Category Archives: books

Nearly A Real Writer!

Posted on May 22, 2013 by

If I am completely honest with myself (something I try to do as infrequently as possible) I’ve always wanted to be a real writer. ‘But you are!’ I hear my sheepdog Twink bark loyally from outside my office’s open window. … Continue reading →

Posted in books | Tagged , , , ,

For Where is Chatteris?

Posted on May 21, 2013 by

I can’t think that I’ve lived for as long as I have without discovering the band Half Man Half Biscuit. I thought my life was complete after buying the Leyton Buzzards’ double-sided classic ‘I Don’t Want to Go to Art … Continue reading →

Posted in books | Tagged , , , ,

Of Crowd-funding and Writing

Posted on May 14, 2013 by

Or should that be: on writing and crowd-funding? In other words, which comes first? I began musing along these lines when I finished Chapter 6 (of 10) in the book I’m currently writing for Penguin. I’d been discussing the impact … Continue reading →

Posted in books | Tagged , , ,

Hold Everything! Alan Cadbury Image Discovered

Posted on May 9, 2013 by

I’ve been trying to find a picture of Alan Cadbury because the nice people at Unbound thought I ought to give him some publicity in my blog, what with Hay-on-Wye coming up and everything. But when it came to looking through … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, books | Tagged

Writing About Writing: People

Posted on May 1, 2013 by

When I was a teenager I remember reading somewhere that an author – quite a famous one, I think – had to write. I can remember at the time I cringed. It sounded so precious and so pseudo-sensitive. Then, as … Continue reading →

Posted in books, My life | Tagged , , , ,

Not Losing the Plot

Posted on March 29, 2013 by

I’m sometimes asked how I manage to combine sheep farming with writing. A follow-up question is often about the difficulty of getting back into the swing of writing, after a period away from it. I suspect both would be answered … Continue reading →

Posted in books, My life | Tagged , , , ,

The Long View: from the Floor

Posted on March 5, 2013 by

Introductory Note This is the original version of the item I posted in the Independent blog. As ever, I over-wrote and then had to cut it back to 800 words, which is what they’d requested in the first place. Trouble … Continue reading →

Posted in books, In the Long Run, Tirades | Tagged , ,

Lambing: a good start, fingers crossed

Posted on March 5, 2013 by

Like every sheep and cattle farmer in Britain, we’re keeping our fingers crossed in case we’re hit by the dreaded Schmallenberg Disease which could easily cause us to lose 80 of our expected 200 lambs. But worse even than that, … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Farming, Landscape | Tagged , , , , ,

Dundrum: My Final Broadcast Time Team

Posted on February 20, 2013 by

Sob, sob. I said ‘broadcast’ because the last one we filmed was Brancaster. So the future will be documentaries and for these we’ll move to a later slot, usually around nine o’clock. There’ll be two more ‘as live’ excavations after … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Broadcasting, Time Team | Tagged , , , ,

My Life in Crime

Posted on February 12, 2013 by

I suppose that should be: My Life in Crime Writing. Some followers of this blog may have noticed that from time to time I’ve mentioned my ‘friend’ Alan Cadbury. Well, now I must confess: he isn’t a friend at all. … Continue reading →

Posted in books | Tagged , , ,