P. D. James visits a house in Flanders • Ben Hopkinson praises his outboard motor • Rowena Macdonald tries self-sufficiency • John Keay goes up the Nile • Frances Donnelly learns about survival • Peter Hobday returns to the Empty Quarter • Penelope Lively lives through the dog days • James Fergusson finds a diary in the attic • Christopher Gibson remembers Mr Simmons