What did the joyous, good-natured Olympic torch-bearing carnival that passed through my local town of Aylesbury this week have to do with saving the planet, or even little parts of it? I counted a dozen police motorcyclists, half as many police cars, official torch support vehicles and a convoy of big promotional sponsors’ trucks. And… Continue reading
Back in the masterpiece city: Rome revisited
Rome is a masterpiece packed with wonders, ranging from some of the world’s finest art to the most exquisite cappuchino. The writer, an eternal fan, has just been back to top up his list of things to do in one of his favourite places. Site seeker Rome’s great sites, St Peter’s, the Piazza Navona,… Continue reading →
So wise, so young – Gareth Jones, Journalist.
My father gave me my name in honour, and memory, of the great Welsh journalist Gareth Jones, who was murdered one day short of his 30th birthday by bandits in China in 1935. I’ve written a monograph – click here – which briefly outlines his life and describes a flight he took with the electioneering Hitler… Continue reading →
Riding the Golden Road – way out west (in Wales)
(This article was first published here in April, 2014.) The Golden Road. What adventures spring to mind? Riding a great, gilded highway as it strikes east across the steppes of Central Asia? Bumping along an ancient trading route down through the sands of Arabia? No need to venture so far. We have a Golden Road… Continue reading →
EU drives auto manufacturers to cleaner, greener cars
What makes the new Hyundai i20 CRDi Blue so special, and why should you care? And what is it about the Volvo V40 D2 ES that marks it apart from many other well-appointed, comfortable cars? Does it even matter? In the week of the Rio+20 conference, where the world is likely, once again, to fall… Continue reading →
Flash of feathered lightning over an English market town
Imagine you had the chance to watch some young lions out on the African savannah taking their first gambolling steps under the protective eye of their mother. Or if you were on hand in the Arctic when a polar bear showed its young how to slide down a snow slope. Perhaps it is the idea… Continue reading →