P.H. Davies's Blog, page 2

Why I agree with Nigella Lawson’s manifesto on healthy living

It’s not a secret that in our house, Nigella Lawson rules supreme when it comes to cooking and eating. We have all of her cookbooks (see guilty picture below) and she is often our go-to for recipes when we’re in the mood to make something tasty. Husband loves Nigella Express, as he enjoyssimple ingredients with no-fuss preparation and a quick turnaround onto the table. I love Nigella Christmas, which is my bible during the festive season. I made her ginger glazed ham for Christmas lunch a cou...

Tom Daley and DLB: Is going public with your relationship such a good idea?

In an interview with Out Magazine published yesterday, gay couple Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black gave a surprisingly revealing interview about how they met, their engagement, and their plans for the future. Surprising because up until now they have been extremely private about their relationship, despite regular postings on Instagram featuring the two lovebirdsgoing about their day-to-day lives.

I should say, before we go on, that this is a smart move on their part – posting pictures of the...

Objective for 2016: to look outside of myself

Writers can be terribly egotistical and often focus too much on themselves. When they do think of others, it’s in relation to their own lives without being overtly aware of the other person’s. They spend far too much time in their heads mulling over their (often trivial) problems and spend even longer writing about these problemsin their journals. Frankly, they need pulling out of their cosseted little worlds of self-examination and instead need to examine the world around them.

I am as guilt...

2015: A very busy year

It’s that time when we all start taking stock of the past year and, in my case, wondering what the hell happened. It has been, without doubt, one of the busiest years of my life and not even intentionally so – it just worked out that way. My job has been incredibly demanding and once again I had to do a lot of travel for work (first world problems, I know, I get it).

But I also had to deal with a lot of work stress and more changes in management and structuring within the team I work in, all...

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to wish allthe readers of my blog a Merry Christmas and for those of you who don’t celebrate this festive season,have a happy holiday. The picture in the featured image above was taken yesterday and although it is officially winter, it is so mild in the UK that it almost feels (worryingly) like spring. So I apologise for the lack of Christmasy snow!Thanks for coming back after such a longhiatus and I promise I’ll have lots of interesting updates in the New Year. All the best for...

I’m back in the game

I’ve been on a fairly prolonged hiatus – six months to be accurate – with no posts and no updates about what I’ve been up to. I recently decided to remedy this and resurrect my blog after almost deleting my entire online profile in a moment of disillusionment back in May. I’ve been blogging for over ten years and there have been times when it has completely taken over my life, especially as I saw rising levels of engagement and was seduced bythese increases in traffic into thinking world domi...

Ten things to do in Oxford

When I moved to Oxford in 2001, I thought it would only be for a couple of months as I had planned to use the move as a stepping-stone to London. Fourteen years later and I’m still here having never quite made it to the Big Smoke. Oxford worked its peculiar magic on me and on the few occasions I’ve tried to leave,this ancient city pulled me back in. Then I met my husband in 2003 and we decided to make our home here. It took me some time to love Oxford – my first experiences were hard going an...

A selection of poems from ‘Sissy’

My new book is out – ‘Sissy: Poems on growing up gay‘ – and to celebrate I thought I would post five poems that feature in it. This is one of the most personal poetry collections I have written and I think it’s also my best work to date. If you would like to purchase a copy, it comes in a low-cost ebook and a print version. Otherwise, enjoy the selection below.

Portrait in Heels, Age Four

A boy is caught in the moment; he hangs within
one second and the next, a parent priming him
for posterit...

New book: ‘Sissy: Poems on growing up gay’

I’m pleased to announce that my new poetry collection, Sissy: Poems on growing up gay, is now available. I’ve been working on this collection for the past eighteen months and I’m glad it’s finally seeing the light of day!

BUY NOW! Print book – 7.99 | eBook – 1.99

The term ‘sissy’ has long been used as a derogatory nickname for effeminate boys who do not fit a prescribed notion of boyhood. This constraining epithet can often lead to violence in the form of bullying and leaves psychological sca...

The secret gay history of Buscot Park

A couple of weeks ago, husband and I visited Buscot Park, a country pile near the town of Faringdon in Oxfordshire. Part of the National Trust, this austere neoclassical house might not be the prettiest of the large houses in the county but it boasts one of the best art collections (equal to Waddesdon Manor) and a rather interesting history.It was built around 1780 for Edward Loveden Townsend and remained in hisfamily until 1859, when it was sold to Robert Tertius Campbell. By1887,thefirst Ba...