Maybe it is just me, but there seems to be a real sense of season’s change in the air. There is that feeling of letting go of the summer that never was and gearing up for autumn.
Or it could just be my subconscious reminding me I still have a camping trip looming on the horizon - two whole nights under canvas, braving the elements with little more than a good sleeping bag (clearly borrowed, I would never be that well prepared), a duvet, hot water bottle and woolly socks to see me through. Oh, and an electric heater. Somebody clearly mistook me for a person far less sane than I actually am and asked if we were off wild camping. That would be a no. In my less-rational moments I have considered it is something I might work up to, but in all honesty, I reckon even a couple of nights with decent facilities close to hand is going to be enough to see me through the next decade or so.
There has been an unexpected upside to the planning though. All the stuff you can buy for your own little camp is great fun. There’s a whole new world of stylish shopping opportunities out there. Simply take the kids along to one of the larger outdoor retailers, let them run in and out of tents that somebody else has kindly put up for you, and browse the enamelware to your heart’s content. I’m already lusting after Anorak’s Kissing Stags sleeping bag and Pedlars’ hurricane lamp... who knows, this whole camping lark might just grow on me.
This week we take a look at Vanessa and Matthew Beeson’s lovely Borders cottage. The property encompasses everything that is warm and welcoming about a family home, and is full of colourful, creative touches. Rhona and Chic Ramsay have given their former farmhouse near Forfar a contemporary twist. And finally, florist to the fashion pack, Nikki Tibbles tells us what she loves about living in London and her revamped townhouse.
