SYCAMORE GAP TREE
New life has sprung from the rescued seeds and twigs of the Sycamore Gap Tree that was mysteriously cut down last year, giving hope that …
ALEXANDRA DAVID-NEEL
In 1924, French-born Alexandra David-Neel became the first European woman to set foot in the Tibetan city of Lhasa. Now, 100 years on, her story …
CODPIECES
Some codpieces were empty – while others were used to store potpourri. Sometime around 1536, Hans Holbein the Younger was finessing Henry VIII’s crotch. With …
ELFSTEDENTOCHT
This is the famous Elfstedentocht – the ‘Eleven Cities Tour’ – a test of physical and mental endurance like no other. There was no …
STRAW AS INSULATION
I thought this article on the plans for using straw as insulation on homes in the U.K. was worth reporting as a sensible contribution to …
SCILLY ISLES
Rosemary Parslow crawls on her hands and knees across the frozen ground of the Scilly Isles under a wintry sky. Most other visitors to the …
TRANSATLANTIC HEARTBURN
I recently found an article, Transatlantic Heartburn, written by the former BBC America News anchor, Katty Kay, that identifies an international fear that we, in …
COMMUNAL SLEEPING II
Communal sleeping II – this blog is a sequel to last week’s blog on the same topic: Why have lost the idea of communal sleeping? …
SAXAVORD SPACEPORT
SaxaVord spaceport on the Shetland Islands sounds a little like the next episode of the extremely popular BBC murder mystery series “Shetland”. However, SaxaVord Spaceport …
CAR BLOAT
All in all, car bloat has increased vehicle prices while making autos more destructive to human life, natural ecosystems, and pavement alike. Because the full …