BeaconLit 2022 – this coming Saturday, 16 July, Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire. The literary festival was launched in 2013. People keep coming back, to be inspired, informed and to enjoy the beautiful mystery of what happens when you turn a page (in books both physical and virtual). http://www.beaconlit.co.uk In this year’s event former Chief Crown Prosecutor Nazir Afzal will be… Continue reading
The forest fires in Turkey in the summer of 2021 were a catastrophe. Images of blazing mountainsides were seared across nightly news bulletins. Holidays were cancelled, resorts evacuated and suspects arrested, although as the Turkish fires were only the worst of a series of conflagrations across the Eastern Mediterranean, it was quickly accepted… Continue reading
‘As we venture into an uncertain century, we should be as concerned about the future of our children and grandchildren, as we are respectful of the past of our dead grandfathers.’ ——— We revere the soldiers who died in the First World War. Many villages display the metal silhouette or outline of a soldier with… Continue reading
When Britain’s railways were privatised in the 1990s, the plan was that passengers would benefit from competition. It didn’t really happen. 30 years on, and many major routes are still only served by one company. But, belatedly, that most traditional of market forces is beginning to assert itself. Independent company Grand Union proposes to take… Continue reading
Silence in the countryside is usually a good thing. If that means the absence of road traffic, aircraft noise and man-made bustle allowing us to better appreciate the sounds of nature. But not if silence is a gaping aural void left by something as familiar as the cuckoo. We are too far into the decline… Continue reading
As the world seeks a path to net zero over the next crucial decades, travel must play its part too. There are many areas where action is required, such as reducing the impact of flying and other carbon-based transport, and making accommodation greener and food and drink more sustainable. But as the tourism industry prepares for… Continue reading