The smell of mud and hot horses in a freezing downpour elevates the spirits, while the eventual toe-thawing in the shower is a cause for jubilation, finds an undaunted Tessa Waugh

D inah was not a Christmas cook. Her ...

THIS year, Vanessa was going to have a different kind of festive season. She usually hosted Christmas for her family at her house, even after her husband passed away a few years ago. Every second year

HELLO, little one!” Penny Dauntless greeted a robin-redbreast, who cocked his head as she pushed along her trolley of post on the daily round. “How often is there such a perfect mid-December morning?”

There’s a last-minute change of huntsman for the Bedale opening meet, and hounds do their very best in less-than-ideal conditions

Betty Middleton had only moved in two weeks earlier, but already she was starting to annoy me with her frequent knocks at my back door. “Would you like a slice of my lemon drizzle? It’s home-made!” No