The shortlist for this year’s Wainwright Prize has been announced – will Helen Macdonald’s H is for Hawk swoop to conquer once again?
Trieste
It was slightly crazy to drive across the north of Italy from our Tuscan beach in the west to a wedding party in Trieste in the east on the Saturday of Ferragosto. This day, on the closest Saturday to the 15th of August, all of Italy seems to be on the move. There are festivities everywhere and anyone who has not yet gone on holiday goes. Everyone takes a trip. The fact that lorries are banned from the roads on this day should have provided a clue for us. But however much we wanted to get to the wedding we also wanted to stay on our beach for as long as possible. Continue reading Trieste
Travelling in Turkey for £5 a day
The first in a series of guest posts from Ania and Jon at the Hitch-Hikers Handbook on their latest adventures… First off, how do you get by in Turkey on only a fiver a day? Continue reading Travelling in Turkey for £5 a day
Rievaulx Abbey
After leaving Kingston upon Hull we realised it was still too early to head straight back to London. A quick scan of the map revealed that we were only about 55 miles from the ruins of Rievaulx Abbey in North York Moors National Park so we decided to head there. Continue reading Rievaulx Abbey
Go to Hull!
I had wanted to visit Kingston upon Hull for quite a while and last year I finally managed to mobilise myself for a trip. Continue reading Go to Hull!
Pies of the World
Finally, a national celebration we can all get behind! Here’s our top ten favourite pies from around the world. Pie purists may scoff (hehe) at our inclusion of what they consider pasty derivatives rather than pies but we decided to broaden the field to ensure delicious diversity Continue reading Pies of the World
The Utopia Experiment
Dylan Evans – who is joining us for an event at Long Acre this Wednesday – explains the origins of The Utopia Experiment… Continue reading The Utopia Experiment
Civil War Reading
Today let me recommend two good books about a pivotal event in US history, the American Civil War. Both of these books are rather hefty volumes (totalling over 1600 pages between them) which makes the ongoing winter evenings a perfect time to tackle them. Continue reading Civil War Reading
The other Gulf coast
When people think about the Gulf Coast they mostly imagine beautiful sandy beaches, clear blue sea and colourful cocktails slowly sipped on the porch. Such associations are all true but those things are not really what I’m looking for on holiday (apart, of course, from the cocktails). Continue reading The other Gulf coast
Top 10 places to kiss
With it being Valentine’s Day this week, we thought we’d get all romantic and share our top 10 places in the world to share a kiss with your loved one. In no particular order…