsagram
• #SaturdayNightDrawing #bookshopsofinstagram #jaffeandneale #chippingnorton @jaffe_and_neale
• #SaturdayNightDrawing #bookshopsofinstagram #jaffeandneale #chippingnorton @jaffe_and_neale

29 April

• Wondering how many pictures of bookshops does a book of bookshops make...? #newbook #TheBookloversGuidetoBookshops #illustration #illustratorsofinstagram
• My project to #illustrate the best of British bookshops continues... . #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #illustratorsofinstagram

30 April

• So exactly what possessed me to draw a three-story red-brick building... #somanybricks #toomanybricks #bricksbricksbricks #amillustrating #illustratorsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops

May 2018

1 May

• The Old Hall Bookshop in Brackley makes my sixth #illustration in my project to document the best of British bookshops... . #bookloversguidetobookshops #books???? #bookshops #illustratorsofinstagram
• He just keeps on going... This one is the Chaucer's Head Bookshop in Stratford-upon-Avon #illustration #mynewobsession #illustratorsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops

2 May

• More of the Chaucer's Head Bookshop in Stratford-upon-Avon... #illustration #illustratorsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops

3 May

4 May

• Nature, red in tooth and claw
• Fast forward 50-60 years and we reach the story of Chloë, as she tries to find somewhere called "home"... #ImaginaryFriends . Is this weekend the perfect opportunity to sit in the garden in the sunshine and read #TheImaginaryWife? https://viewbook.at/theimaginarywife

5 May

• What's your summer reading? . In Book 1 we met the man who married his imaginary friend. In Book 2, we find out what it's like to suddenly discover you were the imaginary creation of your best friend... . Available everywhere and in all formats. Link in the bio. . #ImaginaryFriends #amreading #books #TheImaginaryWife #bankholidayreading
• #Repost @booksandink • • • Recently finished the brilliant #MrTumnal and really looking forward to getting stuck into #TheImaginaryWife - hot off the press! Available to order from us or direct from @shepline #summerreads .•.•.• #newbooks #bookstagrammers #booklovers #fiction #bibliophiles #literature #booktag #shepline #booksandinkbookshop
• Tabbouleh with Feta and Pommegranate, al fresco in the garden... #delicious #BowlsofGoodness #eatinghealthy
• Finished off the roof of the Chaucer's Head Bookshop in Stratford-upon-Avon tonight... #amillustrating illustrating #illustratorsofinstagram

6 May

• Slow-roasted @abingdonconcertband set at the #AbingdonAirShow... . We do this thing for fun, you know!
• Colour contrasts in the Spring garden... #colour #contrasts #Spring
• First barbeque of the season, and a pint of #Hooky Flagship shandy to cool down with after the air show...
• Al fresco drawing... . #amillustrating #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops
• Getting down to detail... it's Mostly Books . #amillustrating #bookshopsofinstagram #bookshops #bookloversguidetobookshops @mostlybooks_shop

7 May

• Annual pilgrimage to take in the #NationalDawnChorusDay...
• The temperature has just hit 31° in my art room... #MayDayBankHoliday #bankholidaymonday #amillustrating #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops
• On the left, the in-shade outdoor reading. On the right, the indoor reading currently situated next to me outdoors in the shade... . Either way you look at it, it's bloomin' hot! #bankholiday #temperature #toohot
• Welcome to the bookshop in Abingdon-on-Thames that is, as it says above the door, Mostly Books... . #amillustrating #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops
• I have a new favourite obsession: drawing bookshops. You probably guessed that already though... ????✏???? . #amillustrating #illustration #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops @booksonthehill
• Hands up who's been to @booksonthehill! I already feel connected and I really want to pay it a visit... . #bookshopaholic #amillustrating #illustration #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops
• When you're down Clevedon way, look out for some Books on the Hill... . #amillustrating #illustration #bookshopaholic #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops

8 May

9 May

• A harsh, unforgiving tale that is not without hope

10 May

11 May

• And because there is another Bookstore in Abingdon-on-Thames... . #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #illustratorsofinstagram

12 May

• This Saturday Night's sketching is brought to you by the little second-hand bookshop in Framlingham... . #illustration #amillustrating #illustratorsofinstagram #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops
• One Saturday night later, my I introduce you to the gem that is the Framlingham Bookshop. . #illustration #amillustrating #illustratorsofinstagram #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops

13 May

• Something a bit different... #amillustrating #commission @davidpennywriting #historicalfiction #crime
• Heaven in green . #canopy #leaves???? #nature #woodland
• A walk in the woods... . #woodland #woods #bluebells #springwalks
• Springtime in the woods... . #flowers #leaves???? #woods #trees #woodland #ThomasTherapy
• I think it might be time to call it a night on today's work... . #amillustrating #commission #historicalfiction #maps @davidpennywriting

14 May

• Where do you do your reading? . #MrTumnal #TheImaginaryWife #amreading #books???? #booksforthesummer #summerreading . Photo courtesy of Alan Wallis
• Vote @booksandink! . . #Repost @booksandink • • • ‪Here's a great b'day pressie to me - WE'RE IN THE FINALS of the @muddystilettos #MuddyAwards18 We'd love to have your vote, please! Thank you & please spread the word X https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/vote ‬#bestbookshop #muddyawards2018 #pleasevote #thankyouforsupportingus #bookshopawards
• I know I have my birthday coming up next week but I don't think I'm quite ready for this!!! ????????????
• Well that's made a good day get loads better! No longer do I need to rely on Section 88 of the Road Traffic Act to drive! ???????????? . #backontheroad #itsofficial

15 May

• When @debbieyounghawkesbury does #meta... . #SophieSayersMysteries #amreading #HULitFest @HULitFest #hawkesburyupton
• Springtime in the garden... . #Spring #flowers #garden #nature
• A Cosy Mystery by a 'Reluctant Murderer'

16 May

17 May

18 May

• #Repost @abingdonconcertband • • • This week is national mental health week. Playing in a band is an excellent way to combat some of the triggers that set off mental health issues. Becoming a valued member of a community, avoiding social isolation, not to mention the joy of playing music, learning a new skill - all reasons why community bands are the best thing ever!!! #mentalhealthawareness #itsgoodtotalk #musicforall #socialisolation #playmusic
• Great Tit on poo removal duties... #springwatch
• Beautiful, bold, wisteria...
• It's not often that you suddenly find yourself reading about the place you are a literal stone's throw from... . #ChapelBooks #TomCox @21stcenturyyokel
• More brickwork buildings and this time two-tone bricks. Agghhh!!! . #books???? #bookshopsofinstagram #bookshops #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating

19 May

• Ice cream and seaside towns...

