Part of what makes these winter festivals sparkle is the camaraderie, the joining together with neighbours. After our visit to Waddesdon Hall we moved on to the village of Little Horwood where everybody gathered around a bonfire on the village green to sing Christmas carols, musical accompaniment provided by the Great Horwood band in which…
Yule is, after all, a season to celebrate the return of the light after the long days of darkness. Our friends took us to the Christmas fair at Waddesdon Hall to enjoy a truly spectacular light show. That was where I discovered my special nifty gloves that kept you warm while allowing you to fiddle…
Christmas, as we all know, is quintessentially a Northern Hemisphere festival, celebrating the return of the light. It’s no coincidence that several religions celebrate around the date of the winter solstice, a time of deep darkness, cold, and hunger. These days the essential dread of the cold dark has faded into the history books and…
I haven’t got much to talk about this week. I’m too busy living in my imaginary world writing a book. It’s good fun, quite challenging – and much less confronting than reading the news about the war with Hamas. There is some hope in our crazy world, though. There has been much interest and support…
We’ve been on a short road trip down to Victoria and back to visit a relative who lives west of Melbourne. Back when we were younger we drove the two thousand kilometre trip with two overnight stops but these days we prefer to take our time. Besides, after the incessant rain in the western areas…
Peter and I have just returned from a long-awaited holiday to New Zealand. Or Aotearoa if you prefer the Maori name. It was a small group bus tour, travelling in a full-size coach which normally seats around fifty. But this coach has roomy, single seats like airline business class seats, ten to each side. Everyone…
Peter and I were getting a bit stir-crazy staying at home so on the spur of a moment we decided to go on a little road trip up the Queensland coast. The plan was to stay a couple of nights with a friend at Airlie Beach, then go home at a leisurely pace. We’d been…
The big news in Australia this week is – wait for it – covid! I don’t wish to suggest that the reaction to the more infectious Delta strain is unwarranted… well… not everywhere. It takes a LOT for NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to announce a lockdown. It’s notable that she hasn’t locked down the whole…
Some of you might have noticed I didn’t write a blog last week. The news is full of the covid disaster in India and the never ending war between the Palestinians and the Israelis, while at home it’s about the latest covid stuff-up and people wondering when the borders will finally reopen. It all becomes…
Because we’d elected to arrive a day early for our tour, we had a day to ourselves. The Park Hyatt is centrally-located, within a stroll of the major tourist stops on the map so, having fortified ourselves with a wonderful breakfast, we ventured forth to explore Saigon city. I’ve already explained that walking in Saigon…