When you visit the market town of Bedale in North Yorkshire be sure to visit the building in the photograph above. Take a selfie of you and it and ask your friends if they can guess what in earth this tiny house’s original purpose was. It was built in the early...
Since the last century, I have been explaining to clients that there is more nonsense written on the internet about search engines than any other subject. And in recent years, this has extended to the search facility on the Airbnb website. There is so much...
A great example of the United States and Great Britain being ‘two countries divided by a common language’ is to be found when dining. That is the humble potato. Sure, in the UK and in the USA a potato is a potato (and no, the English do not pronounce it...
No-one today really seems to know why the buildings of Guatape are painted in such wonderful colours. Or why they tend to feature brightly coloured murals at the bottom couple of feet of the walls. However, the result is spectacular. The lower level murals, which...
It was a matter that was debated at the time, but in recent years it’s pretty well known that the musical phenomenon that was The Beatles would not have had the quality of music that was created without the person who was referred to as ‘the Fifth...
So, what are we supposed to do when we have a few hours between connecting flights? You know the sort of thing I mean – when the time isn’t long enough to justify the expense of a hotel room but it’s simply too long to sit around drinking expensive...
My mum sent me to Sunday school when I was very small. You might have had a similar experience. And although I can’t claim that my education in religious matters was very thorough, I am pretty sure that I was never told that Jesus Christ wasn’t really...
It used to be one of Fort Lauderdale’s best-kept secrets. Inaugurated in 1986, the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival began its life for aficionados of independent and foreign films. But it was a secret that we couldn’t keep for long – soon...
Several times a week – no, many times a week – new Airbnb hosts post on forums with some variation of the following message: ‘Help! I tried to search for my listing on Airbnb and it’s just not showing up! What should I do?’ Actually,...
Back in those days, no-one ever thought that this ordinary suburban semi-detached house on the outskirts of Liverpool would one day become a museum. Some would even call it a shrine. One of the strangest musical phenomena in living memory was that of The Beatles, a...
If you’re not fond of heights then El Caminito del Rey is somewhere that you really shouldn’t go. But if heights don’t bother you, or if you enjoy being scared out of your wits then this scary hike is definitely for you. The walkway runs alongside...
Well, here we have two very different musicians. One, in recent memory, lived in the twentieth century. The other in the eighteenth. But surprisingly, only a wall separated their living quarters. George Handel lived at 25 Brook Street in Mayfair. Two hundred years...
Tipping. That should be pretty simple, right? After all, it’s not rocket science. (As they say). I live in the USA these days although I’m originally from the other side of the pond and over the years, I’ve become quite accustomed to the USA tipping...
This is the most fabulous state park with tropical foliage, exciting wildlife, plenty of outdoor activities and campgrounds. Once a week there’s even a highly-recommended farmers market. Visitors rave about this historic site … even more so when they...
Douglas Adams quotes usually hit the nail right on the head. And when I read in The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul the following remark about airports, I thought ‘well, that’s spot on’. It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on Earth has ever...
Yes, the story goes that a sea monster by the name of Ogopogo is alive and well and lurking in the Okanagan Lake of British Columbia, Canada. It seems that the Canadians are no more level-headed than the Scots who, of course, have their own Loch Ness version. What is...
I know that this article has a cumbersome title. And I know that usually, the title will be the name of the place I’m talking about. That’s just easier for everyone. Like ‘Fort Lauderdale, Florida’ or ‘Whitby, Yorkshire’. You know...
There does seem to be quite a lot of confusion online from short-term rental guests who don’t understand what the so-called cleaning fee is all about. Note that not all hosts charge this as a separate fee but wherever you stay – hotel, guesthouse B &...
El Peñón de Guatapé, the Rock of Guatapé, is the weirdest thing – as you can see from the photograph. (See the video below too). This isn’t man-made, it’s a natural object. And there it sits, all alone, just waiting for you to visit it. Not a...
What you see above is probably the most famous pedestrian crossing in the world. Recorded in 1969, Abbey Road was an album by the Beatles and the cover featured the four band members walking across the road on the crossing. Use the map below to locate the crossing our...
