Add comment December 8th, 2007
A young cousin of mine recently introduced me to the Harry Potter phenomenon and since then I have rapidly worked my through the first few books in the series and watched a couple of the movies along the way. Needless to say I am now hooked. So when it came to planning
this years annual November familiarization trip decided that it was vital for the team to head north of the English border to Scotland’s Capital city. Although Edinburgh doesn’t feature in the Harry Potter movies as do so many sights closer to home (Gloucester Cathedral, Oxford’s colleges and many sights in London), it is in the city’s cafes and coffee shops where Joanne Rowling first began scribbling down her notes on the young wizard called Harry and the magical world of Hogwarts. We would take this opportunity to remind ourselves just why Edinburgh is so inspiring.
1 comment December 6th, 2007
I often get asked for a list of my top places to visit in Britain, both from guests and colleagues in myguideBritain. It’s a difficult question to answer as there are so many great places to list and more often than not I try and deflect it by suggesting some safe bets such as Stonehenge, Bath and Edinburgh. These are places that I know everyone will love. Also, you see, I’m never sure if people will like the same things as me. And of course, it depends very much on my current mood! If I’m a bit stressed my list includes remote out of the way places such as the Brecon Beacons, just a few miles from the office, here in South Wales where I can sit in solitude. If I’m on top of my game it’ll include dynamic buzzing places such as London………. I’m sure you get the drift.
Add comment November 29th, 2007
“There are few things more personal than eating, and if you reject someone’s food, you kind of reject them.”
so said Walter Scheib, former White House chef last week, on the diet of candidates on the campaign trail. (”Quote of the Day” in the New York Times on Friday 23rd November).
I’m not 100% sure what he’s trying to say about the presidential candidates but it reminded me a little of how I’d felt after hearing a comment from a French hotelier in a London travel conference a few weeks back. He was most insulting towards our national dish of fish and chips wrapped in newspaper and our habit of eating it with our fingers. This was from a guy who’d quite happily serve his guests snails, frog’s legs and who knows what other animal parts! Sacre Bleu!
Add comment November 26th, 2007
I used to live in Louisville, Kentucky and my first daughter was born there so it holds a warm place in my heart. It was in Loretto, Kentucky on a bright autumn day of that year that I discovered hard liquor ….. and Maker’s Mark is still my whisky of choice. Try it and be convinced.
2 comments November 21st, 2007
The Queen and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh celebrate 60 years of married life tomorrow although the ceremony to celebrate this takes place today at Westminster Abbey. The guests will include not only the great and the good but also 10 couples who married on the same day as her - nice touch.
We at myguideBritain send her our best wishes…….just in case she reads our blogs. Somehow I don’t think she’ll have time with all the Tiara changing that will be going on this week between the various celebrations.
Add comment November 19th, 2007
I drove through London this week to some meetings. It took me over 2 hours to cover the 25 miles or so across the city to Canary Wharf in the east end. Should have taken my own advice and used public transport!
However I did take a short diversion on the way to see the newly restored St Pancras Station, the new terminal for Eurostar trains that will whisk you away to Paris in the same time it took me to get across London!
What a fantastic building.
Add comment November 16th, 2007
Having spent the last few weeks in recovery from my adventure break around Wales, last weekend Keith pointed out that it was high-time I got back out on the road to do some exploring and gave me my next assignment. I found myself slightly disappointed to discover that I was to be visiting a museum; I love to learn but after battling the Atlantic Ocean in the name of myguideBritain I thought that peering at fossils in a glass cabinet would be a bit of a let down. Of course, I was over-looking the fact that St Fagans Welsh National History Museum is a very unique museum indeed.
Add comment November 13th, 2007
I was asked by Juliana one of our experienced Britain guides this week if I knew anything about a particular castle, as she knew it was in the same area of North Wales that I was born and bred. The castle was Penrhyn Castle and she was looking to get a few pictures and details onto our website.
It’s strange how buildings can shape one’s life but my early years were totally dominated by this castle (and the family that lived there). You see, they were the only landowners in our corner of the world - Llandegai near Bangor in North Wales. The Pennant family was also the owner of the slate quarry in Bethesda, that had supplied the world with roof slate since the 18th century. They had therefore been, for a few centuries, the largest employers in the area where farming and quarrying were the main occupations. They were also owners of vast sugar plantations in Jamaica, a fact the family was never keen to publicise - for understandable reasons.
1 comment November 9th, 2007
Last weekend an estimated 1 billion viewers worldwide watched live coverage of the Arsenal versus Manchester United soccer match at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal’s ground in London. This is an incredible number and testimony to the “beautiful game’s” popularity. As is usual with big matches it never really lived up to the pre match hype but still managed to entertain with a 2-2 draw.
We get many requests for tickets from people wanting to see a Premier League soccer match involving some of the “big” sides - notably Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. Our answer is always the same - we can’t get tickets to any matches involving these clubs. The only tickets generally available, unless you have a well connected aquaintance, are the ones through the specialist ticket companies that also provide hospitality before, during and after the game for absolutely staggering amounts of money in my opinion ($300 min).
Add comment November 6th, 2007
