With the 200th anniversary of the first publication of the novel Emma this year, I thought it might be fun to share some of the “Austen Trail” I have done on my travels around Hampshire and Surrey. I’m sure there’s a lot more you can do but these are the few things that have crossed…
Category: Historic Heritage
Three further finds – Magical Côte d’Azur
If you have read my last two last blog posts, I have been pulling out some of my treasured memories to my re-introduction to the Côte d’Azur last December – things that you might just not expect to see on the French Riviera. We know about Picasso and his links to the Côte d’Azur but…
Three sweet finds – Magical Côte d’Azur
Following on from my previous post sharing some of the secrets I found when I visited the legendary Côte d’Azur last December, these next three finds have a definite food and drink edge to them. It started at the Hôtel du Clos in the rural village of Le Rouret (15 mins drive from Grasse) which is,…
Three little finds – Magical Côte d’Azur
Last December, I spent a magical long weekend finding out a little more about a new client – the glamorous French Riviera, haunt of Hemingway, Churchill and Picasso and the habitués of the famous Train Bleu – the overnight train from Paris to Nice. En route, here’s three discoveries that I just didn’t expect to…
Sir Christopher Wren – the joker
My brief introduction to Windsor was delivered by the statement, “you know the story behind these pillars in our Guildhall, don’t you?”. The answer was no actually and an intriguing tale was then related. Windsor’s historic Guildhall, in the shadow of the Castle, was where HRH Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowlers were married in…
For Henry and England – Agincourt 600
In a year of multiple anniversaries, sometimes the lesser-known ones are forgotten. I hope this will not be the case for the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt – one of England’s most momentous historic battles which passed into legend, leading Shakespeare to pen his evocative Henry V. As we all know, the history of England…
The story of the Christmas Tree
It has to be said, I love a good Christmas Tree. It brings a joy to my heart with the anticipation of Christmas and the start of a new, better year beyond. I was a little hazy on the origins of the Christmas tree however. It’s a northern Europe tradition, said my brother, and so…
With a name like Lowry, Manchester is my kinda town
With a name like mine, the most common question is – are you related to LS Lowry. Sadly, I am not. We do however share a great love of the arts and an admiration for urban grit so why oh why didn’t I visit the magnificent city of Manchester before now? When I did so,…
London’s Triumphal Arch
If you have ever wandered over onto the roundabout at Hyde Park Corner, you will have seen an arch, but it never occurred to me until reading more about it, that this was to celebrate Wellington’s victory over Napoleon so follows in fact from the Roman tradition of triumphal arches. Today it is known as…
Wellington Remembered
With all the furore concerning the upcoming anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo and the Napoleonic Wars, it seemed an appropriate time to visit the Duke of Wellington’s home in Central London – sometimes referred to simply as Number One London. My friend Gill insisted on our walking through the pedestrian tunnels and I am…
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