The Food of Mallorca – Culinary Heritage and Must Try Dishes in Palma: I’m standing on the stairs leading down to an ancient kitchen in one of Palma’s bakeries, Fornet de la Socà. The baker standing in front of the now disused wood oven, the oldest in Palma, is carefully teasing out his dough for […]
Palma de Mallorca – Sun, Sand and Special Shops!
Emblematic Shops in Palma de Mallorca: (invited press review) What comes to mind when you think of Mallorca? For me, it’s beaches, nightlife, bars and restaurants. A holiday vibe and a happy place with a great Marina. We can easily forget is that places like Palma existed before the Brits arrived and for that matter […]
The Mayflower, Plymouth UK – Sailing for the New World
Plymouth – The Departure of the Mayflower, the Demise of The Speedwell: She is open and leakie as a sieve; and thr was a bourde, a man might have puld of with his fingers, 2 foote longe, wher ye water cam in as it at a mole hole. I thinke, as others also, if we […]
County Durham – Seaham Sea Glass and a Heritage Spa Hotel – Seaham Hall.
Seaham, County Durham – Byron, the Beach, a Spa and Sea Glass. Arrive at Seaham Hall at dusk to a stunning classic mansion fronted by a striking contemporary water feature. First impressions count – mine was one of fascination. I’m used to the juxtaposition of old and new, but the water feature at the approach to […]
The Mayflower Pilgrims in Delfshaven
Delfshaven and the Mayflower Pilgrims departure for the New World: In 1608 a group of religious Separatists who ultimately became known as the Mayflower Pilgrims escaped from England and made their way briefly to Amsterdam before the Mayflower Pilgrims settled for 11 years in Leiden. Here they enjoyed enough freedom to pursue their religious life as […]
Things to do on a short visit to Winchester
Top places to visit in historic Winchester An introduction to Winchester: Winchester is a beautiful, historic, city in Hampshire known today for the Cathedral, connections to Jane Austen and a famous Public School, Winchester College. It was also the ancient capital of Wessex and some say of England! In 827, Egbert, the first king of […]
Penzance, Cornwall – Things to Do
Things to do in Penzance, West Cornwall: The historic town of Penzance is an ideal base from which to explore West Cornwall, an area of outstanding beauty, with fishing ports, sandy coves, gardens, old tin mines and the Minack Theatre. Here are a few of the things you shouldn’t miss on a visit to Penzance […]
Visit Arbroath – Smokies and the Declaration of Arbroath
Visiting Arbroath – A Tale of Scottish Independence and Smoked Fish Arbroath is a small Scottish fishing town on the coast just north of Dundee and about an hour and a half drive from Edinburgh. It has two main claims to fame – the Arbroath Smokie and an ancient Abbey where the Declaration of Arbroath […]
The Story of Salisbury – Things to Do in Salisbury Wiltshire
History of Salisbury – the oldest ‘New Town’ in England – Things to Do in Salisbury Despite living in Wiltshire a few years ago, I haven’t visited Salisbury for a lot longer. In fact, it was half a century ago. We lived in the area when I was a kid so I remember trips to […]
Mary Arden’s Farm, the Tudor Kitchen and the Art of Chocolate.
The Tudor Kitchen at Mary Arden’s Farm and some Twenty-First Century Chocolate Making in Shakespeare’s England: Quintessentially English countryside and villages around Stratford-upon-Avon seems, in my fanciful eyes, remarkably unchanged since Tudor times. The narrow lanes lined with hedges, timber-framed houses, castles and manor houses in themselves are enough to take any visitor a step back history. […]