At myguideBritain we pride ourselves in being your experienced vacation specialists for England, Scotland and Wales. This year we have decided to further deepen our knowledge about our hotels, tours, activities and Britain’s many vacation destinations. All of our staff will participate in various familiarization trips and activities all around the country, in England, Scotland and Wales - and this is the space where we will tell you firsthand about our experiences! Read about your myguideBritain vacation specialist on tour…
As some of you will know, I was recently in Boston. Not Boston, Lincolnshire here in the UK but Boston MA where the Spring weather was frosty and the temperatures around a cool 0° C (32 degre
e fahrenheit). At times like these there is one thing that is sure to warm you up; a good cup of tea! Boston is renowned, of course, for the Boston Tea Party of 1773 where riots erupted due to disagreements over the taxation of tea, so I was sure to find a good cup of the stuff in Boston! Or so one would think. As I wandered the city, every corner I turned seemed to be home to another Starbucks or coffee house but alas, there was not a good tea shop to be found… I was horrified. A city with no tea!? So I got to thinking about the English obsession with tea (we have our own tea council!) and where the tradition comes from and thought I would share with you some places in the UK you can find a guaranteed quality “cuppa” when you visit.
April 30th, 2008
Broadband - we can’t get enough of it. What was stunningly quick last year is now mind numbingly slow. Most of us will remember dial up internet connections that cost the earth and always lost the connection 10 minutes into an important 11 minute download - meaning another 11 minutes of waiting and paying. In this area of South Wales many homes can get 20Mb broadband meaning some pretty fast web speeds. And of course we all have mobile phones sprouting from our ears.
Surprisingly it’s not the same everywhere as there are some isolated areas of Britain where broadband looks to be many moons away. For instance one of the b&b’s that we use for those of our guests that want to get away from the pressures of the mobile phone and the PC Is The Lion Hotel in Gwytherin.
February 12th, 2008
This weekend is a massive sporting weekend on both sides of the Atlantic. You’ve got Superbowl XLII in Phoenix, Arizona .We’ve got the opening matches in the 2008 six nations rugby tournament involving Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy. 
In both events the media hype for the games is massive with players taking on the status of warrior gods in these clashes of titans.
The build-up is very much the same both sides of the pond and will remain so until a few minutes prior to kick off when it’s time for the National Anthem. In Colorado the crowd will unite with Jordin Sparks (sorry I don’t know her either but she won “American Idol” if that means anything to you) and stand proud in the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner”. In the rugby matches a sub competition occurs at this point when each nation involved sings its own anthem. It’s a proud moment with the power to bring tears to the eyes. I know I’m not the only one.
February 1st, 2008
British Airways have ordered two Airbus A318 aircraft to operate the route from London City airport in London Docklands to New York. This all business class will be a twice daily flight for 32 passengers. Willie Walsh, BA’s chief executive said “We will offer a 15 minute check-in for customers in both London and New York. London City’s size means that it is a quick and easy airport to use and, with a maximum of 32 passengers onboard, getting on and off the aircraft will be a smooth process. Once onboard, customers will experience all the benefits of our business class cabin including a fully flat bed.”
February 1st, 2008
The long awaited exhibition of Russian and Russian owned French art from the period around the Russian Revolution opened in London this week. For months the Russian Government threatened to pull the plug on this exhibition until guarantees were put in place by the UK government that would prevent the seizure of some of these paintings by individuals who claimed that they were obtained illegally by the Communists during the revolution. Whatever the origins of some of these paintings, the exhibition is without doubt the Art Highlight of the year for London.
Renoir, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Matisse, Kandinsky, Tatlin, Malevich are all represented in this exhibition and with highlights such as The Dance by Henri Matisse it is sure to draw in the crowds.
January 31st, 2008
To celebrate Burns night and before we log off for the weekend here’s the Scottish Poet’s ode to the Haggis:
Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o’ the pudding-race!
Aboon them a’ yet tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o’a grace
As lang’s my arm.
As a Welshman I can’t say that I understand much of what is being said above any more than I understand why people eat haggis. Washing it down with a wee dram though is a splendid tradition. To all of you celebrating Robert Burns’ birthday, have a great night.
January 25th, 2008
The 25th of January is St Dwynwen Day here in Wales, Dwynwen being the patron saint of love and friendship, and our equivalent of St Valentine. As with all these old Welsh folk tales passed down by word of mouth over the centuries there are a number of versions. Here’s one.
Dwynwen was the prettiest of the Celtic King Brychan Brycheiniog’s 24 daughters (he also had 11 sons!). At one of the parties that King Brychan held regularly Dwynwen fell in love with a handsome prince called Maelon Dafodrill. However her father refused her permission to marry him as he’d arranged for her to marry another. Maelon was so angry that he raped Dwynwen and left her.
January 24th, 2008
In common with millions I enjoy a good TV period costume drama. I don’t know how many versions of “Pride and Prejudice” I’ve seen ( I’ve watched the 2005 film version at least three times - perhaps Keira Knightley in the role of Elizabeth had something to do with that!). ” Do you Dance Mr. Darcy?”….. “Not if I can help it!” My answer to Keira would have been rather different. But then of course I’m no Mr. Darcy
January 22nd, 2008
Wales Week USA is an annual event that takes place around March 1 – St. David’s Day. Wales Week is co-ordinated by the Welsh Assembly Government in New York in partnership with a wide variety of organisations, artists, writers and performers in both Wales and the USA. Click on the link to find out what’s on the program of events this year. www.walesweekusa.com
January 21st, 2008
It was a foul day here in Wales when Juliana and I set off to mid Wales to visit one of the hotels that we use on our itineraries - The Lake Vyrnwy hotel in Powys, Mid Wales that has a great location overlooking the lake.
On the way we stopped off for morning coffee at Llangoed Hall, a country House hotel 
owned by Sir Bernard Ashley, widower of Laura Ashley. It was either that or The Little Chef in Builth Wells. No competition. Sorry Little Chef. There’s no reception desk at Llangoed Hall, so you really do feel that you’re walking into your very (very) rich uncle’s house. We wandered into the drawing room that looked out over the croquet lawn towards the farmland beyond, introduced ourselves to one of the staff, and ordered a coffee. I could have easily spent the rest of the day being waited on hand and foot reading the latest Grisham novel, but Lake Vyrnwy beckoned so off we set.
January 18th, 2008
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