I’ve been to Open House a few times. Every year, the Open House Festival opens up London’s architecture, special sites, and neighbourhoods. Some of the places are not normally accessible to the public. You get to see people’s homes, offices, and other interesting buildings. Some places you must book but others you can just drop … Continue reading / view photos Open House 2024
Category: Culture
A play, the lido, and outdoor cinema
Last weekend started with a trip to the National Theatre in central London on the river. We went to see The Grapes of Wrath. This is a play of the novel by John Steinbeck. The play follows the book quite closely and recreates the feel of the book with a minimalist set, which was highly … Continue reading / view photos A play, the lido, and outdoor cinema
Paris 2024
One of the reasons I started a blog was to record what I was doing and thinking at a particular point in time. I looked back at my post on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which were postponed until 2021. There were so many things about the Tokyo games that I’d forgotten. The most glaring being … Continue reading / view photos Paris 2024
Worcester waddle
During my last trip to Worcester, I didn’t have time to go to its fabulous library, The Hive. This time I spent some time in it. Once I’d walked around the library, I went to the top floor and read my book, The Bee Sting, which everyone seems to be reading and is a page-turner. … Continue reading / view photos Worcester waddle
From Euro 2024 to a lavender farm
It’s been all quiet for me lately, having been absorbed in Euro 2024 and now the Olympics. This year’s Euro football tournament was a mixed affair. In England, there was great hope (as always) for the England team. This time there were genuine reasons to be optimistic. The England team had some of the best … Continue reading / view photos From Euro 2024 to a lavender farm
From Chequers to pizza
We had a couple more days in Birmingham before going to London. There’s an environmentally friendly shop called Clean Kilo, which uses no plastics, and you take your own containers to fill up with food, toiletries, and cleaning stuff. There were two shops at one time, but they struggled during the pandemic. The one in … Continue reading / view photos From Chequers to pizza
Damselflies in Ironbridge
It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, and a short drive got us to Ironbridge. We’d done an autumn walk there a few years ago and I had fond memories of the once industrial town. We followed the same route, finishing at the Iron Bridge itself. Along the canal on the walk, the azure-blue damselflies were … Continue reading / view photos Damselflies in Ironbridge
Hay Festival 2024
A last-minute decision and booking took us to Hay-on-Wye for the second May Bank Holiday weekend. Before going into town, we walked up Hay Bluff, one of our favourite hill walks. You can ascend and descend the 677m in about an hour. Hay-on-Wye is renowned for having lots of bookshops. When I first went there … Continue reading / view photos Hay Festival 2024
Taiwan earthquake
Beyond broadening the mind, travel has a remarkable ability to forge profound connections to distant places. Through firsthand experience, you can cultivate a deeper sense of empathy and compassion towards the people and cultures encountered along the way. Before my visit to Taiwan, I admittedly knew little about the island. And if it had remained … Continue reading Taiwan earthquake
Kew Gardens Wakehurst
Despite being a member of Kew Gardens for many years, I’d never been to their more rural gardens in Sussex. The public transport to Wakehurst is a bit ropey. Taking the train to Haywards Heath is straightforward. Once you’re there, however, you must wait for one of the infrequent buses for the 10km ride to … Continue reading / view photos Kew Gardens Wakehurst