£1m to walk in the countryside

I was staggered to hear that the UK Lottery Fund is to make £1m available to be spent on encouraging ethnic minorities to experience the British countryside – walks, treks, exploration and all that goes with it – weather and all. I am all for everyone enjoying the countryside but why pick on ethnic minorities? [...]

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The Marrakech Express – bring on the camels

Even writers need a holiday. With a certain regret at leaving a warm keyboard, especially at a time when my US agent is shopping my new novel (hopefully first of a series) ‘Old Habits Die Hard’ and I am getting interest from actors to come on board my proposed TV drama ‘The Forest’, I revisited [...]

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What they say about Pompeii

I’ve had a short break from this blog because I’ve been on holiday. My wife and I went to Amalfi, halfway down the peninsula between the Bay of Naples and the Bay of Salerno. It boasts one of the most exciting yet nerve wracking roads in the world – the Nastro Azzurro. This puts hairpin [...]

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Barcelona and Gaudi – architect of nature

I hadn’t been to Barcelona for years, about 20 to be exact, and I had forgotten what a vibrant place it is. The architect who is responsible for putting Barcelona on the cultural map and keeping it there is, of course, Antoni Gaudi, who died in 1926 – hit by a tram. His work is [...]

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Catch a boat to England, baby or maybe to Spain

I made my annual pilgrimage to a blues club in the Forest of Dean to bask in the superlative skills of guitar maestro John Renbourne – ex Pentangle – and someone I used to play on the same bill with when I was working in bands many years ago. Of course, John wouldn’t remember me. [...]

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Travel writing:

PERU – THE TALE OF A SECRET VALLEY AND
THE CREDIT CARD AT THE BOTTOM OF LAKE TITICACA
by David Callinan
If you care to slip into a wet suit and dive to the bottom of icy Lake Titicaca, somewhere between the island of Taquile and the Peruvian mainland, you may discover the highest navigable, or should that [...]

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