Sarah Walker

United Kingdom

Freelance Food Editor at HELLO! Magazine

Writer and Editor at Freelance

Editor INDEX magazine, freelance food editor HELLO!, all-round busy person and Natasha's personal taxi driver

Articles

The many peaks and troughs of families and friendships

1 week ago | darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk | Sarah Walker

Gurli Svith from Denmark wrote: “Your column on friendship touched me very much because I have a very good friend I have known since I was 14 and she was 12. She was going to start at my school and came to my home to ask if we could cycle together. "That was the beginning and now being 76 and 74 we are still close friends. We do not meet very often but when we do it is as if we saw each other just yesterday. We can talk about everything, and we have helped each other through hard times.
No stone unturned: How would this huge beast of a trough get into a garden?

1 month ago | darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk | Sarah Walker

3 1/1 Do you remember a while back I wrote about stone masons, and the incredible skills that went into creating the distinctive masonry that features in many homes on the North York Moors? Masons had their own particular way of marking, and the "posher" homes often featured the more labour-intensive herringbone pattern, while more basic patterns were used for less fancy constructions.
TOWN CRIERS - Emmons County Record

1 month ago | ecrecord.com | Sarah Walker

March 12, 2025 – It’s a “flock” of geese and a “murder” of crows, but what do you call a large group of town criers? On this date in 1929, the Park Hotel in Killdeer was full of them! They had gathered in Killdeer for their regular Town Criers meeting. The Killdeer Herald reported that it “was a capacity affair. […]
Picturing the future: How will we look back on family history?

Feb 9, 2025 | darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk | Sarah Walker

I’ve had a few more comments about the conundrums we face when making decisions about what to do with all the stuff we accumulate over our lifetimes. Should we leave it for our loved ones to deal with after we’ve gone, or should we get rid of it ourselves before we shuffle off this mortal coil? Are those we leave behind interested in the stories behind the things we treasure, or could they not care less?
A doze of the flew: The burden of the unwell columnist

Jan 26, 2025 | darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk | Sarah Walker

2 1/1 When I took over writing this weekly column from my dad in 2017, I was aware that it came with a number of burdens. Firstly, to step into my dad’s shoes, which are substantial, secondly, to do that every single week for 52 weeks a year, and thirdly, to keep coming up with interesting stuff to write about. Fulfilling those requirements becomes even more difficult when you are feeling below par.
Time for decisions: A rare and exciting example of clockmaker's work

Jan 18, 2025 | darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk | Sarah Walker

Following my column about the Hugh Pannell clock owned by Arkansas-resident Sandra Parkerson, David Severs has been in touch. David is a descendant of the 18th Century Northallerton clockmaker and was able to provide some useful historical context about it. If you recall, the grandfather clock has been in Sandra’s family for more than 200 years, but she is looking to find it a home because it will be too big to take to a new apartment.
Audiobooks and the joy of listening to authors read their own work

Dec 7, 2024 | darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk | Sarah Walker

I’ve had some interesting comments from readers following my recent mentions of listening to audiobooks. I spend a lot of time driving and use that time to catch up on books that I otherwise would not get to read. One book led me to anger (about serial killers that was so awful that I stopped after the first chapter) but I have thoroughly enjoyed most of the others, including Bill Bryson’s Road to Little Dribbling.
'I've tried everything to help dogs terrified by fireworks'

Nov 23, 2024 | darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk | Sarah Walker

In response to my column about binning the bang in fireworks, reader John Gallon contacted me. I believe retailers should sell low-noise fireworks, and not stock very loud ones at all due to the impact they have on our pets, livestock and wildlife. I love fireworks for the beautiful spectacle they provide, rather than for the accompanying noise. John says: “I agree with you totally concerning noisy fireworks, there is no need. But fireworks with a bang are over in a second.
Why we have to be careful when criticising other writers

Nov 16, 2024 | darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk | Sarah Walker

I have been listening to Bill Bryson’s audiobook on my travels, which was has been very entertaining (Image: Sarah Walker) I have been contacted by a reader named Ron who, commenting on my recent ranty column about people getting their words wrong, said: “It reminded me of a local writer who was critical of another local writer (who was, by then, dead so could not respond).
From darkness comes light: Ticking off a bucket list item - in my back garden

Nov 9, 2024 | darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk | Sarah Walker

Do you have a bucket list? Things you’d like to do before you pop your clogs? Bucket-list items I’ve ticked include seeing the Wimbledon Men’s Final, hang gliding, high diving, flying in a small aircraft, eating at the swanky Black Swan in Oldstead, seeing a starling murmuration, visiting New York, Asia and Australia, and seeing David Bowie, Queen, U2 and the Foo Fighters live in concert. Those above span a 30-year period, so 2024 has been a bit of a bumper one in comparison.