Ithaka The last of the summer sun flooded the beach and filtered through the open widows of the Ithaki Restaurant on Ornos Beach, Mykonos..* It was Oxi Day, the 28th October, a national holiday in Greece, celebrating the day they said ‘No’ to the Italian dictator Mussolini in 1940.  (He demanded...

After the weather, food and drink are probably the subjects you will be talking about most after your holiday. As one of the most accessible ways to sample a country’s culture, eating and drinking is not only a pleasure but a requirement of any well-rounded holiday. While a lot of...

The Quaker Tapestry is a modern day masterpiece of story-telling in stitches.   Elizabeth Fry It’s also one of the largest and most significant, imaginative and collaborative community textile projects in the world. Its 77 panels made by 4,000 people from 15 countries celebrate life, people, such as famous Quakers Elizabeth...

The plaque on the simple cross tells a tragic tale.  Two men sharing the same surname, both killed in war, but 25 years apart. Father and son crosses at Notre-Dame de Lorette M de Sars senior died in World War One in 1915.  His son Edmond was killed in 1940 in...

In this guest post, Sally Fielding, owner of family-run Sally’s Cottages, shares some of her favourite, and less known, places in the Lake District in Cumbria. Middle Row Cottage I’ve lived in the Lake District my whole life and I’ve discovered some truly memorable places. Many of these aren’t mentioned...

The drone of the engines got louder as we accelerated along the runway, fields and trees flashing past the window as we gracefully lifted up into the clouded, sun-streaked skies above Durham Tees Valley Airport. Dakota DC3 take off The clicking of cameras and animated chatter ricocheted though the cabin as...

Musician Stan Cullimore, former member of the 80’s band The Housemartins, shares his memories of a  recent boating holiday on one of England’s many charming canals. This morning I got out of bed, opened the curtains and looked out of the window. First thing I saw was a man on...