20 May

• Little ratty feasting at Minsmere... . #ratties #watervoles #minsmere

21 May

• Big Great Tits and little Great Tits... . #nestbox #nests #GreatTits #springwatch @bbcspringwatch
• A cold, ramshackle chapel of books that feeds your soul, surprisingly well-ordered... . #ChapelBooks #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops
• Bohemium, splendidly disorganised, but a delight to peruse... . #BarnabeesBooks #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops
• This little chap is sure to fledge soon... . #GreatTits #fledglingstobe #springwatch @bbcspringwatch
• First one's gone... . #GreatTits #fledging #nests #birds #springwatch @bbcspringwatch

22 May

• Thank you to @debbieyounghawkesbury for my swag pack of #bookloversguidetobookshops merchandise. Not sure if it was a birthday present or not but it made a very good one... ????????
• 21° and sunny in the garden. Seems like an appropriate sort of day to start a new #birthdayread... . #TheLido #LibbyPage #debutauthor #amreading @libbypagewrites
• 21° and sunny in the garden. Seems like an appropriate sort of day to start a new #birthdayread... . #TheLido #LibbyPage #debutauthor #amreading @libbypagewrites
• "When she started secondary school her fiends were the characters she met in the pages of her books. They sat with her in the library..." . #TheLido @libbypagewrites #birthdayread #amreading
• "When she started secondary school her fiends were the characters she met in the pages of her books. They sat with her in the library..." . #TheLido @libbypagewrites #birthdayread #amreading
• Thank you for all the lovely birthday wishes! I've had a lovely day with by family, visiting lovely gardens, eating chocolate beer birthday cake, and sitting in the garden reading! ????????????????
• Birthday outing to Helmingham Hall Gardens... . #gardens #spring #flowers
• Birthday outing to Helmingham Hall Gardens... part 2 . #gardens #spring #flowers
• Birthday outing to Helmingham Hall Gardens... part 3 . #gardens #spring #flowers
• Birthday meal out, complete with extra special mango sorbet desert! . #birthday #spoiled #loved

23 May

• Dad thought his camera was broken. It seems not...
• #SummerReading for the bank holiday? Book 2, #TheImaginaryWife, is getting some excellent early reports but still missing it's first #review... Have you read it, and if so, what did you think? . Both #books available on Amazon or from your chosen book supplier. If you're near Oxfordshire @booksandink will be sure to order you in a copy! ????
• Not a bad spot for some reading. Just need a nice warm pool to sink into now... . #amreading #TheLido @libbypagewrites
• "One day I'll probably trap myself behind a book wall for ever, but the way I look at is that I'll be reading as I starve to death, so it'll be okay. My to-read pile at this point split far beyond the shelves and far beyond sense, teetering in higgledy." . #amreading @21stcenturyyokel #TomCox

24 May

• Visited Barnabees Books and found, amongst other books, the missing book in my collection of Philippa Gregory's #TudorCourt series. Also chatted to Tyona about books, bookshops, and soap and interested her in a print and matching business cards and postcards for the shop! . #bookaholic #authorsofinstagram #illustratorsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops

25 May

• I felt like my first #illustration of the wonderful @booksandink didn't really do the bookshop justice, so I'm doing a new version... . #amillustrating #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops
• On libraries: "'This is the only place where I let her get exactly what she wants,' she had said. 'How can letting her read all the books she likes be a bad thing?'" . #TheLido @libbypagewrites #amreading

26 May

• Just puttin' in the details... . @booksandink #amillustrating #illustration #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops
• I was unhappy with the first #illustration of this jewel in the crown of #bookshops. So I drew it again and now have something that I think properly reflects how wonderful a shop @booksandink is. What do you think? . #bookshopsofinstagram #amillustrating #bookloversguidetobookshops
• Memories of holidays in Suffolk... . #trout #bbq #alfrescodining
• #Bookshop number 14 begins... . #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating

27 May

• The last remains of a once great town, and some random Norman... . #GreyfriarsAbbey #Dunwich #Suffolk
• Posted on Instagram
• Reed Books in Aldeburgh is a rare treat of how a second-hand bookshop should be. Floor to ceiling books and stacked on every surface... . #bookloversguidetobookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookshops

28 May

• A good morning's work in the garden pruning and weeding and planting. Now it's TOO hot for gardening so time for some respite under the BIG umbrella and some drawing and reading...
• Every #illustration begins with an eye for the detail... . #amillustrating #illustratorsofinstagram #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops @the_book_house
• More two-tone fancy brickwork and a bit of fancy detailing and flint in @the_book_house... . #amillustrating #illustratorsofinstagram #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops
• Time to call it a night on this gorgeous little bookshop... . #amillustrating #illustratorsofinstagram #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops @the_book_house

29 May

30 May

• Annual @bbcspringwatch viewing for @bellafanella... #springwatch

31 May

June 2018

1 June

• This one probed very time-consuming! So many bricks!! The award-winning @the_book_house in Thame is such a cute little building... . #illustration #amillustrating #illustraorsofinstagram #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops

2 June

• Had a lovely day with @vnemma at @hartgemma and James' wedding today. Congratulations to the happy couple! ????????????
• A jar of sweets later...
• Making friends with horses at @hartgemma's wedding...

3 June

• Jobs done. Sunday afternoon in the garden... #amreading
• Garden visitors... #birds #garden
• Lazy Sunday afternoons in the garden... #garden #Sunday

4 June

5 June

• #Repost @bbcspringwatch • • • Another fantastic show tonight! ???????? But what if Springwatch did Love Island?.........???????????????? #doveisland . . . #loveisland #loveisland2018 #wildlife #wildlifephotography #springwatch #britishwildlife #tv #jokes #naturelovers #justforfun #justforyou #spring #uk #banter #bants #mytypeonpaper @loveisland @chrishughesofficial @kemcetinay @oliviajade_attwood @amb_d
• Seeing the whale on the wall of @lazenby.rachel's new house reminds me that we've had #fairies hiding behind the books in the study ever since we moved in 10 years ago! ????
• The bunny and the cat... ????????????
• Wedding Day rose from @caroline_wakey64 9 years ago and other Spring flowers in the garden...
• Thought that it was about time to draw the #bookshop that's on my own patch. And seeing as how @colesbooksbicester have just moved to a new location now seems to be the right time... . #illustration #amillustrating #illustratorsofinstagram #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops
• Time to call it a night, but it's going well... . #illustration #illustratorsofinstagram #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops @colesbooksbicester

6 June

• If your Dad was 22 when you were born because his life goes in 11s but by the time he was 33 you were already 13 because things were already broken what with you being a boy not a girl at what age could you be a grandma to an 18 year old and how old would your Dad be? #fairies #amplotting #ImaginaryFriends

7 June

• And so it begins... #BevingtonHouse #ImaginaryFriends #spinoff #shortstory #amwriting

8 June

• It's looking like another nice weekend to be out and relaxing in the garden or the local park. What are reading? . http://shepline.com/books/ . #amreading #books???? #summerreads #norsemythology #magicrealism #fantasy #ImaginaryFriends

9 June

• Book rest... #cats #catsofinstagram #TomCox @21stcenturyyokel
• Bunnies doing what bunnies do... #bunnies????
• Springtime in the garden of flowers...
• Saturday night sketching... seeing if I can finish off my #illustration of the new @colesbooksbicester which I visited today and purchased the new @echealey... . #amillustrating #books???? #bookshopsofinstagram #bookshops #bookloversguidetobookshops

10 June

• A 3-hour old calf learning about legs and suckling at today's #OpenFarmSunday
• Met a friend today who have me the biggest of BIG licks, discovered how much food and drink makes how much milk, and how much stinking profit the supermarkets are creaming off the meat market
• My local #indiebookshop just moved to a premises and I'm going to look forward to it filling up with more stock. Lots of books please! Books upon books, tables next to tables, I want to be able able to not move for books... . #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #illustration #amillustrating #illustratorsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops @colesbooksbicester

11 June

12 June

• Drawing off an "interesting" day at work with The Aldeburgh Bookshop... . #amillustrating #illustratorsofinstagram #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops

13 June

14 June

• A shelf-full of Shepherds... #books???? #family @shepline @andyshepherdwriter
• A shelf-full of Shepherds... #books???? #family @shepline @andyshepherdwriter #DebbieShepherd
• Book launch tonight of @andyshepherdwriter's #TheBoyWhoGrewDragons at @childrenheffers tonight. Looking forward to #amreading it...

