“You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you” – Mr Darcy

I've been traipsing the local dales in the Peak District like a Jane Austen heroine but have yet to bump into any dark handsome gentlemen on any of my walks.  This is where Mr Darcy lived in Pride and Prejudice, hence the title quote and my desire for a romantic “meet cute”, which alas has so...

Quaint and clichéd or quintessentially English?

It’s an incomplete list but it includes morris dancing, brass bands, church bells and hedgerows.  I used to be a bit cynical and even a tad sarcastic about these sorts of things but now I am finding them more endearing. I grew up in a small town in Northern England where morris dancing was part...