My Top Ten Books of 2025
Christmas is just around the corner and the end of 2025 will be upon us soon too. 2025 has been my biggest reading year ever. Last year I read 53 books which I thought was pretty impressive but so far in 2025, I’m reading book 97 (“Murder Sky High” by Linda Hagan) and hope to…
Breast Cancer Now fundraising exceeds £3700
All roads led to Lurgan’s Brownlow House last Saturday when Action Cancer’s annual Christmas Craft Fair was taking place. One of the stands was run by an amazing group of ladies with a diagnosis of secondary breast cancer who were raising funds for Breast Cancer Now. Over the last few months, they have been busy…
Books of the month – November 2025
This month I have “branched out” and turned my focus on to Irish authors, both north and south of the border. As we are a nation of storytellers, it’s no surprise that they are all five star reads even though the books are very different. There is a mixture of crime, romance, drama, history and…
The Christmas Craft Fair
Lurgan’s Brownlow House is the place to be on Saturday 22nd November from 10am to 3pm. It’s the impressive venue for a Christmas Craft Fair which is run by Action Cancer. Lots of talented crafters will be there showcasing their products including a group of amazing ladies with a diagnosis of secondary breast cancer who…
Books of the month – October 2025
I have read four very different books this month but all five star reads. “Deadline” is a debut thriller written by TV personality Steph McGovern whereas “The Nightingale” is a historical fiction story set in France during the Second World War. We then travel across the Atlantic to Washington State to meet Marcellus the octopus…
Autumn – a time to hibernate?
“Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun.” This is an extract from the “To Autumn” poem written by English romantic poet John Keats and it was published in 1820. Perhaps you remember it from your school days? But the “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” is definitely upon us now as the…
Books of the month – September 2025
Autumn is just around the corner so it’s a good time to stock up on books, whether it’s from your local library, a charity shop, a bookshop or online. Here are some ideas about you could read next. It’s a bit of a mixed bag this month – some of the books are big hits…
Bloom where you are planted
A few summers ago, I was walking part of the North Down Coastal Path near Holywood when I came across some dog daisies growing out of a wall. (Apologies to all gardeners who know the correct botanical name for this plant!). Clearly, the dog daisies had not been formally planted there by a gardener but…
Books of the month – August 2025
Last month, I published my first blog about my books of the month for July. Feedback was really positive so many thanks for everyone who commented. I’ve therefore decided to do it again and I look forward to hearing your thoughts. As before, I’ve rated them out of five with five stars being excellent and…
Turning Sixty
Sixty is one of those milestones in life – like 18, 21, 30, 40, 50 and then there is 60! Is it the start of old age? Well, I’d rather think not. Instead I’d rather see it as 50 plus 10 – sounds a bit younger doesn’t it? I had my 60th birthday on 8th…
Books of the month – July 2025
Do you like to read but have difficulty selecting the next book to read? As an avid reader, I often depend on recommendations from friends as to what to read next. I therefore thought I would share with you some of my recent reads. I’ve rated them out of five with five stars being the…
Beware of the scammers
Have you ever been scammed? Having worked for the Northern Bank in my early career, I naively thought that I would be able to spot a scammer easily and wouldn’t be sucked in by their sneaky ploys. But I was totally wrong and last week, I became another victim of a very sophisticated team of…
Focus on what you can do
Last year I hurt my lower back and as a result, there are certain tasks that I struggle to do independently. Sometimes this really annoys me but instead of dwelling on what I “can’t” do, I have to focus on what I “can” do. Friends and family are brilliant at bridging the gap but they…
Perseverance
A few weeks ago, my eldest son Jonny completed the Belfast Marathon after running 26.2 miles around the streets of Belfast. It was the culmination of many months of training but on the day, he had to persevere to get to the finishing line. It was definitely a “proud Mummy” moment as I found him…
How to spend less time on your mobile phone
Do you ever feel that you spend too much time on your mobile phone? I certainly do between WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok, BBC News not to mention research on Google. Apparently the average person spends at least four hours per day on their phone! That’s a staggering amount of time to spend but there are also…
My Top Rambles of 2023
A belated happy new year to you – it’s still January so I think I can get away with it! I’ve made a resolution to blog more frequently in 2024 as well as to continue rambling. I finished my 200 rambles challenge of 2023 on 31st December 2023 at Helen’s Bay on the shores of Belfast…
Singing the blues away
Every month, I travel to the seaside town of Newcastle for my seaweed bath. Not only do I enjoy the hot and relaxing sea water packed with healthy detoxifying seaweed, I enjoy a good singalong to Abba. So is it just the seaweed bath which brings me health benefits but is it the case that…
Crosswords
When did you last do a crossword? Was it weeks, months or even years ago? Or are you one of those people that enjoy completing a crossword every day? I’m actually a regular crossworder as I normally complete three or four per week and even carry a crossword book in my handbag! But are there…
What is self-care?
“Self-care” is a term that I hear bandied about regularly. At times of stress, the advice seems to be “increase self-care” and you will be grand or at least able to cope with the stress in a better way. But what actually is self-care? In this blog, I will attempt to unravel the topic –…
Variety is the spice of life
Did you know that the phrase ‘variety is the spice of life’ comes from William Cowper’s 1785 poem The Task: “Variety is the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavour”? But do you agree with this or do you prefer to stick to the same things every day? I think there are…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
About Me
Hi, I’m Lynda Willis. I’m from Co Armagh and have created Lynda’s Rambles to tell people about my walks (rambles) as well as rambling about topics which are close to my heart. I hope you enjoy my blogs and I look forward to your comments.