15 June

16 June

• Ooh! Look at me! #google #streetview #trusted #photographer

17 June

• Thank you to the whole menagerie for my #FathersDay card!

18 June

19 June

• Face painting with manure! @andyshepherdwriter #TheBoyWhoGrewDragons #amreading

20 June

• Ooh, look, a new @joannechocolat #Loki novel. How did I not know about this? #runemarks
• The Aldeburgh Bookshop is another fine indie that it's hard to walk out from without having been relieved of some cash... ???????? . #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #illustration #amillustrating #bookloversguidetobookshops

21 June

22 June

• Friday evening reading with my little girl... . #amreading #skinfulofshadows #cats #catsofinstagram #catsagram
• It's going to be a scorcher of a weekend and clearly #toohot to do anything but read. Here's three that you could try and they even appeal to people who don't usually like magic realism and fantasy - link in the bio. . What are you reading? . #books #amreading #SummerReading #summerreads #bookrecommendations #fantasy #magicrealism

23 June

• Entertaining the people of Henley with music for a summer's afternoon in the park... #windband #concertband #music #summermusic @abingdonconcertband
• Delicious dinner in the garden... #steak #EnglishNewPotatoes #summerveg
• #amwriting in the #sunset... . #spinoff #imaginaryfriends #MrTumnal

24 June

• Somehow appropriate that I should be following the progress of the delivery driver on a map considering the title of the book! @roz_morris #NotQuiteLost
• #SummerReading #amreading #NotQuiteLost @roz_morris #catsofinstagram #catsagram
• After #amreading the first chapter I may have just skipped ahead to read the Suffolk chapter and this description of Chapel Books... #readingaboutplacesyouknow #NotQuiteLost @roz_morris
• I think that this week at #work might be a shorts kind of week... #weather
• Birds on a hot tile roof... #summer????

25 June

26 June

• So, @roz_morris, have you ever wondered what happened when he arrived at "Kate's" door? #NotQuiteLost #amreading
• The pleasure of starting a new book... ???????? #amreading #WhistleInTheWind @echealey
• Trying to get my head around the child now being a grandmother... #amwriting #nationalwritingday #spinoff #ImaginaryFriends #MrTumnal #TheImaginaryWife

27 June

• Al fresco writing is the best kind of writing! #summer???? #summernights???? #amwriting #spinoff #shortstory #ImaginaryFriends #MrTumnal #TheImaginaryWife #internationalwritingday

28 June

29 June

30 June

July 2018

1 July

• "It's always six o'clock now," said the Hatter. That can only mean one thing, it's always tea time! The Hatter fell out with Time, and so the clock is always set to six o'clock. #ItsAlwaysTeaTime @thestorymuseum #teatime #tea #Alice #aliceinwonderland
• On 'ghosting' and discovering that you still have something worth talking about... #WhistleInTheDark @echealey #amreading
• Smoked tofu and green pea salad to end a hot #summer???? day... . #BowlsofGoodness #eatinghealthy #summernights????
• Creating stories... #storymachine #storyloom @thestorymuseum
• Mad Hatter regenerating in ethereal light... #ItsTimeForTea #storymuseum #exhibition #Alice ##aliceinwonderland
• Oxford's Story Museum: a place where creativity and imagination lives and unfolds... @thestorymuseum #stories #imagination #dreams #nofilter
• Visions of Alice... . #Alice #aliceinwonderland #ItsAlwaysTeaTime #exhibition #teatime @thestorymuseum
• Insects Through The Looking Glass #insects #bees #lewiscarroll #roalddahl #mgleonard #beetleboy @thestorymuseum

2 July

3 July

• Working on my third commission, and my second for @davidpennywriting. There's another map to come bit first the appropriately named "Thomas' House" . #illustration #amillustrating #commission

4 July

• Today we had to say goodbye to Princess Layer and Meringue. Princess Layer had a prolapsed uterus and Meringue was egg-bound and it was the kindest thing to do for both. RIP our little hens.

5 July

• @vnemma and I were lucky enough to honeymoon on the 7th smallest of these...

6 July

7 July

• I think I may have just found my #epigraph to the #bookloversguidetobookshops...
• The seaside!!
• Today's #EdwardArdizzone finds to add to the collection...
• On the strandline...
• Oh I do like to be beside the seaside. Oh I do like to be beside the sea...
• Congratulations to my Mum and Dad on their 50th Wedding Anniversary!

8 July

• The seaside!!

9 July

10 July

11 July

• Wonders what would happen if I emailed Susie.Betts@pdnews.co.uk...?
• My #currentlyreading and #tooreading pile has reached new levels of instability...
• Just because the grass is tinder-dry and barren brown in this #ukheatwave doesntvmean there isn't any colour in the garden...

12 July

13 July

• So sad to hear of the death of #StigoftheDump author #CliveKing. Loved this book so much and #EdwardArdizzone's illustrations brought it to life so well...

14 July

• A hot, hot, hot but enjoyable time playing to (how to train your) dragon lovers to the left of us and Queen lovers to the right of us...
• Working on 'Thomas' House' from @davidpennywriting's books with the men's doubles final for company...

15 July

• Raspberry picking with @vnemma...
• Went fruit picking at @rectoryfarmpyo this morning and to collect my prize of four beautiful punnets of the sweetest tasting strawberries that I won by suggesting on their Facebook page to serve them drizzled with elderflower cordial and a dash log fresh cream...
• Went fruit picking at @rectoryfarmpyo this morning and to collect my prize of four beautiful punnets of the sweetest tasting strawberries that I won by suggesting on their Facebook page to serve them drizzled with elderflower cordial and a dash log fresh cream...

16 July

• My first experience of #overnightoats with coconut yoghurt and chia seeds is I think a success...

17 July

• Reading @thibaudherem's #RaisingAForest and I'm wanting to gather seeds and grow my own own trees instead of just thinking that it's not worth it...
• "I want to believe that [the trees] will thrive and outlive me"
• So those Rectory Farm PYO strawberries I won the other day. Yeah, those. Jam!

18 July

19 July

• Busy in the garden...
• During summer recess from band @vnemma and have been enjoying some evening walks...

20 July

• Please let it be so... #heatwave #uksummer #raindance #letitrain
• It's raining!!!
• What a joyous sight!
• Sometimes work colleagues are just that, colleagues, and sometimes they become almost immediately proper friends who you trust and confide in. Thank you @nicolarymell, it's been a pleasure working with you. I know we're going to stay in touch. #friends

21 July

• Never seen an upside down rainbow before... #upsidedownrainbow #circumzenithalarc
• Swallows & Amazons Forever! And ever! Another great @creationtheatre production tonight. Perfect setting for adventure on the high seas and refreshingly true to the book! @creationtheatre #swallowsandamazons #outdoortheatre #helenedmondson

22 July

• He's right, The Wardrobe is the most excellent of names for a bookshop. A place to get lost in and to inspire and store stories in...
• In Liz Lochhead's Essentials she illustrates precisely what the importance of an #indiebookseller...
• Watermelon Poke Bowl to end another hot, hot weekend...
• Sunset over an evening's theatre last night...

