‘This is just like any other salon’ I think to myself as I trot through the door… scissors snipping, clippers clipping, background chit chat and the underlying hum of hairdryers… but then I notice a member of staff is wearing ear defenders, and one of the little clients is what I can only describe as ‘butt-scooting’ across the floor with glee. I’ve booked into Tails of St Leonards, a local destination for pampered pets, and which this little Shih Tzu evidently thinks is the h

Mardi-Gras, Carnevale, Pancake-Day… wherever you are or whatever you call it… in the Christian tradition it’s a day to consume all your treats and celebrate before midnight, because from tomorrow (Ash Wednesday) you’ve got to be on your best behaviour until Easter Sunday

‘To keep balance, you must keep moving’. It’s Einstein’s words that Maria McErlane quotes in her recent memoir Bumps in the Road, and which are particularly apt for this woman whizzing about our town. 

It’s the motto imprinted on badges, flags and the forearms (I like to imagine) of soggy folk across the land. Emma proudly declared it as I joined her for coffee, along with the rest of the St Leonards Blue Tits… Blue Bells or Mermaids.

The importance of having land designated or communities to grow food on is a long-standing British tradition. In World War II we were digging for victory on allotments, in 1845 the Victorians passed laws compelling local authorities to provide them, in fear of a peasants’ revolt and even the Anglo-Saxons had them.