Sandi Beaumont in Italy

Life Thoughts and Experiences

My Dad loved painting with watercolours and while I’ve dabbled a couple of times, it’s only now that I’ve decided to see if he has passed on his gift to me. I’ve enrolled on a day’s watercolour class, Plein Air,

Six of us set out from Cuenca for Vilcabamba on a wet Saturday morning. The monotony of the four-and-a-half-hour journey by minibus was broken by much storytelling, laughter and, of course, a stop for lunch at one of the many

One Day – a street dog’s story It’s been a cold night. I can’t control the shivering that wracks my body. My bones ache as I pull myself from the hollow that’s been my home for the last few months.

I’m off to India! India? Why when you’re approaching the grand old age of 75? I hear you ask. As with China, (read about my adventures in No More Cups of Tea), India is a country I’ve always wanted to

There’s a great British expat community here in Cuenca and it was through the groups Whatsapp feed that I first heard of Joseph Kennedy. He’d recently interviewed John Lay, another Brit, who it turns out, worked with Jools Holland. The

As a British expat, living in Ecuador, I occasionally get a craving for baked beans on toast. Sadly, our local supermarket doesn’t stock much in the way of British produce.  Undeterred, I set about trying to find a recipe that

Mangoes are in season just before Christmas here in Ecuador, those lovely rosey red, sweet fruits that remind me of sunset back home. Besides loving them in salads, I also love making a chutney with them, great with cheese and

Juicy pineapples are available all year round here in Cuenca, so when shopping in our local market one day, I decided to buy a couple and try my hand at making a deliciously tangy pineapple and ginger chutney to go