I blame Blue Peter myself. Somewhere back in the eons of time before the days of colour television and when John Noakes, Valerie Singleton and Peter Purves were still young, there was a dog called Petra. The year I was eight Blue Peter did one of their famous historical stories all about her namesake, the [...]
Hot, intense and bitter sweet, Seville is famous for passion, for spectacle and theatre, and for song. It’s the greatest city of the Spanish south, the home of such legendary characters as Carmen, Don Juan, Figaro and Columbus, and the city of the Andalucian gypsies and their flamenco culture. It’s an elegant and wealthy city, [...]
What comes to mind when you think of Japan? Probably a diverse mix of images: traditional Geishas, cherry blossom and tea ceremonies alongside humanoid robots, Anime and Manga, ultra-trendy urbanites, high-speed trains and high-tech consumerism, obviously. No? Just the Tsunami? Time to look more closely. History is an interesting phenomena, especially when you use it [...]
Occasionally something comes along that fills a niche so neatly that you can’t ever imagine how you did without out it. For skiers and outdoors enthusiasts, that something is Spyder wear, first launched over 30 years ago and still breaking new ground every year with their revolutionary technological breakthroughs, cool designs and innovative features, with [...]
There’s something timeless and yet thoroughly cosmopolitan about Bath. Perhaps it’s the mix of Roman remains flanked by the Medieval Abbey and surrounded on all sides by stately Georgian architecture. Perhaps it is its situation, nestled in a basin of green hills. Maybe its just down to the honey-coloured stone that is used everywhere. Whatever [...]
The history of trains is beloved of every young trainspotter and uber-geek, and it does make fantastic reading. From the revolutionary Rocket through to the high speed journeys of the Mallard and the Flying Scotsman, Japan’s sleek electric Bullet and France’s pride and joy, the TVRs, and on to the mindblowingly-fast Maglev, it is true [...]
Claire Burdett
Read Claire's bio here