23 July

24 July

• Can you guess where it is yet?
• One of the few things that you can do during a #heatwave...

25 July

• 31°?!? This is getting utterly ridiculous... .And I bet we don't get any of that rain...
• When @vnemma goes away for just one night I get all the attention. No, MY DINNER, gets all the attention...

26 July

• I've commandeered the office fan for my own purposes as we are down on numbers today. That acceptable Yes?

27 July

• What is this wet stuff on the glass? More importantly how long will it last?

28 July

29 July

30 July

• Today, @vnemma and I had to say our goodbyes to Cecily. ???? she had such a sweet nature, and always to comfort you with one of her special bunny cuddles if you'd had a bad day. Cecily and Parsely bunnies were our first pets as a couple. Love my Cecily! ❤ #bunnies

31 July

• Mexican Sweet Potato and Black Beans, in a bowl... thank you @laurapicklechop for suggesting this one... #goodeating #recipes #eatinghealthy @deliciouslyella
• Making progress with @whitehousebooks tonight... #bookshops #books???? #bookloversguidetobookshops

August 2018

1 August

• I guess all things considered the size of item to packaging ratio could have been a lot worse. And at least it's recyclable...

2 August

• This roof is going to kill me... #Norfolk #roofs #pantiles #illustration #amillustrating #bookshops #bookloversguidetobookshops
• Roughing out the start to @brazenheadbooks in Burnham Market... #bookshops #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating

3 August

• Another day, another bookshop. More roof tiles... #amillustrating #illustration #bookshops #bookloversguidetobookshops @brazenheadbooks
• Friday night sketching... #bookshops #bookloversguidetobookshops #amillustrating #illustration @brazenheadbooks

4 August

• Woody went speed dating today to see if we could hook him up with a new girlfriend as he has visibly been lonely and pining for Cecily. Meet the bunny formerly known as Snowflake. We've decided to repay the honour that my Icelandic cousins gave @vnemma when they named a cat Emma, so meet Drífa (snowdrift In Icelandic) @drifaadals #bunnies???? #bunnylove❤
• Becoming acquainted with little miss Drífa... #bunnies???? #bunnylove❤ @drifaadals @vnemma
• Sunlight through flowers... #summer???? #garden
• #Repost @ebbandflobookshop • • • • • ‘If you are the sort of person who feels soothed by the shipping forecast’, yes that’s me, ‘you’ll love this book about our shores.’ Couldn’t have put it better myself, thank you @guardian ! We’ve a pile at the bookshop for you to pick up before you hit the coast #summerhols #indiebookshop #totallylocallychorley
• Quality time with her boy... #cats #catsofinstagram #catsagram
• Not strictly speaking an #indiebookseller but it's an indie chain - time to go for the BIG one... @blackwellsoxford #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating

5 August

• Possibly my most ambitious #bookshop to date. @blackwellsoxford has every chance to kill me... #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating #mustnotbebeaten
• Anyone notice how I've started at the top and working my way down to the most difficult shopfronts...? @blackwellsoxford #bookshops #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating
• Did I day that this was hard? @blackwellsoxford #bookshops #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating

6 August

• Bella black cat busy in the garden... #catsagram #catsofinstagram #uksummer #heatwave
• Little Miss Drífa... #bunnies???? #bunnylove❤

7 August

• I'm actually, genuinely pleased, with how this one has turned out. I just hope I've done it justice... what do you think? @blackwellsoxford #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating

8 August

• ???? it's #internationalcatday????! ???? . I have lived with eleven cats in my life to date and they're all very special: Tess, Bramble, Pepper, Bella*, Arthur*, Ronnie, Nellie, William*, Scooter*, Blini*, and Aslan*. ????❤???? . *Still with us. . #lovecats #catsofinstagram #catsagram #cats

9 August

10 August

11 August

• It's been too long since we've visited Douglas á l'Orange at his Jubilee Lake home and we didn't realise that adult ducks lose their bright colours again at this time of year. He's still there! We ❤ Douglas! @vnemma #duck????
• Drífa and Woody munching their war around the garden... #bunnies???? #lovebunnies???? @vnemma @catstalespetcare
• #lovepotatoes????

12 August

• Doing my bit for the environment by trying out my new #HumbleBrush... @thehumble.co #ditchplastic

13 August

14 August

• Bunnies doing what bunnies do... #bunnies???? #lovebunnies???? #BicesterZoo
• It just looks like a four-storey house from the outside but it's a #bookshop win in at Woodstock Books... #illustration #amillustrating #TheBookloversGuidetoBookshops

15 August

16 August

• It's that time of year again at @oxfordbrookes... #glitter #hellobrookes #alevelresults ????????????
• #tbt to that time in 2001 when a bunch of strangers met up at one of Iceland's top tourist attractions to build these steps that every bit as deep as they are wide. They were still there in 2012, so... good job well done I guess? @philippajane97 @heathermarples @palooka_ville #iceland #svartifoss #skaftafell

17 August

18 August

19 August

• On the #progress of #21stCentury communication... #amreading #gailhoneyman #eleanoroliphantiscompletelyfine
• The lyrics of pop songs really are quite ridiculous when it's put like that... #amreading #eleanoroliphantiscompletelyfine #gailhoneyman

20 August

• Musings on the modern world and illiterate communication... #gailhoneyman #eleanoroliphantiscompletelyfine #amreading

21 August

• Love that @booksandink include their #currentlyreading in their personalised replies to online orders... #indiebookshop #loveyourlocal #shoplocal

22 August

23 August

• Love reading? Got a favourite bookshop? My #bookloversguidetobookshops pictures are now all available to buy in my brand new @etsyuk shop... #bookshops #amreading @oxfordetsy https://etsy.me/2BC8nhn @booksandink @blackwellsoxford @mostlybooks_shop @ylbooks @the_book_house @jaffe_and_neale

24 August

25 August

26 August

27 August

• First night of our little late summer camping getaway in the Cotswolds...

28 August

• Why do I always boil things (kettle, tatties...) on the left and fry things on the right? #camping
• Gulliver at home and in Lilliput... #bourtononthewater #bourtonmodelvillage #gulliverstravels #liliput

29 August

• Camping in the Cotswold countryside... #Cotswolds #camping #autumnfruits????????????????????????
• The crazily busy world of Bourton on the Water. We counted 15 coaches in the car park which is well over 1000 tourists! Still beautifully though... #bourtononthewater #Cotswolds
• The miniature world of Bourton on the Water. Where would you go if you yourself 1/9th the size that you normally are...? #bourtonmodelvillage #bourtononthewater
• A walk around the Sherbourne Estate... #Cotswolds #countrysideambling #walks
• Big bull and his hareme of lady cows... #Cotswolds #sherbourne
• Beautiful but busy; the charms and woes of a country Cotswold town... #Burford #Cotswolds

30 August

• Congratulations to @hendosaurus.rex and @mat_kav on their wedding day. So privileged to have been able to share it with you. And yes, I did get the tears I was hoping for for the present that I gave them. ????❤????????x

31 August

• Spooky! Facebook shows me the marriage of the new Rachel Kavanagh neé Henderson and next up a story by Rachel Kavanagh (now Tenant)...
• So I've been a bit quiet on the bookshop illustrations of late. That's because I've been busy working on this original of @eynshamhall in Oxfordshire for @hendosaurus.rex and @mat_kav's wedding present...
• And I'm back to the #bookloversguidetobookshops! Can you guess where I am now, @heffers_cambridge? #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #illustration #amillustrating
• Happy 7th Birthday to little Lily S! ????????????

