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Autumn leaves in Kew Gardens

Palm House, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew This week’s #FriFotos* theme – autumn/fall – inspired me to add an extra post. I’ve just returned from a hectic few days in London, attending the World Travel Market and heaps of fringe fun. I took Wednesday morning off, however, to have a look at the Royal Botanic Gardens [...]

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Murder and Mayhem in London through the Ages – Part 3: Jack the Ripper

123 years ago, a man known as Jack hung around Whitechapel, ridding the world of prostitutes. Five murders have been attributed to him. Grotesque murders, but still “only” five. Judging by the number alone, he seems a bit of an amateur among serial killers. Yet Jack is the most famous of them all. Never discovered, [...]

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Murder and Mayhem in London through the Ages – Part 2: Execrable executions

Continuing our time-travel through London’s pernicious past, here are a few ominous outings our forefathers might have enjoyed: Take an excursion to Newgate prison to gawk at inmates: Daniel Defoe sat here (for poking fun at the Tories), as did Pennsylvania founder William Penn (contempt of court). Then continue to Wapping (present day Docklands), known [...]

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Travel photo – Norwich Market, after hours

Norwich Market, after hours. Norwich Provision Market was founded in the 11th century and has been in operation at the same site since. Where: Norwich, Norfolk county, England For more colourful travel photos, have a look at Budget Travelers Sandbox and DeliciousBaby.

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Murder and Mayhem in London through the Ages – Part 1: The Bridges

It’s a chilly, windy evening. Maybe that’s why we’re only six. Six people about to walk through 700 years of London’s criminal history. Jason, a qualified London guide for 13 years, is tall and gangly and reminds me of Hugh Grant. Same wavy hair and quick speech. More to the point, he’s passionate and knowledgeable, [...]

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What to do on a Friday night in London if you’re time travelling

It’s a late Friday night in London, and I’m in an Indian restaurant in Gloucester Road. … drinking a milk shake. I could be doing more interesting things, of course. But the possibilities seem a bit civilized and, dare I say, dull – compared to what I could have been doing to amuse myself had [...]

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Reading the past with the Rosetta Stone

The British Museum is one of my favourite museums in the world. Yet, like many museums in the western world, the British Museum should probably return some of the artefacts to their country of origin. One of these is the Rosetta Stone, a stele from 196 BC. It belongs, if not in Rosetta, at least [...]

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Travels of 2010

Looking back on the travelling year 2010, I see I didn’t stick with my plans. Nothing new there. Instead, I went with the flow – and cheap flights. So here it is – this year’s fave travels. In January, I was in Geneva. It was mostly business, visiting ILO. But I always enjoy visiting Switzerland. [...]

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