Imagine. You’re going to stay at a private island in sunny California. It has amazing wildlife and a fascinating history. What’s more, it’s not going to cost you a penny – your stay will be absolutely free of charge and even all your meals will...
I can’t even begin to describe to you that wonderful moment when I realised that Maggie Smith was going to play Miss Shepherd in Alan Bennett’s Lady in the Van. And a marvellous film it is too. For those who don’t know, it’s the (largely) true...
They say that writer Guy de Maupassant used to eat lunch every day at the restaurant atop the Eiffel Tower – because it was the only place in Paris that didn’t have a view of the thing. This ‘fact’ is doubted by my family as we once drove...
Dark Hedges is a stunning – and rather magical – parade of beech trees to be found in Northern Ireland and brought to general attention by its use as a location in the TV series Game of Thrones. This dark avenue of gnarled trees was planted in 1775 as the...
Way back in 1990, Flo Hayler started collecting Ramones memorabilia. He collected tickets and t-shirts, posters and pants. These were to form the basis of the Ramones Museum in Berlin. Yes, you’re right of course, the Ramones are mostly associated with their...
It used to be one of those mysteries of life. How old is this plane I’m travelling in? Smoking on planes was banned in 1988 so why does the loo of the plane I’m in feature an ashtray? The answer is pretty simple, although somewhat bizarre. By law,...
Here’s another seriously spooky hotel, this time the Grand Hotel Campo dei Fiori in the Italian Alps. The hotel was abandoned when tourism declined in the area. Since its abandonment, in the late 1960s, the hotel fell into a ruinous state. Furniture and decor...
Particularly important to travellers and to hosts of properties such as those listed on Airbnb, are the recent statistics that show what seriously turns people off bathrooms. My own huge turn off is seeing a pubic hair of dubious provenance on the toilet seat. But...
A cult movie of the 1980s, Dirty Dancing was set at the fictional Kellerman’s Resort in the Catskills. In fact, the filming took place at the Mountain Lake Hotel in Pembroke, Virginia. The film was set in 1963 and reflected the lifestyle of prosperous New...
Paul Theakston was born into the brewing industry and worked at the namesake Theakston’s Brewery in Masham, Yorkshire. That is until business and managerial mayhem made him leave in the 1980s. But – and many a Yorkshireman would say the same – beer...
