I’ve had a busy few weeks. Amongst other things, I was in the north west and one of the things that came out of that trip was my latest Country Diary, which was published last Friday in The Guardian. Many thanks to Jim Gregg for helping me identify the focus of all the excitement, and of course to the Country Diary editor Paul Fleckney, especially for the stunning photograph of a gar/needlefish.

I always love a visit to the reed beds at Donnybrewer and the views over Lough Foyle aren’t bad either.

Another recent event, as part of the Belfast Book Festival, was the conversation on Nature Writing & Creativity, with ecologist Conor McKinney of, amongst many other things, Wild Belfast; fellow Guardian Country Diarist, as well as award winning nature and science writer, Lev Parikian; and the brilliant poet, Moya Cannon. It was an honour and a joy to chair this conversation among three very different but equally passionate advocates for nature, and to listen to them discuss how we create and respond to “nature” in the current times. I certainly hope there are more of these “hybrid” science and arts events. Thank you all at the Belfast Book Festival, especially Sophie Hayles and Laoise McWilliams, and the Crescent Arts Centre.

Finally, my last creative writing workshop for the time being was delivered on Saturday. It was at a favourite venue of mine, the MarketPlace Theatre and Arts Centre, Armagh. The workshop was on memoir writing, and I was delighted with the attendance, and the great feedback from the participants. It’s always very gratifying when people feel that they have had a useful and rewarding experience. So thanks everyone for your engaging participation and your kind feedback. Hoping to get it up on the relevant page of this site asap.