It’s half term so as part of their fun packed holiday schedule I took boys to explore Hatfield Forest. The National Trust park is a mix of woodland, open grassland, marsh and a lake. Hatfield Forest is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 with records going back +900 years. It was a Royal hunting park and some of the churches close by are built from the bricks of Roman villas. Boys managed about two and a half hours walking – they are in training for arrival of “the dog”. Read More >

Audley End House is an English Heritage property literally a 10 minute walk down the road from us in Saffron Walden. August and I went for a walk around the gardens, stroked the horses, bought something in the shop and investigated the servants quarters including the kitchens, game stores, dairy and laundry. Read More >

Last weekend we opened/converted our gallery/home for the second time. On this occasion we asked photographer Richard Legge and illustrator David Sparshott to join us. Read More >

A few shots of the annual steam fair – I particularly enjoyed the collection of small contraptions used to perform simple tasks like pump water up to the top floor of a building site, or to power lights. The smell was fantastic. These events bring everyone out – a real cross-section of the local community. Read More >

It’s the Easter Holiday, so took August to the Museum of Zoology – Cambridge’s version of The Natural History Museum. They have skeletons of various whales, a giraffe, elephant, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, monkeys and a 20ft tall giant prehistoric sloth. Read More >

Research Studios London (Liverpool Road) 1997 – 2000: starring Daniel Borck, Jason Bailey, Jeff Knowles, Marco Ammannati, Sandra Steinebruner and Neville Brody. Read More >

Afternoon walk tracing the river Stort in Clavering. Presently, not so much a river as a shallow trickling stream. The water is clear and collects in deep pools. The banks are silty and beach like. But the river swells considerably after heavy rain, creating a wide avenue. Read More >

Into town to drop off a copy of the Typo Circle poster at CST’s new office in St Katharine’s Dock. In the early 80′s my Dad kept a boat there. The Thames was a much scruffier place then. Read More >

I took August to the pier at Walton-on-the-Naze this afternoon. Still very much out of season despite the half term holidays so no waiting to get on the rides, most of which haven’t changed a great deal since the 80′s. Read More >

Michelle has a show starting this weekend at the i2 Art Gallery here in Saffron Walden. Details of her new limited edition screen print created with Up The Arts is now available from her web site www.michelle-thompson.com Read More >