My Year in Books 2024: March

Just one book on this month's list. It's been a busy few weeks, and I haven't had a lot of time for reading. It's a good book, though, and one I'd definitely recommend!

If you'd like to see my other reviews from this year so far, they're here: January, February

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce (2020)

I’ve really enjoyed the other books by Rachel Joyce that I’ve read, particularly (as will come as no surprise) The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. I was a little trepidatious about this one as it’s not set in the present day, and I’m not a massive fan of historical fiction. Okay, the 1950s isn’t the most historical you can get, so it wasn’t too much of a worry. The Miss Benson of the title is Margery Benson, a woman in her mid-forties who has led a pretty mundane and unfulfilling life. Margery works as a domestic science teacher, earning very little money and absolutely no respect from her colleagues or her students. Since she was a girl, Margery has dreamt of travelling to New Caledonia in search of a golden beetle that may or may not exist. One day, pushed to the edge, Margery walks out of her job, places an ad in the paper for an assistant, and starts making plans to go. Unfortunately, her advert doesn’t get the calibre of applicants she was hoping, and she somehow ends up boarding the ship with a younger woman called Enid Pretty, who is literally the antithesis of Margery. It’s not too much of a spoiler to say these two women will discover an unexpected friendship, and it’s also not a spoiler to say (in a book by Rachel Joyce) that this discovery will be both joyful and melancholy. But mostly joyful. The ending made me cry as well, as expected.

Events in April 2024

Nature Walk in the Woods
Monday 1st April
11.00–12noon
Friends of Bailey's Wood
Dr A.P. Rankster will be leading a gentle, social walk in the woods... with a twist!
Booking Link

Virtual Writing Retreat
Sunday 21st April
10.30–5.00pm
Hannah's Bookshelf
I'm hosting an online writing retreat for creative writers with writing exercises and structured writing sessions
Members Event

Spring Equinox: Day 7

It's the big day! The culmination of our week of Spring Equinox celebrations (and the equinox itself, of course)! And I had lots of things planned for today.

Bailey’s Wood Walk and Talk

First up, I led a Spring Equinox Walk and Talk session for Friends of Bailey's Wood, spotting all the signs that spring has sprung in the woods (with cake and Vimto afterwards).

Castlerea Poetry in the Park

After the woods, I took the housemates from Castlerea Care Home to Crumpsall Park for a Spring Equinox Poetry in the Park session. We had a lovely time, with seasonal poetry and snacks, and a wander round the park looking for daffodils, blossom and buds.

Gingerbread Popcorn

A little late afternoon seasonal snack (it's got a rabbit on the packet so I'm counting it)... Gingerbread Popcorn from Joe and Seph's!

Spring Equinox Dinner

This evening, Rob cooked us the traditional Spring Equinox dinner of Vegetable Paella.

Spring Equinox Gifts

And we exchanged our traditional Spring Equinox gifts and cards. These whiskies will go into our tasting sets to be enjoyed in December.

Night of the Lepus

We watched our (now) traditional Ostara film tonight... Night of the Lepus!


And so the wheel of the year turns. We'll be celebrating again at Beltane.

Spring Equinox: Day 6

The penultimate day of our Spring Equinox celebrations was a pretty quiet one, due to work commitments. No reason not to get a little seasonal treat though...

Spring Equinox Donut

It's a mini egg donut!

Spring Equinox: Day 5

Rob was on a long shift today, so I decided to spend the day mostly wandering around (sometimes by myself, sometimes with others).

A Walk in Crumpsall Park

First up, I had a meeting in the park with Friends of Crumpsall Park. And I spotted the first of the daisies!

Milk Cake and Chai

After the park meeting, I walked over to You, Me and Tea in Crumpsall for some Pistachio Milk Cake and Pink Chai (which both looked suitably seasonal).

A Walk in Blackley Forest

Then after the cake, I wandered through Blackley Forest for a bit, enjoying some springtime peace and quiet.

