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Life at the Bottom
Steve at Manor Bottom
Oct 14, 20192 min read
The Listener
One early morning twilight, I was sitting at my kitchen table with my first cup of tea, gazing out of the window at the sparrows, tits...
Steve at Manor Bottom
Sep 26, 20192 min read
On a Golden Autumn Day...
Paul Verlaine should have visited The Granary! There are no sighing violins here in autumn, and dead leaves are beautiful, shed by trees...
Steve at Manor Bottom
Sep 23, 20192 min read
Our Climate Strike and Pledge!
We had our own little climate strike on Friday here at Manor Bottom. Too introverted to take to the streets, we decided instead to plant...
Steve at Manor Bottom
Sep 6, 20193 min read
The Devil's Bird?
A magpie was stood looking in at me through the window this morning. It seemed to be looking right into my eye. In Scotland, from where I...
Steve at Manor Bottom
Aug 15, 20195 min read
The Beaches of Steve
We recently we watched Agnes Varda’s beautifully playful and sincere memoir, The Beaches of Agnes. I love Agnes Varda, I love beaches,...
Steve at Manor Bottom
Jul 9, 20196 min read
The Jazz One!
So, by popular demand (well, one person requested it) – The Jazz One! A history of Manor Bottom in god knows how many jazz LPs. I’ve long...
Steve at Manor Bottom
Jun 25, 20192 min read
Manor Bottom’s Little Bro (Sis?)
I’m a country boy now, even though London has a huge place in my heart. On the occasions I do need to travel up to the capital, I always...
Steve at Manor Bottom
Jun 6, 20194 min read
A History of Manor Bottom in 10 ½ LPs *
Moving to Manor Bottom prompted the purchase of the first record player, a Lenco, I had owned since I was a child. I arranged for it to...
Steve at Manor Bottom
May 17, 20192 min read
The Burt Lancaster Tree.
There is a grumpy, gnarly old hawthorn (can you tell why I like it?) up in the hedge near the field with the highland cattle. It has...
Steve at Manor Bottom
May 13, 20191 min read
Blue in Green
The sunny days are giving us lots of energy - literally: Our solar panels are harvesting the sunlight and powering everything The Granary...
Steve at Manor Bottom
May 2, 20191 min read
James, the Moroccan Beach Dog
Not only were we lucky enough last week to have photos taken of The Granary by our friends Cyryl and Patrycja from latent images, we were...
Steve at Manor Bottom
Apr 25, 20191 min read
Pleasant Pheasant
We have many pheasants living in the fields and hedges around Manor Bottom, and many of them visit the house and pick up the seed that...
Steve at Manor Bottom
Apr 25, 20191 min read
Komorebi
I spent a large part of yesterday (my excuse is that I am recovering from a virus) lying on the grass looking up through the leaves and...
Steve at Manor Bottom
Apr 8, 20191 min read
Cherry Blossom Over-rated?
It is not, it's really not. But if it were, then surely you can't think the same about the hawthorn blossom? Traditionally known as the...
Steve at Manor Bottom
Apr 1, 20192 min read
Sakura
It is cherry blossom time in Japan, the ‘Sakura’ season has officially begun and here are some photos from Tokyo. It is cherry blossom...
Steve at Manor Bottom
Mar 25, 20191 min read
Not Slow, Not Wormy.
This fellow dropped in on me today, literally falling off a wall as I walked by. I know they are legless lizards but... I suspect he had...
Steve at Manor Bottom
Mar 25, 20192 min read
Books, New and Old
When I arrived on the Island it took a couple of weeks for us to have our internet connected. In that time I had to go to the local...
Steve at Manor Bottom
Mar 21, 20191 min read
Riding the Wind
This morning, having parked the car in Ventnor on my way to buy bread, I noticed a kestrel hovering over the cliff edge, scouring for...
Steve at Manor Bottom
Mar 20, 20192 min read
Arabian Knights
For six or seven months in the year our friend, Anna, keeps her gorgeous Arabian horses in our fields and stables, but they winter in a...
Steve at Manor Bottom
Mar 12, 20193 min read
Wind in the Trees
I’ve always loved storms wherever I have been, but there is something more stirring about them when in open country. Here at Manor Bottom...
This blog is designed partly to show you what life is like at Manor Bottom, and partly to give you some ideas on things to do on your adventures. You can also find some great blogs full of ideas, and perhaps a little more focussed,
at Isle of Wight Guru and Visit Isle of Wight
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