Category Archives: Local Culture

RIP Carlos Celdran

Posted on October 12, 2019 by

It was with real sadness that I read the news of the death of Carlos Celdran in Madrid this week. As the story broke, there was recognition and regret on the Facebook page of every friend I had in Manila, … Continue reading →

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Burnt Toast

Posted on August 26, 2019 by

‘My mother burns toast as surely as the sun rises each morning… I am nine now and I have never seen butter without black bits in it.’ ~ Nigel Slater The Other Palace is a terrific little theatre only a … Continue reading →

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Glorious Gardens

Posted on June 16, 2019 by

Spring is rolling into summer, and although the weather may not be participating, the fields and hedgerows are lush and green – even more so, perhaps, thanks to days of heavy rain. It wasn’t exactly what we were expecting though, … Continue reading →

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A Few of My Favourite Things

Posted on May 27, 2019 by

It sometimes happens that the town child is more alive to the fresh beauty of the country than a child who is country born. ~ Beatrix Potter I first came across Hannah Dale’s designs in a National Trust shop and … Continue reading →

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The Glories of Garlic

Posted on May 20, 2019 by

“Garlic used as it should be used is the soul, the divine essence, of cookery. The cook who can employ it successfully will be found to possess the delicacy of perception, the accuracy of judgment, and the dexterity of hand … Continue reading →

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Contemplating Island Life

Posted on April 17, 2019 by

“Nights and days came and passed, and summer and winter and the rain. And it was good to be a little Island. A part of the world, and a world of its own, all surrounded by the bright blue sea.” ~ Margaret Wise Brown, The Little … Continue reading →

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Roma di Nuovo

Posted on March 24, 2019 by

Rome again. While I have been lucky enough to visit the Eternal City several times, I always seem to land here in the heat of summer. And any city in the height of summer is hell. But this time it … Continue reading →

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Christmas Markets

Posted on December 24, 2018 by

It is a Sunday morning in mid-December. We are in Köln (Cologne) in western Germany, wandering along the Rhine,  with our hands buried deep in pockets, and scarves wrapped almost up to our eyebrows as an icy wind whips around … Continue reading →

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Remembering the Armistice

Posted on November 29, 2018 by

“They do not know that in this shadowed place It is your light they see upon my face” ~ Mary Borden There was no forward planning whatsoever, but by pure fluke we ended up in the UK for the centenary … Continue reading →

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Ibsen’s Norway

Posted on July 24, 2018 by

‘The pillars of truth and the pillars of freedom – they are the pillars of society.’ ~ Henrik Ibsen Oslo in July. Boats and blue skies. A mad modern opera house, designed to look like it was rising from the … Continue reading →

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