England:

Assorted Observations

25 May 2012 | Culture

▲  The Gladiator of Guitar We caught Elvis Costello performing at the Albert Hall on Wednesday night and in the penultimate encore who should stride on stage to join him but – as Costello put it – the gladiator of guitar, Russell Crowe. OK it’s hard to tell from th...

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Dolman Award Books

23 May 2012 | Media

I’m chairing the panel of judges for the 2012 Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award, the annual award for the best British travel book. Currently I’m working through the entries with my fellow judges Sarah Spankie of Conde Nast Traveller magazine, Susie Dowdall the Boo...

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Walking in Israel & Palestine

25 December 2011 | Places

◄ My Israeli friend Ohad Sharav climbing out of the Makhtesh Katan or Small Crater in the Negev Desert.   My travels in Israel and Palestine featured spells on three walking tracks. I’ve always felt that walking puts you in touch with the land at the right ...

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Kaiser Bill’s Batman’s Cufflinks

1 December 2011 | Living

◄ The other night I went to an opera first night in Melbourne with Maureen, I wore a dinner jacket and my Kaiser Bill cufflinks. There’s a story behind those cufflinks with the German Imperial Eagle and a ruby in the centre and how I came to own them. My great gran...

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More Aerial Views

1 September 2011 | Transport

◄ There have been some great ‘views out the window’ this year and flying to Belfast a couple of weekends ago certainly provided a few. Like this view of the Isle of Man, half way between Ireland and England. You can just about imagine where the TT motorcycle track goe...

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