A Walk in Heaton Park

Later on in the afternoon, me and my mum went for a little walk in Heaton Park.

Bailey’s Wood Spring Equinox Walk

Finally, I led a community Spring Equinox Walk in the Woods for the Friends of Bailey's Wood, sharing stories and folklore of the season.

Spring Equinox: Day 4

Our fourth day of celebrating the upcoming Spring Equinox, and we decided to head out for a picnic.

Picnic at Haughton Dale

We went for a picnic in Haughton Dale today. It was nice to wander round, looking for signs of spring in the woods. We saw a lot of blossom, heard a lot of bird song, and then accidentally watched some frogs having sex. Spring is truly in the air!

Seasonal Tea

Took a slightly meditative moment to enjoy spring in the woods with a seasonal tea. This one was Cream Egg tea from Bird and Blend.

Spring Equinox: Day 3

Another day of celebrating the beginning of spring, and today was a bit of a busy one. Lots of seasonal fun today!

Crumpsall Park Spring Equinox Walk

I started the day by leading a Spring Equinox walk for Friends of Crumpsall Park. The sun was shining, and it was warmer than it's been, so it really did feel like spring was in the air.

Blossom Watch

On the way home from the park I saw two beautiful cherry blossom trees in bloom. They look like candy floss!

Hannah’s Bookshelf Spring Equinox Special

Today was the first ever Spring Equinox Special on Hannah's Bookshelf, my weekly radio show on North Manchester FM. I talked about spring folklore, played some spring-themed music, and then shared some original Equinox-inspired bite-size short stories by contributors to the show. I also made some more white chocolate and Parma Violets cupcakes for the volunteers at the centre where our studio is based.

Chocolate Popcorn

Okay, this one's advertised as an Easter treat, but as far as I'm concerned anything with a bunny rabbit on the packet is perfect for the Spring Equinox! Little snack for after my radio show... Trio of Chocolate Popcorn from Joe and Seph's!

Ostara Wax Melts

We bought a new wax diffuser last year, but we couldn't use it at Imbolc in case it aggravated the horrible coughs we got with one of the many colds we've had so far this year. But we've fired it up for spring, and this season we've got bunny rabbit shaped Black Plum and Rhubarb melts from Mysteria Melts.

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by Candlelight

Going to see a performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons by Piccadilly Sinfonietta is now an annual tradition for us. It was part of our Imbolc celebrations for the past two years, but this year their performance at St Ann's Church fell during our Spring Equinox celebrations. It felt like this made more sense, as the Four Seasons does start with spring after all!

Hot Cross Bun Pie

We stopped off at McDonald's on the way home from the concert. Again, this seems like it might have been intended as an Easter special, but I think a Hot Cross Bun pie is seasonal enough for the Spring Equinox.

Spring Equinox: Day 2

Our second day of celebrating the Spring Equinox, and this one was a pretty important one. It was our tenth wedding anniversary!

Spring Cupcakes

I made some spring-themed cupcakes for a meeting I was running at work today. They were flavoured with white chocolate and Parma Violets, and decorated with daisies. And yes, the Parma Violets were leftover trick-or-treat sweets from last Halloween. I'm continuing my plan to use them all to decorate seasonal cakes before Halloween comes around again.

Wedding Cake Tea

As it was our anniversary, my tea break drink of choice was Wedding Cake by Bird and Blend.

Wedding Anniversary Dinner

We went out for dinner at Croma in Prestwich with our parents tonight to celebrate our anniversary. I took the personalized topper from our wedding cake as a little reminder of our day all those years ago.

Wedding Anniversary Gifts

It was our tin anniversary, so we both got each other tin gifts. Unsurprisingly, we both went with Cornish tin (as it's also ten years since our first lovely holiday to Lizard). As we were both thinking about Cornwall, I also got Rob a surprise delivery of his favourite pasties from Ann's Pasties (they're not on the picture as they were in the freezer by the time I got home).