Mike has a serious interest in the military history of the area and has assiduously worked his way through the majority of those associated specifically with the Second World War. Below is his assessment of: • how long you should plan to spend there • how much the entry fee is (in view...

Steve Jarvis, by his own admission (see below) came along for the ride but found more to entertain and engage than expected. Better still - because I am no cookist - Steve volunteered to supervise the final heating of Kaye's prepared dishes, delivered in late afternoon.   "I attended the view...

Judy Gillespie signed up for our Reviewers Conference back in April, but a certain volcano meant she was unable to fly out of Edinburgh. Undaunted, this time she resorted to bus and train as being more likely to get her to her destination.   "Leaving Dundee at 6.05am on a dark and rainy view...

A happy wife tends to mean a happy husband, and as Mandy's previous comments were certainly of a positive nature then I had hopes that Mike might be so, too. In fact, he's done us proud with the following: "As someone who is used to rushing off to see sights, the Reading Retreat at Le Rieu was view...

Mandy Jenkinson, reviewer of this parish had the following to say about our very first Readers Gathering: 'I love reading. Books are my passion. I love reading them, discovering new ones, thinking about them, talking about them and discussing them with like-minded people - or even unlike-minded view...

More to come shortly but to start here's Kaye's recipe for Normandy Pork Chops, preceded by Vivienne's verdict:       ‘We had all quickly come to appreciate Kaye’s culinary skills and sense of humour, and looked forward to her car pulling up each afternoon.  view...

This probably doesn't mean much to you but for me to be able to say that there is now a communal laundry at the Reading Retreat is both an achievement and a relief. When I go on holiday I take enough clothes to last me for the duration. Even going somewhere by plane for 2 weeks I'd rather squeeze view...

The fact that there's only one washing machine on site is raising some practical difficulties - until such time as I can run water and power to one of the barns to make a communal laundry area. This became slightly contentious for the Harrisons as they'd been travelling for some days before view...

Just before 10pm last night I arrived home from a gruelling but fun weekend in France. Sue, our usual changeover lady, was back in the UK for a week so I was required to deputise. Although we're some way from genuinely being able to call ourselves a reading retreat the early signs are good. Having view...