You don’t go on safari on the island of Zanzibar. But there is Capt. Morgan. Is it his real name? He is coy on the subject. But any confusion with the famous pirate of the Caribbean ends with his scrupulously honest assessment of our chances of seeing wildlife when we are out on his dhow…. Continue reading
Basel, ancient and modern Swiss city on the Rhine
Basel, where Liverpool played Sevilla in the Europa League final on May 18th, is entry-level Switzerland, very close to the border with Germany and France. It straddles the River Rhine, at the top of the country. It’s within a comfortable train journey from the UK – about six hours from London Its heart is small, picturesque… Continue reading →
Nissan Leaf is on a road near you – but did it sell enough?
Sales of all plug in cars almost doubled, world-wide, in 2015 to around 1 million. But they still represent a tiny proportion of the cars on the road, less that 1%. The Nissan Leaf was launched six years ago this week, going on sale in 2011. It has sold 200,000 world-wide and is an important… Continue reading →
Is Hart’s Books just a small win over e-books or a tide turner?
With the opening of independent bookshop Hart’s, in Saffron Walden in Essex, and better news about the sales elsewhere, there are signs that the printed book is coming out of terminal decline in its struggle against the e-book. ———- As technology develops, devices – from LED lights to washing machines – become better, cheaper, faster and more efficient. The… Continue reading →
The BTO casts light on the murky plight of the absent cuckoo
It is April 25, 2016, and I’m still listening, I fear increasingly in vain, for what we describe as “our” cuckoo. For a bird that advertises itself so clearly and unmistakably, the cuckoo and its movements are clouded in mystery. It could be that the cuckoos, and their progeny over many years, are not returning… Continue reading →
Shakespeare: his Way with the countryside, from Stratford to London
William Shakespeare, the bard of Avon, was born in the Warwickshire market town of Stratford in 1564, and died there 400 years ago, in 1616. Shakespeare’s Way, 235 km or 146 miles long, inaugurated in 2006, runs from his birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire to Shakespeare’s Globe (close to where the original Globe Theatre stood), alongside… Continue reading →