Spooky Half Term at Stratford Butterfly Farm
For half-term and Halloween fun, head to Stratford-upon-Avon’s award-winning Butterfly Farm, Ann Evans has the details. Visitors can enjoy a spooky half term at Stratford’s Butterfly Farm from...
Jeni on Drawing – 1
I can’t remember not drawing. Over the years I have put a lot of thought into the whys and wherefores of this delicious activity, especially when I started...
Harry’s Ramblings Television notoriety
by Harry Pope I have had three stabs at television fame, two almost successful, the third an abject failure. The first started with an advert in the London Evening...
Mumbai Memoir 137- Fiction time during lockdown!
Recently Mumbai has opened up on various fronts. Though Mumbai’s railway service is still not operational, people are moving around in buses & private vehicles for their work and...
“Le Blue Denim Gin”, the new gin born in Camargue – Meanderings through France n° 222
By Annick Dournes & Frédéric de Poligny After years of testing imagining new recipes and different processes a French couple from Nimes have created a unique Mediterranean gin....
Malta Diary Intricate, precious and a labour of love – but very sadly dying out The art and skill of hand-woven Malta and Gozo cotton lace
ALBERT FENECH e/mail – Facebook: In Maltese, the word “bizilla” primarily means an intricate handmade lace weave in a significant pattern. However, the word...
Taxi Noir: Behind the Silk Curtain
It’s fair to say that food plays a central role in my life. My working day is planned around meal times, and when I’m not working, I’m either eating...
A Visit to Allesley Park, Coventry
Ann Evans continues to explore Coventry’s parks. This week we visit Allesley Park. While many of us are not venturing much further than our own doorsteps at the...
Two Great New CDs.
Broken Road by Ben Hemming Ben Hemming’s fourth album, recorded in Norway at Velvet Recordings, was produced by Nick Terry (The Libertines, Ian Brown, The Klaxtons.) Nu-Bluesman Ben said,...
Harry’s Ramblings Seafront Refreshment
by Harry Pope Eastbourne’s seafront is unique in the whole of the UK. Why? Because no commercial outlets are allowed on the seafront, due to it being owned since...
A sunny autumn city-break in Athens – World Meanderings (n°100)
By Annick Dournes & Frederic de Poligny Being just back from a three weeks tour in Greece we can assure you that Greece is one of the...
Malta Diary Valletta’s St John’s Co-Cathedral – one of the most renowned and beautiful in the world
Baroque art and history at its best ALBERT FENECH e/mail: salina46af@gmail,com Facebook: There were two aspects to the Knight Hospitaliers of the Order of St John of Jerusalem;...
Welsh Witterings: Simple Cake Memories
As a mother of five I have many books on cooking with children, which I leaf through and sigh, ‘wouldn’t it be wonderful to whip up a three tiered,...
Karl’s Chronicles; Hailsham – A Town Less Ordinary
Take a walk through any small town with its row of retail, a cluster of banks, net-curtained tea rooms, an austere parish church, and perhaps like a disorganised uncle,...
Anna Maria Island, Florida Anna Maria’s charming island life
Anna Maria Island is a seven mile long barrier island on the Gulf of Mexico, between Tampa Bay and Sarasota, in Florida’s Manatee County With the adjoining Longboat Key...
Rachel´s Wanderings – Photographer, Stunning Scenery and Figgy Bread
A travelling interlude in this time of uncertainty was a welcome break. A break that took us to a town of inland Andalucia that we hadn´t been to before –...
Pedalo-ing in the Park
“Come in number 6” we heard from the banks of The Serpentine. Our hour of discovery was up. We pedalled fast and steered our bright blue floating fibreglass boat...
“La Grande Odyssée”, the most spectacular dog sled race in Europe – Meanderings through France n° 221
By Annick Dournes & Frédéric de Poligny Once again from 9 to 20 January 2021 international mushers and their dogs will be ready to conquer one...
Malta Diary When Malta turned RED – not politically but in bricks, stone and mortar!
Sadly most of these buildings are no longer with us ALBERT FENECH e/mail: salina46af@gmail,com Facebook: Perhaps not many people are aware of the effect of different colours...
Think 4×4 anywhere in the world and Toyota percolates to the top
IAIN ROBERTSON Not intended as an insult to Land Rover, emphasises Iain Robertson, although jingoists may read it that way, venturing off the beaten track has been a Toyota...
