In 1900, a French tire company published a restaurant guide to encourage drivers to hit the road and buy more of their products; His genius content marketing was way ahead of its time. In the 1930s, “Stars” began to be attributed, and we know the rest of the story: a new reference for fine dining… Read More »
There’s something so indulgent about soaking in a large, pristine tub when you’re away from home. And since time doesn’t count on vacation, long soaks come guilt-free. Add a chilled glass of wine, an elegantly designed suite and impressive views and you have a supremely relaxed evening. Whether you’re traveling alone or with a partner… Read More »
There is a Mozartplatz in the small town of Bad Gastein, about an hour’s drive from his native Salzburg. There is a Mozart hotel, a Mozart bar and various other venues named after Austria’s greatest composer. This is quite interesting, considering that Mozart never visited this place. But his mother did it. Having lost her… Read More »
The anti-opera lobby at Arts Council England must be rubbing their hands with glee: an 11.8 per cent cut to home-based funding from Welsh Arts has been added to the draconian 35 per cent cut they have taken for Welsh National Opera. Council. The result was to plunge the company into a financial crisis and… Read More »
Author Melanie Cantor may live in the most remarkable one-bedroom flat in north London. Located on the first floor of a building Art Deco-period mansion block Brondesbury ParkStepping inside is to be transported into the opulence of a Moroccan Riad through the splendor of the majestic palace. “It’s like a jewel box,” enthuses Cantor, who… Read More »
On May 8, 1956, Terence Rattigan stood outside the Royal Court theater in London after the opening night of a revolutionary new drama. This was not one of his own plays, but a sally from a new generation: John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger. Or, as the veteran playwright bitterly renames it: Look How Different… Read More »
The ironic tragedy of chronically unemployed asphaltman Yosser Hughes in Alan Bleasdale’s drama Boys From The Blackstuff was that he screamed and wailed into the void. Nobody was listening. Now his legendary appeal to everyone he passed on the streets of Liverpool to “hide” him a job went unheard and ignored. People and even the… Read More »
From Roman times until today, visitors have flocked to Bath to bathe in its natural thermal waters. The city was recently granted a second UNESCO World Heritage Site for being part of the Great Spa Cities of Europe, a “transnational” inscription encompassing 11 historic spa towns in seven countries. Most visitors to Bath head to… Read More »
Checkerboard fields stretch over gentle rolling hills, towering church spiers punctuate villages of honey-coloured stone, and wildflower meadows dot gently winding valleys. Stretching from Chipping Campden in the north to the outskirts of Bath in the south, the Cotswolds are nearly 800 square miles of quintessentially idyllic England. The idyllic landscape reflects centuries of interaction… Read More »
Historian Thomas R Henry wrote in 1950: “The Weddell Sea is, by the testimony of all those who have sailed in its iceberg-filled waters, the most dangerous and dismal region on Earth.” These are the turbulent, ship-shattering waters where Ernest Shackleton lost the Endurance. So common sense might suggest that tourists stay away, especially as… Read More »