Ten years on from the cameo part an athlete few of us have heard of, Augusto Ramos Soares, in the London Olympics of 2012. He will not have had the equivalent of £4 million spent on him – that’s the estimated sum you need to invest in an athlete to make him or her competitive enough… Continue reading
A rural ride to the Rothschilds’ cottage palace
So where is this? ‘Half-timbered house originating from 1606, transformed by the Rothschilds in the late 19th century, containing superb collections.’ And this? ‘.. a French Renaissance château, inspired by those in the Loire valley, built by a Rothschild in the 19th century, and filled with royal treasures and many objects with an exceptional story… Continue reading
How a ‘palace-like cottage’ seduced a PM’s daughter
For Mary Gladstone, the 19th century Prime Minister’s daughter, it was ‘a palace-like cottage, the most luxurious and lovely thing I ever saw.’ But somehow the message never quite reached the stately home-visiting public. Today Ascott House, near Wing in Buckinghamshire, is one of the less busy big houses to the immediate north of London…. Continue reading
How Danny Boy struck a late night Olympic chord in Turkey
One of my most magical musical moments was at, of all places, Dalaman Airport in Turkey at around 11 pm on the night of Friday, 27 July 2012 – (clue – 2100 BST, UK). Our flight was about to be called, but we were suddenly aware of the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard in an… Continue reading
How BeaconLit was built – creating a book festival in an English village
BeaconLit 2022 – this coming Saturday, 16 July, Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire. The literary festival was launched in 2013. People keep coming back, to be inspired, informed and to enjoy the beautiful mystery of what happens when you turn a page (in books both physical and virtual). http://www.beaconlit.co.uk In this year’s event former Chief Crown Prosecutor Nazir Afzal will be… Continue reading
How tourism contributes to Turkey’s forest fires and what the future holds
The forest fires in Turkey in the summer of 2021 were a catastrophe. Images of blazing mountainsides were seared across nightly news bulletins. Holidays were cancelled, resorts evacuated and suspects arrested, although as the Turkish fires were only the worst of a series of conflagrations across the Eastern Mediterranean, it was quickly accepted… Continue reading