On Tuesday, 29 April 1947, my mother was born. Sadly, on Monday, 24 January 2022, she died. That means that she is not here with…
I spent the last two Saturdays counting trees for the Roslin Moat 2020 Tree Survey. Hundreds and hundreds of trees. It was not only a…
After nearly three months of the COVID19 lockdown and related social distancing and self-isolation practices, I have enjoyed a day of socialising with a friend.…
And with that, it’s time for another annual re-cap post. Although quite how we’ve got to 31 December 2019, I couldn’t tell you! Yet, here…
I am allowing someone to enter into my little holiday bubble this year. She’s an American PhD student who is “fresh off the boat”, so I extended…
As has become a tradition, I went for a Christmas Eve walk in the Pentlands with my friend Adrian this afternoon. This year our mission was “simple”:…
I dug out my Christmas decorations yesterday in anticipation of decorating the cottage in a couple of weeks. And when I dug them out, I…
I had a fantastic weekend in Glasgow with friends, despite being a bit run down from last week’s trip to London and Surrey for work.…
Last year, I conducted a massive “friend cull” on Facebook. It took about a week to complete the process that, ultimately, led to severing Facebook…
The last three weekends have been quite busy for me, with fun activities to keep me busy. The first weekend was the annual Roslin Village…
I have been off on my Homeland Holidays the last couple of weeks, and am now home in Scotland settling back into my daily routine.…
It has been a long time coming, but I am finally a doctor. Oh yes, I am now officially Dr Frances Ryan. The PhD kind…
I am back home from my trip to Slovenia and am longing for the lovely Ljubljana already! The weather was wonderful. The city was wonderful. The entire…
I have enjoyed a lovely adventure day out to Fife with a friend today, which has left me both energised and exhausted all at once.…
February is letter-writing month, which means I will be writing a letter a day for the whole of February. Regular readers will know that I am…
This afternoon I enjoyed a Christmas Eve walk into Pentland Hills to visit the Battle of Rullion Green memorial with my housemate. The weather was a bit colder than…
And with that, my Homeland Holidays have come to an end. Yes, after two (and a bit) weeks in America, I am now back in Scotland; back…
A Homeland Holiday is never complete without a visit with my best friend. And that means a trip to Portland for some bestie time! Rachel and I…
As part of my Homeland Holidays, I took a short city break to meet up with a friend from my academic life. It feels a little…
I am in The Homeland for my summer holidays. Two weeks of family, friends, and fun. And, hopefully, a bit of nice weather! The big…