Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

Before we start, I'd just like to clarify that I understand that Thanksgiving began as a way for Americans to celebrate everything over on their side of the pond. But why has this Americanised holiday escaped the UK consciousness and yet we're force-fed a new commercialisation of Halloween, Black Friday and Valentine's Day?     I'd love to just give thanks for everything I have and the people around me. I'm fortunate to have got through some pretty tricky moments in the last few years and am enjoying relatively good health, with lots of good people around me (at least metaphorically).     So why don't we take time on Thursday to join our American cousins in giving thanks? We don't have to eat turkey and whatever pies they seem to have invented.     Let's do it. I'm giving thanks for my children, parents, friends, pets, home, community and work. What are you thankful for?

Another favourite album of 2019 from the fabulous Jacob Collier.     Read my review for Kind of Jazz here.

Today is another significant day - when I saw the images of the Berlin Wall coming down 30 years ago, I had no idea what an important moment it would be in my own life.     I had spent five years since graduating, travelling the world and had even settled down (for a few months) in Hong Kong. I'd just returned to London in autumn 1989 and thought I ought to get a 'proper' job. After staying with friends for a few weeks, I found a room in a flat in Little Venice, which I loved. I used to cycle across town, often leaving my bike chained to railings while I spent the night in Ronnie Scott's - emerging into the early morning light to cycle home.     Temping as a secretary was fairly unfulfilling, but then I was offered a job working for the Producer of 'The Wall', Berlin 1990 . I spent the next year working on the production, including follow-up work back in London. I got to know Berlin well. A fall on site led to a trip into East Berlin to a hospital - it was ...

There is evidence of compost in action. This morning I saw this lorry (in the picture below, it's top right, as it's driving away) deposit a load of compost onto the fields, ready to be spread. It's good to see where some of our household waste is actually doing good.     Nice work from West London Composting and our local farmer.

Rod Wood's third book is an epic description of his second adventure in Kenya. It's a true delight to read; one feels like a participant on this life-changing journey.     Reading Kenya : A Mountain to Climb  was a pleasure. The author takes you with him through every step of this arduous expedition. Along the way, he considers the lives of the people he encounters and the challenges they face - as individuals and as a community.     This is an exploration of more than a country and a mountain. It takes in some of these big issues many of us are trying to confront and address head on, including the climate emergency, conservation and interactions between man and beast.     I'd recommend this - it would make a great Christmas present for anyone who has ever been to Kenya or wishes they could travel there. And for more of us, besides. There are big issues here that Wood delves into in an engaging way.     Find out more about Rod and or...

I've changed  tactics in October - no longer do I "Tut" as I pass a piece of dropped litter. Now I stop and pick it up. it's simply carried to the closest bin or taken home and recycled. I realised today that  most of my rubbish is now collected while dog walking.     So, here are a few of my litter picking hauls from October: