Rampaging warriors agleam with horned helmets swept down the hill, their long swords flashing in the weak sunlight, axe and shield at the ready. Blood-curdling war cries rent the air as they thundered towards … Enough of that! Why not find out what the Vikings were really all about at the JORVIK Viking Festival being held in York next spring. Read the rest of this entry »
Daffodils, tulips and hyacinths in every colour imaginable will explode into bloom at the Keukenhof Park, Lisse, Netherlands. Swathes of clipped grass dividing magnificent beds of citrus yellow, hot pinks and dusky purples shimmering under a cloud of pungent spring perfume from over seven million bulbs. Read the rest of this entry »
When Josiah Wedgwood opened his first pottery factory in June 1769, he could not have imagined how successful the pieces would become. Fascinated by the whole process of producing ceramics, Josiah experimented with a range of metallic oxides to achieve the distinctive blue and black bases and, as a master craftsman, created many of the white relief mouldings used as decoration. Elected to the Royal Society in 1783 for revolutionising ceramics production, Josiah Wedgwood died in 1795 leaving his children with a hugely successful business that thrives to this day.
Cabot Circus has finally arrived in Bristol. The £500million shopping centre which opened in September 2008 has taken 3 years to build and houses over 120 shops, 25 restaurants and a 13 screen cinema, plus 2500 car parking spaces. Read the rest of this entry »
For many people Castle Howard is inextricably linked with Evelyn Waugh’s classic novel, ‘Brideshead Revisited’ when the castle was used to represent Brideshead Castle in a television production of this sad story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence set in England prior to the Second World War. Read the rest of this entry »
From the bizarre to the downright bonkers, the weird to the wonderful, Ripley’s Believe it or Not! has come to earth in London’s Piccadilly Circus. Read the rest of this entry »
Once again London has scheduled a Very Important Pedestrians weekend in the West End. See the streets as you have never seen them before on Saturday 6th as traffic is banned from the West End. Read the rest of this entry »
22nd April 2009 marks the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s accession to the throne and great plans are afoot to celebrate one of Britain’s most rumbustious kings. Read the rest of this entry »
We are all familiar with the wonderful cast of characters created by Beatrix Potter, Jemima Puddle-duck, Mrs Tiggy-winkle and those mischievous rabbits, Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter. Each and every story is set against a rich background of the well-tended vegetable patches and lush pastures of the Lake District landscape. Read the rest of this entry »
Nothing is more uplifting than an evening at the theatre listening to world class classical performers and Nottingham has just such a season planned running from October 2008 right the way through to June 2009. Read the rest of this entry »