September 2018

1 September

• Since she came to live with us Drífa has proved herself quite the Houdini at getting her out of her hutch but she and Woody are bonding very well... #bunnies???? #lovebunnies????
• With its plain, modern frontage and concrete, cavernous interior I had always assumed @heffers_cambridge to be a brutalistic concrete building but it's actually a rather fine old brick mid-terrace... #bookshops #illustration #amillustrating #TheBookloversGuidetoBookshops

2 September

• @heffers_cambridge was the first *real* bookshop. I remember losing myself in the books of the children's bookshop across the road and then losing my mum and dad in the cavernous interior of the main shop... #bookshops #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating

3 September

• I feel like I might have bitten off more than I can chew with this one. Can you tell where it is yet @waterstones_oxford? #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating
• The devil's in the detail... @waterstones_oxford #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating
• The neo-classical architecture of a bookshop... @waterstones_oxford #bookshops #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating

4 September

• Exactly how many display windows does @waterstones_oxford have? I wonder if @kavalociraptor will recognise one of them? #meta #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating

5 September

6 September

• What are reading this #autumn????? In a story that opens as summer ends and then takes you through the year #MrTumnal is the perfect story for the season. Get the link in the bio. . Everyone has an idea of their ideal family. Not everyone's become real. . #amreading #books #autumnreads

7 September

8 September

• Exeter College is #OpenDoors in Oxford...
• College living at Balliol... #OpenDoors
• Late summer colour in the college grounds... #OpenDoors
• Did you know that this is the wall outside Bevington House where Louis Tumnal lives. It's a story that opens as summer ends and then takes you through the year. #MrTumnal is the perfect story for #autumn???? . http://viewbook.at/MrTumnal . Everyone has an idea of their ideal family. Not everyone's become real. . #amreading #books #autumnreads
• Getting down to those fiddly gable bits. @waterstones_oxford has more fiddly bits than Norway has fjörds... #bookshopsofinstagram #bookshops #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating

9 September

• I think that @waterstones_oxford might be my biggest , most-complicated #bookshop that I have #illustrated to date for the #bookloversguidetobookshops... #amillustrating

10 September

• I knew that Dumbledore was another name for bumblebees; what I didn't know was the link between bumblebees and fairies. Appropriate. ???? . #bumblebees #dumbledore #fairies #KatyBell #Summer @melissa_jharrison
• I'm going to finish this #bookshop if it's the last thing I do... #illustration #amillustrating #TheBookloversGuidetoBookshops

11 September

• So close to the end but #penfail has stopped play! ???? #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #illustration #amillustrating #TheBookloversGuidetoBookshops @waterstones_oxford
• I be a verified persona. ???? #google #verified #teshepherd #author

12 September

• This one's for @kavalociraptor because without her I'm not sure I would have actually have turned my #illustration dreams into practical reality. Without her @waterstones_oxford window display I would probably have never have heard of @kiran_mh's fantastic book... #meta #amillustrating #bookloversguidetobookshops

13 September

14 September

• Thomas' Adventures in Waterstonesland with @kavalociraptor and @waterstones_oxford... #aliceinwonderland #lastwindow #bookshops #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating
• Finished at last! It's been a mammoth epic but there's a really important reason why I had to include this chain #bookshop in the #bookloversguidetobookshops which I'll write about on my website soon. . Prints available on my Etsy shop now! #illustration #amillustrating

15 September

• There's a story behind this too. But how is it related to the aforementioned story I mentioned yesterday...?
• The bookshop chain with an independent heart

16 September

• On drawing, wondering, and dreaming... #DavidAlmond #TheColouroftheSun #amreading #drawing #wondering #dreaming
• This week I took steps to ditch some plastic use and save money. For less money than it cost for a pack of four refills for my Gillette Mach3, I now have a new safety razor and enough blades to last me the year... #savemoney #ditchtheplastic #shaving
• Jobs done. Sunday afternoon sketching... can you guess where it is yet...? #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating
• Why do I do this to myself? You'd ha e thought that a black and white Tudor building would be easy in pen and ink... #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating
• Q. Why do I do seemingly always draw buildings from the roof down? #housebuilderiamnot #illustration #amillustrating
• And so it goes on... #Sundayafterboonsketching #tudor #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating
• First roast dinner of #autumn???? ????
• Want a new book for the #autumn????? Amazon are currently discounting the paperback edition of #TheImaginaryWife to an incredible £1.62!!! https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0957175698/ #autumnreads #amreading

17 September

• I'm sure there was a perfectly good reason why I decided to take on this one... #thechallenge #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating

18 September

• "I've seen it on the telly [...] what kind of knowing is that?" #TheColouroftheSun ##DavidAlmond #amreading
• I woke up this morning thinking very much of this childhood favourite. I think I may have to play it when I get home tonight... #winniethepooh #blusteryday #wind
• #Repost @haslemerebookshop • • • • • "You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me" - C. S. Lewis ????????
• Did I mention that this #bookshop comes in two halves...? #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating
• Lots of bricks. Lots of leaded lights. Lots of time... #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating

19 September

• When #illustration becomes the #relaxation one needs be for the day after today...
• Looking more like a building now. Time to call it a night though... #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating

20 September

• What's done is done. She all is said and done I think that I did my best... #milkshake #relax #work #restructure #interview
• Almost there. It looks so much better with a door... #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating

21 September

• It's finished! The half-timbered nature of this building has made drawing Barton's Bookshop both a pleasure and a challenge. . Available to order now from my @etsyuk shop in three sizes: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/645577485/bartons-bookshop-leatherhead . #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating

22 September

• Today I got meat from the butchers, some photos printed from our local independent photographers, used the library to get son A3 printing done to help with a commission, and got loads of veg from the stall in the main street. Love our little town. #loveBicester❤
• Where am I going now...? #amillustrating #illustration
• The shock! The horror! Have just discovered that the Real Wife hasn't yet read #TheImaginaryWife! It's not like there aren't enough copies lying around here...
• Drawing this afternoon and cooking this evening whilst listening to a new audiobook. It's rather good. "Louis existed, and Sarah existed. But Sarah had no father, and Louis had no child." I wonder who wrote this... #MrTumnal
• Artistic cat. Drawing this even I g could be a challenge... #illustration #amillustrating
• Saturday night sketching this week involves working on a #bookshop that I think @ninalsmith will approve of... #bookshopsofinstagram #illustration #amillustrating #bookloversguidetobookshops

23 September

• What a lot of Cotswold stone wall there is in the @borzoibookshop... #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating
• Sweet potato, black beans, paprika and maple served with brown rice and guacamole... #warmingfood #autumn???? @deliciouslyella
• I'm sure there was a perfectly good reason why I decided to draw both sides of the street... #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating @borzoibookshop

