Music Album Releases in July
London Begins at 40 music critic, Robert Spellman, casts his eye across some of the latest music album releases in July, so you can enjoy music in the comfort of…
Travel Topics
London Begins at 40 music critic, Robert Spellman, casts his eye across some of the latest music album releases in July, so you can enjoy music in the comfort of…
Julia Bright watches the delightful L’amico Fritz by Pietro Mascagni at the Holland Park Opera, one of this season’s four productions. L’amico Fritz is a far cry from Cavalleria Rusticana…
Eileen Wise checks into Potton Hall Country Spa & Cottages and spends a delightful time being pampered with her sister. The flags of Zambia and St. George flutter in the…
James Clark checks out the brand new YOTEL London in Clerkenwell and is pleased with what he finds. If someone had said to me a year ago that a brand…
Mark Bibby Jackson checks into the recently opened AIRE Ancient Baths London and emerges two hours later feeling like a completely different man. There will be a time when international…
Mark Bibby Jackson checks into the recently opened AIRE Ancient Baths London and emerges two hours later feeling like a completely different man. There will be a time when international…
As the doors finally creak open to the capital’s music spaces, London Begins at 40’s music columnist Robert Spellman offers a selection of London live music in July and August…
Irene Caswell takes the short trip to West Sussex to discover the health benefits of forest bathing and discovers there is much more to the practice than tree hugging. Over…
Julia Bright tells the story of popular community Riverside Radio, which has become a vital part of life in south west London. Riverside Radio is an award-winning digital community radio…
Mark Bibby Jackson spends a nostalgic day and night in the UK capital, visiting the home of cricket, watching a play at the Royal Court and catching up with some…
James Clark visits Officina 00 in Old Street to settle into a delightful lunch that whisked him back to Italy despite the London weather. Word spread like wild fire across…
James Clark visits Tavolino Tower Bridge Italian Restaurant, and samples Sicilian food of the highest quality. If I had said to a friend let’s meet at an Italian restaurant near…
Julia Bright reviews Under Milk Wood, that dreamy, poetic masterpiece by Dylan Thomas, which is the first production at the National Theatre since Covid-19 shut its doors. Lyndsey Turner’s inventive…
Continuing our London Voices series where we ask Londoners what makes them love London, Irene Caswell speaks to Jianhui Yan. Jianhui has lived and worked in London for 18 years…
Roger Hermiston and Eileen Wise spend a night at The Athenaeum Hotel London, and enjoy the rich history, wonderful cuisine and green credentials of one of the capital’s most star-studded…
In the second of her regular arts columns, Irene Caswell takes a look at the new July art exhibitions in London, as well as one coming to a close. Summer…
London Begins at 40 editor Mark Bibby Jackson chats with Stuart Brown, BFI Head of Programme and Acquisitions, on the future of London cinema post Covid, and why he is…
Roger Hermiston and Eileen Wise spend a night at The Athenaeum Hotel London, and enjoy the rich history, wonderful cuisine and green credentials of one of the capital’s most star-studded…
James Clark steps back in time aboard the Sunset Steam Express with Steam Dreams from London Victoria. Let’s face it, catching a train from London Victoria station during rush hour…
Roger Hermiston and Eileen Wise take a mini-break at the University Arms Cambridge, just an hour’s train ride from London, visiting the Fitzwilliam Museum and Kettle’s Yard. It’s a bibliophile’s…
In the first of a regular column James Clark takes a bite-size look at some of the recent London restaurant openings. It’s an exciting time in the city as doors…
Sophie Malerba established authenticity in the heart of the lockdown with fellow award-winning London Blue Badge guide Pepe Martinez, to provide insight into real London. She shares her views on…
Continuing our London Voices series where we ask Londoners what makes them love London, Irene Caswell speaks to florist designer Simon Lycett. Simon Lycett moved to the capital city at…
Neil Hennessy-Vass visits the Laing Gallery in Newcastle to see Challenging Convention, an exhibition that re-examines the work of four female artists born in the Victorian era. The Victorians were…
The UK has so much to offer with its rich history, galleries, theatres and concert halls, its commercial and scientific enterprise and its varied and undeniably scenic countryside.
UK National Parks
There are 15 National Parks in the UK, ranging from coastal areas to mountainous regions in England, Wales and Scotland. There are currently none in Northern Ireland. Unlike National Parks in other countries, in the UK parts of the designated, protected areas can be owned by private landlords. Such areas as the Lake District, Yorkshire Moors, Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, Snowdonia and the Cairngorms draw hikers and naturalists to them like a magnet.
UK Weather
The British never tire of the weather as a talking point. Broadly speaking it is a temperate climate, although winters are becoming wetter and summers warmer, probably from climate change. Warmer in the South, wetter in the West and colder in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the UK climate can be subject to diurnal change on a sudden basis, although, with the advent of satellites, the weather forecasts are more accurate. It is wise to take a waterproof with you on an extended trip.
Northern Ireland
Since the Good Friday Agreement brought greater stability to this previously troubled land, visitors are on an increase. The Titanic Museum displaying memorabilia regarding that renowned disaster and Ulster Museum looking at 3,000 years of Irish culture and history, are well worth a visit. Outside of Belfast, the Mountains of Mourne in County Down and the Giant Causeway, 60 miles outside Belfast, are not to be missed.