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Tintagel – or King Arthur, part I

Tintagel is a fascinating place to explore, a ruin on top of steep cliffs, on two sides of a rocky isthmus facing the forceful Celtic Sea.

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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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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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Things to do in Skopje

Skopje isn’t what leaps to mind when you think of European cities, is it? It’s probably among the lesser known capitals, along with Chisinau. To me, it was the easiest way to get to Kosovo for a travel writing assignment on the then two-month-old nation. When I checked into my Skopje hotel, the manager asked [...]

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How to rent a home in New Zealand

After the Christchurch earthquake, the grassroots movement Blog4NZ was born, aiming to support New Zealand tourism after the earthquake. For 72 hours, travel bloggers from all over the world will tell stories about a country we love. Here’s one of mine: After I had my youngest daughter, I used the opportunity afforded by Norwegian family [...]

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