24 September

• When drawing a bookshop becomes drawing the whole street... #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating @borzoibookshop
• Progress is not having as many aching gaps in a Cotswold stone wall... #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #illustration #amillustrating #TheBookloversGuidetoBookshops @borzoibookshop

25 September

• I feel like I'm building an entire Cotswold town...! #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating @borzoibookshop
• I feel like I'm building an entire Cotswold town...! #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating @borzoibookshop

26 September

• #Repost @kiran_mh • • • • • OMG OMG OMG LOOK WHAT IS HERE! Still pinching myself I’m in this extraordinary atlas alongside so many heroes. Though should maybe have rethought letting them put the terrible plot map for #TheGirlOfInkAndStars, in alongside some of the finest works of history. My essay in this is about how drawing that map was the first step to charting my way out of a darkness I’d lived in for years. There were many factors, but I’m forever grateful to writing for helping lift me out of my depression and giving me a new life. #TheWritersMap is out from @thamesandhudson on the 4th October, same day as #TheWayPastWinter.
• Okay, I'm looking for the names of brother and sister #fairies/#huldufólk children for my next novel. If there's a reference to old English myth then so much the better... #amplotting #amwriting #ImaginaryFriends #MrTumnal3
• #InternationalRabbitDay was last Saturday, but there's no day when to #cuddleabunny doesn't make everything okay... #bunniesofinstagram #rabbitsofinstagram #bunnies🐇🐇 #rabbits
• Filling in the gaps... #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating @borzoibookshop

27 September

• Plotting the conclusion to my #ImaginaryFriends series... #ForgottenFriends #MrTumnal #MrTumnal3 #amplotting #amwriting
• Just turn that in 80,000 words. Yeah, no problem... 😂 #story #amplotting #amwriting #ImaginaryFriends #MrTumnal3 #MrTumnal
• Got home from work today to find that @vnemma had made me a present for everything that has happened recently with the work restructure... 😊❤x

28 September

• So much Cotswold stone finally finished! The @borzoibookshop is a delight of a bookshop in a charmingly, plain and ordinary building... . #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating

29 September

• When @vnemma's mum came to visit for a trip out into the country for some #autumn🍁 colour and sunshine...
• #autumn🍁 #flowers and colour at @aston_pottery
• More #autumn🍁 colour and flowers at @aston_pottery...
• Delicious breast of lamb dinner. Something special for @vnemma's mum whilst she stays for the weekend...

30 September

• And so it begins... #ImaginaryFriends #BookThree #ForgottenFriends #amwriting #MrTumnal #MrTumnal3

October 2018

1 October

2 October

3 October

• It's getting real. The audiobook of Mr Tumnal, read by Robert Beadle is getting closer... #audiobooks #MrTumnal #amlistening #ImaginaryFriends

4 October

5 October

• Nine years ago today I started working at @oxfordbrookes... #BrookesBirthday #NineYears #LifeInGibbs
• I get home from a Friday to start the weekend to be greeted by This! . ...but more pleasurable a letter from #work confirming that my I am no longer considered at risk. 😀 Just wish the poor pidgie hadn't have been more at risk earlier... 😭

6 October

• I've set up a new, public, Instagram account dedicated to my #art and #illustration. Why not have a look... . #Repost @t.e.shepherd.art • • • • • It's a cold, grey, October day - the perfect day for snuggling down with a good book (or two) that you've bought from your favourite bookshop. I'll be heading down to my favourite, @booksandink to deliver these fantastic greetings cards... #bookshopday @booksaremybag #booksaremybag #greetingscards #bookloversguidetobookshops
• #Repost @t.e.shepherd.art • • • • • What better way to celebrate #bookshopday but to deliver #greetingscards in person to thed amazing @booksandink. In stock and on sale NOW! 😀 @booksaremybag #bookloversguidetobookshops
• I can't believe that I've never heard of Dennis the Dragon before? Thank you @booksandink for recommending this #Ladybird🐞 favourite of yours. I think this is actually an important book for all those kind, nice people who nonetheless get picked on and bullied. You will succeed! #bookshopday #amreading #dragons
• When I saw this carousel book in the precious books cabinet at @booksandink it was like a blast from the past. The tale of Jack and the Beanstalk that you can really look into that I remember having (and losing ☹) in my childhood. Illustrated by Irana Shepherd (!!) they really don't make books like this anymore... #bookshopday #amreading #peepshowbooks
• #Dragons spotted on #bookshopday in @booksandink... @andyshepherdwriter @booksaremybag
• Spotted this slightly unfortunate shelving at @booksandink today... 😂 #cookery #yourfirstmouse #bookshopday
• As an #IndieAuthor I strongly believe it's important to support #IndieBooksellers and there is no better way to do it than on #bookshopday. So I headed out to @booksandink where you can now find the first two books in my #ImaginaryFriends series and greetings cards of the shop from my #bookloversguidetobookshops in stock. #loveyourlocal
• My TBR pile has reached dangerously unstable proportions. It's tetering, toppling, and wobbling... #books #obsessions #addiction

7 October

• #Repost @t.e.shepherd.art • • • • • It occurs to me that these stats are exactly online with the ethos behind my own #bookloversguidetobookshops...
• That time when what you really want to do is get stuck into your new book but you have to finish the one you're reading first... #amreading #PredatorsGold #pagesandco @acaseforbooks
• Ducks-a-dabbling... #duck🐤 #Douglas
• #Repost @t.e.shepherd.art • • • • • There's a new best in town! Meet Ardizzone Bear, childhood friend of Louis Tumnal... #Ardizzone #bearsofinstagram #MrTumnal #amillustrating #inktober

8 October

• "Was she ready? Chloë frowned and shook her head. Definitely not, but this was something that she had to do..." . Sometimes I surprise myself at what I write! 😀✒ #amwriting #ForgottenFriends #ImaginaryFriends #MrTumnal3

9 October

• More bus writing... #ForgottenFriends #ImaginaryFriends #MrTumnal3 #amwriting

10 October

• "She sighed and wished for the rapid fire of the Digital SLR she had been used to in her younger days..." #AnalogueFuture #amwriting #ForgottenFriends #ImaginaryFriends #MrTumnal3
• Discussing the future of HE in the country inside the posh new building... 😀
• #amwriting or #amreading? The curse of the reading-loving inspired-writer...

11 October

• Happy Birthday Ben! And thank you @lucycaitlinkettlewell for the exceedingly yummy cake! 😀

12 October

• #Autumn🍁 is a time for swirling, fallen leaves, and stories. What are you reading this weekend? If you need something new why try the ultimate in seasonal tales that is #MrTumnal - link in the bio...
• Moved to my new office today with my greenhouse of plants, adjustable height desk, mini wall of the weird, and miniature ottoman chairs that @nickyanderton710 made. Back to open plan office after 9 years. Not since I left the lexicographer's "morgue"... #changeisgood
• Not a bad effort for an evening's #amwriting. It's early days but I have a funny feeling that #ForgottenFriends might be my best novel yet... . #ImaginaryFriends #MrTumnal #MrTumnal3

13 October

• #Repost @t.e.shepherd.art • • • • • From one bear to another, Happy 60th Birthday, Paddington Bear!! . #PaddingtonBear #Paddington60 #Ardizzone #bears #bearsofinstagram

14 October

• "Be brave, be curious, be kind." Today has been a start-a-new-book kind of day... #pagesandco @acaseforbooks #amreading

