Graphic designer, typographer and art director Derek Birdsall, who has died aged 89, was one of the profession’s “old guard” and a survivor of the pre-digital age. Highly respected by his peers, his work reached diverse audiences for over fifty years. In the monthly magazine Nova, of which Birdsall was the art director for a… Read More »
The internet is full of travel “hacks,” some less useful than others. Over the years we’ve seen some truly intriguing clues. Flyers were asked to wear full clothing to offset bag costs; hotel guests were advised to cook noodles in the in-room kettle to save money; Beachgoers fearing theft were encouraged to wrap their valuables… Read More »
In Manarola, the smallest of the five picturesque villages that make up Italy’s Cinque Terre, the confused crowd piled up from the train to the platform was struggling with suitcases and backpacks, barely able to move. But still the cheerful Italian butler, who was leading them single file towards the narrow exit of the station,… Read More »
Coffee, rum and sunny blue skies: the small tropical country of Panama has it all. Although most people coming to Panama pass through Panama City and head to the tropical San Blas islands, there are still plenty of reasons to stop here. At the top of the list is lively Casco Viejo. Home to numerous… Read More »
It will be a familiar scene for many over the next few weeks: a busy airport full of people on summer vacation. But tourists may find that peak travel periods are no longer as predictable when more people travel between a region’s most popular months and off-season. Travel companies are reporting an increase in demand… Read More »
With their 24-hour service, all-you-can-eat buffets and stress-free accessibility, cruise ships have long been a popular vacation choice for retirees. But given the rising cost of care homes in the UK, could a permanent cruise become a viable alternative to supported living on land? Recently, Marty and Jess Ansen, a retired couple from Australia, made… Read More »
Have you ever revisited a place that loomed large, literally and figuratively, in your childhood? The bedroom that looks like a giant empire that a six-year-old would rule over, or the neighborhood climbing dock higher than Everest. When you see them again at 40, they look so worthless and diminished that your brain and heart… Read More »
Elizabeth Fortescue saved the Boconnoc Mansion and opened it to the public with her late husband Anthony Fortescue – Jay Williams. Set in 7,500 acres of Cornish countryside, Boconnoc Estate has hosted dueling dukes, prime ministers and even King Charles I. The historic estate was first mentioned in the Domesday Book, while in the 17th… Read More »
The full staging of Wagner’s Ring cycle in a converted barn in the Gloucestershire countryside once seemed eccentric. You might say it still is. From humble beginnings in 1991, Longborough Festival Opera has become a center of musical seriousness, now in its 33rd season. Its popular founders, Lizzie and Martin Graham, who were Wagner fans… Read More »
The sound of low sustained chanting from a nearby Buddhist temple woke me from my sleep around 5 a.m. and enveloped the valley below. Having left my bedroom curtains open, as I always do when I’m away, I see pre-sunrise light, a moody, pale blue-gray sky, fog rising through mountain layers, and a nearly full… Read More »