Six things you must do in Amsterdam More canals than Venice, knockout art by Rembrandt and van Gogh, the mass seduction of flowers, Renaissance architecture, a whole nine streets of independent shops. No wonder Amsterdam is one of our favourite destinations in Europe. GHD draws up his don’t miss list of things to do in the elegant… Continue reading
BMA votes to divest from fossil fuels
Fossil fuels make people ill. The British Medical Association acknowledged the point this week. Exercising their duty to safeguard public health, doctors attending its Annual Representative Meeting voted that the body should stop investing in fossil fuels, “if possible, practicable and feasible”. Delegates called on the BMA to “transfer their investments from energy companies whose… Continue reading →
Dylan Thomas’s worldwide party centres on Swansea
A shorter version of this piece appeared in the Mail on Sunday, May 18, 2014. The helpful app on my smartphone treats my request as just another random A to B walking route. Those navigational algorithms may be clever, but the Muse is missing. Without any comment, Google delivers me 5 Cwmdonkin Drive to Swansea Grammar School. Don’t they… Continue reading →
Fish2fork lets you rate a resturant on how sustainable its fish is – from the table
I’ve just signed up to Fish2fork’s DinerRatings. This is a new service, launched this week by the fish sustainability campaigning group to coincide with a revamp of its website. Fish2fork aims to provide an instant online rating of restaurants, according to the impact their seafood has on the seas and marine life. It invites diners to… Continue reading →
Restaurant revolutionary serves up taste of 21st-century Turkey
Turkish restaurants give you a wonderful welcome, but too often I wonder if they either find visiting summer tourists too easy to please, or they didn’t think we are worth the trouble. The country has an immense supply of home grown vegetables and fruit, available in even the smallest village. Yet in the standard tourist place,… Continue reading →
Stonehenge heads for the future: new visitor centre welcomes the world
A new visitor centre opened at Stonehenge six months ago, in December, 2013. Its purpose was to “restore the dignity” of the monument. Mission accomplished? —- The A303 is one of the few major roads in Southern Britain that, in my opinion, is still a pleasure to drive. This is the alternative route from London… Continue reading →