15 October

• #Repost @t.e.shepherd.art • • • • • When I first started my #bookloversguidetobookshops project it seemed like such a good idea... . It still is a very good idea, but boy is it a lot of work! #bookshopsofinstagram #illustration #amillustrating @madhatterbookshop

16 October

• "Well, why on earth does being from a book mean I'm not real?" . My point exactly! 😉 #amreading #PagesandCo @acaseforbooks
• A seasonally colourful meal... #sweetpotato #spinach #paprika
• It's a bit worn but one of my most-prized possessions... Happy 60th Birthday Blue Peter! #BluePeter #BluePeter60 #bluepeterbadge #badgewinner

17 October

• #Repost @21stcenturyyokel • • • • •

18 October

• #Repost @t.e.shepherd.art • • • • • Illustrating the @madhatterbookshop in Burford was another epic labour of love and perspective with its situation on a hill to boot but I'm really happy with the result. What do you think? . If you like a #bookshop that sells both #hats as well as #books prints in three sizes, available both mounted and not, now: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/638101222/the-madhatter-bookshop-burford . #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating
• But that's literally the best bit about books and reading and stories... #books #amreading #amwriting

19 October

• There's no better place than @booksandink to go #bookwandering. I'm a bookwanderer and the #Underlibrary is my second home... #amreading #PagesandCo @acaseforbooks

20 October

21 October

• As #DavidMitchell once said, "wouldn't it be weird to discover you were related to someone fictional? You'd start to doubt your own existence." #fiction #reality #imaginaryfriends #MrTumnal #PagesandCo @acaseforbooks #amreading
• Lady Bird @vnemma... 😊🍁 #autumn🍁 #Ladybird🐞
• Went for an autumnal walk at Deddington Castle and all I got was plagued by ladybirds... 😊🍁🍂 #autumn🍁 #Ladybird🐞
• Old Rectory living at Deddington... #autumn🍁 #walk #sunshine🌞
• "Louis smiled, slightly more at ease by Kathryn's reassurances. He wasn't sure but he felt now that this might be someone who he wouldn't mind looking through his music collection." . When you realise that it could be love... #MrTumnal #booksforautumn #amreading

22 October

• #Repost @t.e.shepherd.art • • • • • Topping and Company Booksellers have shops on both sides of the country. This is their Bath presence and it looks so damn appealing. . Prints are now available in three sizes from just £12! . https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/639263022/topping-and-company-booksellers-bath #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops #illustration #amillustrating @toppingsbath

23 October

24 October

• I just know that this is is going to be one of those books that I'm going to be so upset to finish reading... #PagesandCo @acaseforbooks #amreading #modernclassic
• Yesterday I finally managed to get myself to see the @bodleianlibs #Tolkien exhibition and it was marvellous, and not just all about hobbits and magic rings either!
• What are the chances that I should be reading a book published in the same year as my own with the exact same reference? #amreading #PagesandCo @acaseforbooks #TheImaginaryWife #Alice #aliceinwonderland
• "I'm not sure - but I'm rapidly realising that reading a book and being inside one are rather different things, and that one is considerably more complicated than the other" #PagesandCo @acaseforbooks #amreading

25 October

26 October

27 October

• Me and my @bellafanella on #blackcatday... 😀🐾
• So, @vnemma asked me to tag her as the ginger ghouly on the plate... 👻
• The neverending patterns of romanesco broccoli
• I will never understand why black cats are unpopular and struggle to be rehomed. My @bellafanella and @catnamedafteramouse are the best! #BlackCatDay
• Winter warmer for tonight... #bangersandmash #sausages #mash

28 October

29 October

30 October

31 October

• Happy #Halloween🎃!

November 2018

1 November

• Well, it's that time of year when you know *it's* coming... @abingdonconcertband #windband #band #Christmas🎄

2 November

• "We are certainly on the same page, but we are not yet in the same paragraph." #TheStormKeepersIsland @cat_doyle0 #amreading #books

3 November

4 November

• The one downside to owning 1,791 Books is running out of shelf space. This weekend I turned furniture maker have made this. It's made out of solid oak floorboards and has a weight to it accordingly. I even have a shelf for my #EdwardArdizzone collection... #weekend #productive #amwoodworking

5 November

• As regards yesterday's bookshelf post... ummm, make that 1,792 books! Thanks @elvesden, really looking forward to this one! #apinchofmagic #books #amreading #proofs #proofcopies
• Further to my new bookshelf I've been reordering the other shelves and have given my Dickens and Doyle a new home. Then I needed to make dinner so I hastily put a couple of other books back on the shelf... It was accident I promise, I'm not saying anything by it honestly! 😂😂 #CharlesDickens #Dickens #ArthurConanDoyle #SherlockHolmes #TEShepherd

6 November

• Small but beautiful. The best tasting apple I have ever eaten. Fresh from my young espalier tree... #apple #russet #freshfood

7 November

8 November

9 November

• Rearranged the books in my study this evening... #books #the1793 #study #homelibrary #workinprogress

10 November

11 November

• We've had this poppy by our fireplace for a most four years now. When I sit and look at it now it is hard to comprehend that for all that time 100 years ago there were families separated, soldiers away fighting, and dying. #RememberenceSunday #Armistace100 #poppy
• #RememberenceSunday #Armistace100
• Autumn textures... #silverbirch #texture #bark
• Brother and sister just chillin'... #cats #catsofinstagram #catsagram
• This weekend I've been helping @vnemma with goat feeding duties. Meet Hamish, Rocket, Freddie and Eddie... #goats🐐 #goatsofinstagram @catstalespetcare

12 November

• And after yesterday's #goats🐐, meet Nana, a hen of superannuated years. she thinks she's a #goat🐐... @catstalespetcare

13 November

14 November

15 November

16 November

• Submission done. Please wish the #bookloversguidetobookshops well on its journey. Fingers crossed for an exciting announcement soon... @t.e.shepherd.art @bookshopblogger @shepline

17 November

• In not usually one for psychological thrillers but @emmarousauthor's debut novel #TheAuPair does look good. Would still like to know how she manages it in three weeks though. I'm a three years kind of guy...
• #Repost @abingdonconcertband • • • • • It's that exciting time of year again - our Christmas concert poster is out, as well as tickets for the event. We've got a wonderfully narrated show full of festive faves, including one or two you may not have heard. . . Tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-abingdon-christmas-carol-tickets-51945086151 . . #Abingdon #Oxfordshire #music #concert #Christmas #homealone #muppets #familyfriendly #greatestshowman
• Yup! Me too... 😀 #Repost @21stcenturyyokel • • • • • #death

18 November

• The Genesis of the Christmas Cake. This is from my Auntie Jane's school recipe from 50-60 years ago. We use brandy now instead of milk! The musical accompaniment is about 40 years old and one of my most treasured possessions. #ChristmasCake #stirupSunday #christmas🎄
• More goat feeding with @catstalespetcare... #goat🐐
• Goats are adorable... #goat🐐 #goatsofinstagram @catstalespetcare
• ...and a little red hen who thinks she's a goat. #goat🐐 #hen🐔 @catstalespetcare
• Four hours later... #ChristmasCake #stirupSunday #Christmas🎄

19 November

20 November

21 November

• I don't really agree with the whole concept of #BlackFriday but hey, these were 30% off and we had 70 squid of John Lewis vouchers, and our wedding saucepans of 10 years had really reached the end of days, so for £17.50...