Caludon Castle Park
Photos by Rob Tysall and Ann Evans Ann Evans discovers the local parks in Coventry; this week it’s Caludon Castle Park. If nothing else, the restrictions imposed...
Beautiful Botanical Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a fascinating collection of living plants, trees and shrubs, either ‘growing out’ in the vast parklands or in the historic glasshouses and nurseries....
Harry’s Ramblings Cricket disaster
by Harry Pope When I was a lad in the 1950s, Sir Harry Secombe lived, like me, in Cheam. This is a suburb of Sutton on the northern border...
Mumbai Memoir 136 – Mumbai in Picture Postcards!
‘Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’- This popular quote actually means its ‘perception’ that matters. The city of Mumbai has its own good, bad and ugly side...
Back to Greece: Zakynthos Island could boast being Greece paradise island
Back to Greece. Zakynthos Island could boast being Greece paradise island By Annick Dournes & Frédéric de Poligny Even if you won’t find any ancient Greek monument on...
Malta Diary The Royal Naval Bighi Hospital – one of the best in Europe during its era Now an interactive Esplora science and technology museum and a major attraction
ALBERT FENECH e/mail: salina46af@gmail,com Facebook: Villa Bighi is one of the most iconic buildings on the inner rim of the majestic Valletta Grand Harbour. The central original villa...
Taxi Noir: Equal Opportunities
Cab driving in London is one of the most democratic occupations known to man. How many other occupations allow you to start training with no qualifications, and then offer...
Eat Safe at Oakman Inns
Oakman Inns are extending their Eat Out To Help Out scheme through October, Ann Evans has the details. Following the new 10pm curfew for pubs and restaurants, owner...
Can PSE actually boost the brand, or is Peugeot’s business acumen forever Sino-tainted?
IAIN ROBERTSON Unsure of whether to revel in Peugeot’s latest launch, or to chuckle at its inherent wit, Iain Robertson questions the logic of relaunching ‘Peugeot Sport Engineered’, which...
Harry’s Ramblings My Oscar for Extra of the Year, by Harry Pope
by Harry Pope October 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of my starring role in the re-make of the Graham Greene novel; Brighton Rock. Wherever you look, I am popping...
As readily defensible as oak and Coke, an all-new Moke might be 3rd-time-lucky!
IAIN ROBERTSON At around the same time as he developed the ubiquitous classic Mini, states Iain Robertson, the inventor of the Car of the Century also designed a rudimentary...
2021: A year to rediscover Napoleon – Meanderings through France n° 220
By Annick Dournes & Frédéric de Poligny Whether we like him or not Napoleon surely leaves no-one indifferent. 2021 is the year of the 200th anniversary of his...
Malta Diary Street Games our children used to play – healthy, communicative, innocent outdoor activity
Today its sickly solarity indoor laptops, ipads and play stations featuring rubbish ALBERT FENECH e/mail: salina46af@gmail,com Facebook: Unless you lived on a major thoroughfare, a main road or...
Welsh Witterings: Strawberry Fool Recipe
British strawberries are now in abundance and I have the perfect recipe for using up a strawberry glut. This recipe looks great served in pretty glasses and is a...
Karl’s Chronicles. The Fight & The Dance
The two threads of the Nile may have come together, intricately bound like maritime rope, twisting far across the sand-blown hell of the Sahara. Until with predatory grace, it...
Ranjit Recommends Cream, Cafes & Cycloramic Captures of Cornwall
Cornwall was indeed the epicentre of British Tourism in the summer of 2020. Indeed, with many countries within mainland Europe now being added to the list of quarantined countries...
Harry’s Ramblings. Hastings Car Parking and Other Pastimes, by Harry Pope
A lovely September day was the ideal time to spend in Hastings by the sea. We live in Eastbourne, which is only twenty miles away, but the car journey...
Mumbai Memoir 135- Virtual Travels from Mumbai city!
Travelling is a great way to free the mind. It’s a way of transporting one’s self into a totally different environment and refreshing one’s soul in the process. But...
Biking from lighthouse to lighthouse on the French Northwest Coast – Meanderings through France n° 218
By Annick Dournes & Frédéric de Poligny The “Vélo Maritime” is a biking itinerary that will take you from Roscoff in Brittany to Dunkirk in Northern France....
Malta Diary Notorious characters – fascinating stories – some little-known aspects of shady Maltese characters
ALBERT FENECH e/mail – Facebook: Every country has its share of notorious characters, Malta no less. I will relate the stories of some of...