Do you know that just like places you go can calm your mind, photos you look at have the same effect?That exact feeling of visual peace is why I’ve been completely obsessed with this little book lately. It’s called Messing About on the River: Mindful Moments from The Wind in the Willows, and honestly, it is pure comfort in physical form.
It takes all the coziest, most grounded moments from the classic story and pairs them with those timeless, nostalgic illustrations by E.H. Shepard. Flipping through the pages genuinely feels like taking a deep breath of fresh air on a slow morning.
If you’re looking for the ultimate thoughtful gift for a book lover in your life—or just want a sweet, aesthetic piece for your coffee table that reminds you to slow down and romanticize nature—this is it.
Why I love it: It’s heartfelt, beautiful to look at, and serves as a gentle nudge to pause.
Who it’s for: Dreamers, nature-lovers, and anyone craving a little more coziness in their routine.
Who on your list would love a read like this? Let me know in the comments!
1. The Pleiades (The 7 Sisters)
As autumn evenings become shorter, one of the sky’s most familiar star groups grows ever more conspicuous. The Pleiades, or Seven Sisters, are a group of young stars in the constellation Taurus, about 440 light-years away. They are normally visible to the naked eye as about 6 points, but using binoculars or a telescope will display many more. Look in the eastern sky and you will see them.
This has been sitting on my mind for a while, and as uncomfortable as it is for me to write about it, I feel like I need to get it out. I have been going over the same thoughts again and again, trying to understand why I feel the way I do. The truth is, I haven’t come to any conclusion. I’m not accusing anyone of anything, and I’m not trying to create a problem where there isn’t one. I genuinely want to look at this with an open mind, which is why I’m bringing it here. Sometimes you can ask a question directly, but sometimes even asking the question can make it seem as though you have already made up your mind or are taking offence. So instead, I want to tell you exactly what happened and let you tell me whether I’m seeing something that isn’t there or whether you understand why I feel a little uncomfortable about the whole situation.
It started with a property I was trying to fence back home. When you are not physically present for a project, you have no choice but to trust people. You have to give people the benefit of the doubt and hope that everything is being handled properly. Unfortunately, I started noticing changes in behaviour from the person handling the fencing. Whenever I tried to communicate or ask questions, I sometimes felt that they were becoming defensive, even when I wasn’t accusing them of anything. Eventually, I became frustrated and decided to pause the project. It was almost finished, but I needed to step back and figure out what to do next.
During that period, I thought about who might be able to help me find someone. One person immediately came to mind: a childhood friend whom I love very much.
We have known each other since we were children. We met in children’s church back home, around the time my family had just moved into the first house my dad built. We were both still in primary school, and somehow that friendship stayed with us as we grew older. Even though we have different ideas about certain things in life, we have always respected each other. We talk about relationships, family, life, beauty, work and all sorts of things.
We have supported each other over the years, even from a distance. When I go back home, we make sure we see each other. She sleeps over at my house, we have gone out together, and we have stayed in touch despite living far apart. Our conversations are so healthy and happy. We talk about beautiful things, family, memories, church, life and whatever else is happening. She is genuinely someone I consider a close friend and sister.
And there is something else I realised while thinking about this situation: I have never asked her to do anything for me. Not because I don't trust her or because there is anything wrong with our friendship. I simply never had a reason to ask. If there was no need for her to do something for me, why would I ask her? It just happened that way.
Then the fencing situation came up.
I knew I needed someone back home who could supervise the work because I wasn’t there. It wasn’t a case of asking her to do the actual fencing. I needed someone who could go to the property, supervise what was happening, make sure things were progressing properly and generally keep an eye on things. Their transport would be paid, and they would also receive a salary for the period, which would probably be a month. If the job was completed before the month was up, they would still receive the full one-month's pay.
I asked my friend if she could help me find someone suitable. She said she would.
At first, I thought nothing of it. I waited. A week passed, then another. We continued talking, but there was no conversation about the person I needed. Eventually, I brought it up myself and asked if she had managed to find anyone. She told me she hadn't.
I said that was fine and told her to take her time, because she also works and life can get so stressful.
Later, she told me she had spoken to someone, but the person hadn't given her a definite answer. Again, I said that was fine. Then she mentioned another person who might be able to do it, although she wasn't sure whether that person would be willing to take on the supervising role.
