• A bit of Culture

    A Book and a Cup of Tea

    My perfect trio when it’s cold outside: a book, a cup of green tea and a hot-water bottle. I love reading and have a particular interest in books about Black history or novels set in in the past and present French Caribbean, my parents’ home. When I was 14, my father bought my first book, written by a novelist from Martinique, Joseph Zobel. It was ‘La Rue Cases Nègres’, a real revelation that made me want to know more about my ancestors’ history, my parents’ homeland, my roots, my Martinique. Below is a non-exhaustive list of books with story lines set in the French Caribbean that I truly enjoyed and suggest you to discover/re-discover.   La Rue Cases Nègres, Moi Tituba,…

  • Lifestyle

    A Pampering Day at Whittlebury Hall

    On 21st December I was officially off work for the Christmas holiday season, and my break started with a bang when I finally went to Whittlebury Hall for a Spa day… on my own!! Last Christmas, so nearly a year ago,  one of my daughters gave me a spa day gift voucher. As she rightly said, I deserved a bit of pampering. Having some ME time has become a must in my life in order to be physically and mentally fit. There was a time when I found it egotistical to look after myself and to do things just for me, but since my health had been put under a lot of strains that year, I no longer feel bad about taking time…