“We’d like to work with local bloggers but I’m not sure how to find them.” “I don’t know if we’d get value from our local bloggers” “I’d prefer to work with a blogger from London/America/Mars – anywhere other than someone I know …” OK, I’m paraphrasing that last one...

‘The Jumblies’ illustrated by Ian Beck When my son was young, like many parents, I used to read to him at bedtime. Such a special point in the day, when we could snuggle up together, him all warm and cosy after a bath. He loved stories but also poems and...

Dunluce Castle and the Giant’s Causeway from Magheracross Viewpoint It’s not often that a place truly exceeds expectations, is it? Often we’re a bit disappointed, having heard good things about a book, film, restaurant or place, which then struggles to live up to our imagination. The Causeway Coast on Northern...

Tulips and Grape Hyacinths Tulips from Amsterdam When it’s Spring again I’ll bring again Tulips from Amsterdam With a heart that’s true I’ll give to you Tulips from Amsterdam A popular song in the 1950s and 60s, Tulips from Amsterdam evokes springtime in Holland, with its fields of spring bulbs spreading colour and...

When people visit an area you love for the first time, you want it to look its best, to show it off in all its glory. I remember going to Skåne, Sweden on my first group blog trip one summer; it was dull, cool and cloudy with ‘occasional showers’ almost every...

Rebuilt on the site of a medieval citadel, the opulent and impressive baroque Konopiste Castle (Konopiště) is in old Bavaria, now the Czech Republic, about 50km SE from Prague. Its most famous owner was Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, who bought it in 1875 when he was 24 years old. ...

Mother’s Day In the UK the day we now call Mother’s Day, was originally known as Mothering Sunday, is a holiday celebrated by Catholic and Protestant Christians in some parts of Europe. It falls on the fourth Sunday in Lent, exactly three weeks before Easter. Wikipedia.  In the UK and Republic...