She told me different people said they were interested but she would message me last minute and say they backed off. I told her to take her time and if she needed anything, she should let me know. I always expressed how grateful I was for the help.
Eventually, she told me she had spoken to four more persons. It was already getting to 3 months. I remember thinking, “Okay, which one do you think is most suitable?”
She told me about one person who seemed willing to take the job and said they had agreed to everything. I told her to send the person all the necessary information. The next step was simply to take this person to the property so they could see the location before starting.
Then the day came.
What would you do if someone stole a huge amount of money from you, you knew exactly who did it, and the police couldn’t help you? Would you walk away and accept that the money is gone, or would you find a way to get it back yourself? What if getting your money back meant becoming just as clever, patient and calculated as the person who stole it? At what point does getting justice become revenge?
These are the questions that came to mind while reading Jeffrey Archer’s Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less. The story begins with Harvey Metcalfe, a wealthy and extremely experienced con man who knows exactly how to make people trust him. He manages to convince four very different men that they are making a brilliant investment in an oil company. They put their money in, believing they have made a smart financial decision, only to discover that the whole thing was a carefully planned scam.
The four men are left with nothing, but what makes this story interesting is that they don't simply accept defeat. They realise they have all been victims of the same man, and instead of waiting for the police to somehow fix everything, they decide to take matters into their own hands.
What follows is not the kind of revenge where people simply lose their tempers and start throwing punches. These men are educated, intelligent and patient. They study Harvey. They watch him. They learn what makes him tick and then begin creating their own little traps for him.
And honestly, this is where the book got me.
You know what Harvey has done. You know he deserves to lose the money. But then you start wondering whether the four men are really any better once they begin deceiving him themselves. I found myself almost rooting for them while also thinking, “How far are you actually willing to go?”
The title tells you exactly what they want: not a penny more, not a penny less. They don't want Harvey's entire fortune. They want what he took from them.
Our little big adventure really did not want to end at Tannoch Loch. After leaving Tannoch Loch, we got back in the car and started heading home, but then we saw Drumclog Moor Car Park and something in me said, wait, why are people parking here? What is actually around here? So we drove past, then reversed and decided to have a look. I am glad we did because this little decision took us somewhere we had completely missed earlier in the day. There was a map, so this time we actually stood there and looked at it properly, and that was when I realised there was something else around Mugdock Country Park that we had not seen: Mugdock Reservoir. Remember how I told you we had gone looking for Mugdock Castle earlier and somehow ended up at Craigend Castle instead? Well, apparently we had been walking around Mugdock without fully understanding just how much was around us. This time, with the map in front of us, we could see the reservoir and decided to walk towards it.
When we got closer, I could see the water properly and honestly, it was lovely. Some sections were fenced and protected, which I completely understand because this is a working reservoir and not somewhere you should simply wander wherever you want. But we found a section where we could get a much better view, and I was immediately taking photographs. I was also a little nervous because I had to walk across some of the metal structures and, as much as I appreciate human intelligence, I still have that little voice in my head asking, "Are you sure this thing is going to hold you?" I was very conscious of every step I took on those metal sections, but then I stopped and looked around and thought about what I was actually standing on. This wasn't just some random structure. It was part of a Victorian engineering project that had been designed more than 160 years ago to bring clean water to Glasgow. The whole thing suddenly felt much bigger than the pretty view I had been photographing. Mugdock Reservoir was constructed between 1855 and 1859 as part of the Glasgow Corporation Water Works and the Loch Katrine water supply scheme. The scheme was driven forward by Glasgow's Lord Provost Robert Stewart and designed under the direction of the engineer John Frederic La Trobe Bateman, who had identified Loch Katrine as the right source for Glasgow's growing need for clean water. The water traveled from Loch Katrine through an enormous system of tunnels, aqueducts and other infrastructure before reaching Mugdock Reservoir near Milngavie. The original aqueduct was around 26 miles long, and much of it was constructed using gravity, meaning the water could make its journey without being pumped all the way from the Highlands. Mugdock therefore became an important storage reservoir at the end of this remarkable system. Queen Victoria formally opened the first Loch Katrine scheme in 1859, and it became fully operational in 1860.