22 November

• It's a brass niblets kind of day.... #Thomasism #brassniblets #coldas
• Damn it! I've only gone and got Let It Snow stuck in my head... ❄☃️⛄❄

23 November

• #Repost @angelaharding11 • • • • • Happy 34th Anniversary to The Box Of Delights!. First broadcast on BBC 1 on 21st November 1984 at 5pm. The wolves are running!". 🐺 #theboxofdelights #thewolvesarerunning
• Want a magicrealism story that "pulls in Old English fairy tales [...] with a modern story line [...] set in a slightly different version of Oxford" for your #weekendreading? . Reader Camilla "loved Kathryn as a heroine and how she ultimately saves Louis" and rated #MrTumnal 5 stars! 😊 . https://viewbook.at/MrTumnal
• #Repost @madoldcatladyofficial • • • • • Before you ask... 🖤. #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #madoldcatlady #catlady #crazycatlady #catlover #catlovergifts #blackcats #blackcatsrule #catsrule #blackcatsofinstagram #etsy #buylocal #smallbusiness #designermaker
• Warning! Cuteness overload with @scooter.mchooter. Cold days are meant for snuggling... #catsofinstagram #catsagram #cuteness #snuggling

24 November

• Not sure how I feel about this. The Raymond Briggs original had all the words it needed (eg. THE PICTURES TOLD THE STORY DAMNIT!!). It doesn't need retelling. #Repost @ebbandflobookshop • • • • • If you always felt like you’d like to read the story of The Snowman, Michael Morpurgo has sorted it in this beautiful book! #christmasbooks #independentbookshop #shoplocal #totallylocallychorley #thesnowman
• #Repost @blackwellbooks • • • • • In 2007, when a new edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary - widely used in schools around the world - was published, a sharp-eyed reader soon noticed that around forty common words concerning nature had been dropped. Apparently they were no longer being used enough by children to merit their place in the dictionary. The list of these "lost words" included acorn, adder, bluebell, dandelion, fern, heron, kingfisher, newt, otter, and willow. Among the words taking their place were attachment, blog, broadband, bullet-point, cut-and-paste, and voice-mail. The news of these substitutions - the outdoor and natural being displaced by the indoor and virtual - became seen by many as a powerful sign of the growing gulf between childhood and the natural world. Ten years later, Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris set out to make a "spell book" that will conjure back twenty of these lost words, and the beings they name, from acorn to wren. By the magic of word and paint, they sought to summon these words again into the voices, stories, and dreams of children and adults alike, and to celebrate the wonder and importance of everyday nature. The Lost Words is that book - a work that has already cast its extraordinary spell on hundreds of thousands of people and begun a grass-roots movement to re-wild childhood across Britain, Europe, and North America. https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Lost-Words-by-Robert-Macfarlane-Jackie-Morris-illustrator/9781487005382 #blackwells #blackwellbooks #blackwellsbooks #blackwellsbookshop #bookstagram #lostwords #thelostwords #nature #dictionary #words #nature
• I know that for some, the introduction of Amanda Jones' tom-boyish friend Watts in #TheImaginaryWife was a highlight. It's always nice to see old friends make an appearance... #amwriting #book3 #chapter2 #ForgottenFriends
• #Repost @t.e.shepherd.art • • • • • Not a bad evening's work. One more night and I think I might be able to finish up @southwoldbooks... #illustration #amillustrating #bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookloversguidetobookshops

25 November

• We only went and got Gold! So proud of my band today at the #ncbf regionals. We've invited to the finals in April in Manchester too! 🎼🎶🎺🎷📯🏆🥇😊 #windband @abingdonconcertband @ncbf_festival #gold
• Hooky Gold in my @abingdonconcertband glass. It seems appropriate... #ncbf #windband

26 November

27 November

• Happy Birthday to my Mum for Sunday!
• Birthday meal with my Mum last night...
• Blowing the cobwebs away down on the coast...
• Seaside and birdwatching. Not pictured, but saw a Great White Egret too. Very exciting!

28 November

29 November

30 November

• The Bod looking festive with it's twinkling tree... #Oxford #Christmas #festive
• Oxford's @bodleianlibs play an intricate part in Book 3 of my #ImaginaryFriends trilogy. Expect more literary and musical references in #ForgottenFriends as the story leaps forward 40 years to a world we are just now beginning to get an inkling of... #MrTumnal #amwriting
• Apparently the accessorization at this year's @abingdonconcertband Christmas concert needs to be more Victorian than Santa Hats... 😂 #noSantaHats #TopHat
• Looking forward to opening the first door of our @angelaharding11 #adventcalendar tomorrow... #Christmas🎄

December 2018

1 December

• On the first day of advent... Christmas carols with the 🥇-winning @abingdonconcertband at the #abingdonextravaganza. #Christmas🎄 #advent
• Because its the 1 December and I like carols and flutes... #Christmas🎄 #carols #advent #abingdonextravaganza @abingdonconcertband
• A book of magic with twists and turns aplenty
• Winter warmer... #sausages #mash #newsaucepans
• Day 1 of #advent and finding a little bird hiding in our @angelaharding11 #adventcalendar... #Christmas🎄
• Sausage'n'mash... #winterwarmer

2 December

3 December

• Upgraded my Christmas lights this year. £15 thanks to B&M in town...
• 40 years in the future with wireless communications and electricity subject to frequent outages and unreliable we will have to once again seek out the red telephone boxes and find libraries to access the internet.... #amwriting #Book3 #MrTumnal #ForgottenFriends
• It is in deserted squares in the twilight ends of the day that those who look might see our #ForgottenFriends... #amwriting #Book3 #MrTumnal #homelessness
• Might be late to the #greatestshowman🎩 party but better late than never (especially as I'll be playing music from it in the @abingdonconcertband Christmas concert in a couple of weeks and @vnemma will be singing bits from it in a @rockchoir workshop)
• Don't be left Home Alone on 15 December, have yourself a very English Christmas Carol when you take a Sleigh Ride to the Greatest Showman of the 🥇 @abingdonconcertband https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-abingdon-christmas-carol-tickets-51945086151 #Christmas #windband #concert 🎼🎶🎺📯🎷

4 December

5 December

6 December

• It's great that they were being recycled but... it's not so great that I pulled all these with full charge in them from the recycle box... #batteries #christmaslights #outofjuice #tocheaptobuynew #whywouldyou
• When the mysteriousness of the most middle class shanty town takes over Broad Street.
• I still haven't found out who my Secret Santa but it was clearly someone who knows about the number of cats I have... #secretsanta #cats #moggymoments
• "Me and my Human" #catsofinstagram #moggymoments

7 December

8 December

• Visited Emma's Grannie. Met a friend.

9 December

• Tradition behold that each year we add a new decoration to the tree. This year's addition is a @rach.h.art original bauble... #Christmas🎄 #christmastree

10 December

• The audiobook of #MrTumnal, unabridged and read by Robert Beadle, with music composed by @neilbrownless from an original theme by @vnemma is now available on @audible, @amazon, and @itunes . https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B07L5Y6XBG/?source_code=AUKFrDlWS02231890H6-BK-ACX0-136005&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_136005_rh_uk . #amlistening #books #fantasy #magicrealism #bookstolistento #imaginaryfriends

11 December

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