Under the forested canopy of woodland, parkland, rural villages and hidden compounds, stretching along the south coast, the greatest amphibious assault on mainland Europe was being prepared, known to us by the names ‘Operation Overlord’ & ‘D-Day’: “Portsmouth and the greater Hampshire region is where I suggest starting your Liberation Route journey” Ben Mayne states, the UK Director of the Liberation Route Europe (LRE).
Gothic, classical, pre-Raphaelite, Brompton cemetery in west London, one of the capital’s ‘Magnificent Seven’ cemeteries that is set in the shadows of Chelsea FC’s stadium and a short stroll from Earl’s Court, has it all in terms of vistas, incredible stories and living legacies of human endeavour in the arts, commerce, politics, medicine, science, sport and military service.
“Pyjamas” replied the guide (who lived through the Bosnian-war 1992-1995) when asked what does ‘Peace’ mean to you? Her single-word answer encapsulated daily survival amid war; a frightened teenager, who during the four years of conflict, had worn her clothes to bed anticipating the need to escape the bombardments which characterised the siege of Sarajevo. Being able to wear her night clothes represented the end of hostilities, “peace without fear” she added, during our visit of the ‘Tunnel Museum’ located beside the airport and Mt.
Do you know your Pierogi from your Bigos, or your Kluski from your Zurek? Well, it might come as a bit of a surprise to many but the city of Kraków (Cracow in English) in southern Poland near the border to the Czech Republic became the first recipient of the ‘European Capital of Gastronomic Culture’ for 2019.
Nagorno-Karabakh, apart from being notoriously difficult to pronounce and also particularly problematic to place on a map, is somewhat unknown in the wider world. Located in-between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh was the scene for hundreds of thousands of deaths in the late 80s and early 90s.
Now that the weather is warming up slightly, Levanah Reyes-Wainwright has discovered three foodie finds to put a spring in your step.
Street Food Tour
I have always been fascinated by the relationship between the film industry and social mood not just in Hollywood, but indeed globally. At times film directors and producers show an uncanny ability to predict and anticipate themes and stories that will appeal to the public in future years when the film completes the transition from inception to completion. Often the way a film is received by the public acts as a data point to current public social values and moods at the time of release.
Yellow Metal - Water Crossing.
Perhaps not the most prestigious sounding of names; it sounds as though it could belong to a township in America’s sun-drenched south west, perhaps home to the ancestors of those who arrived from all over, desperate to seek their fortune in the famous Gold Rush of the mid-19th century.
