Don’t sweat the small stuff, they say. Look at the bigger picture. Don’t get bogged down in details. But we’re on a rock spinning in outer space: everything’s small stuff. Our entire existence, from first breath to last, is a whisper. As individuals, we don’t matter. Our only significance is as a part of the …
I join the crowd of travellers gasping in awe and staring intently heavenwards, as crackling trails of fire and brimstone streak across the sky, stealing the show from the sunset, which had just seen us raising a rum punch to its everyday golden glory. Like a Red Arrows aerobatics show without the planes, or a …
Joyful, intriguing, idiosyncratic – there are many reasons for including a trip to the local flea market on your itinerary when you visit a new town or city – not least, of course, because you might discover a gem of a preloved item to take home with you. Located up and down the UK and …
It’s 8am in Querétaro, Central Mexico, and I’m following a miniature schnauzer as she charts a course through the city with her nose. We’ve chased pigeons in the plaza, disrupted the line of nuns filing into the Convento de la Santa Cruz and trekked as far as the mirador with its view of the aqueduct …
Canals are an often overlooked – yet deeply significant – part of the cultural landscape. They pass through urban sprawl and peaceful countryside, providing an opportunity to pause, reflect and embrace the unhurried rhythms of life. Once bustling arteries that connected industrial towns and cities during their commercial peak, canals worldwide have undergone a remarkable …
‘Let’s go fly a kite!’ urges a rejuvenated Mr Banks at the end of the 1964 film Mary Poppins, after he’s dismissed from his job and heads for the park. Whether on a windswept hilltop, city playground or on the beach with a fresh sea breeze, it can make the heart soar to see a …
Holkham National Nature Reserve, Norfolk, England Cool, crystalline sand slips under my bare feet as I weave between tufts of marram grass, swaying in the breeze. Reaching the top of the dune, I turn to gaze across a vast golden beach and the darker tidal flats beyond, the North Sea a shimmering sliver on the …
Two weeks into my first magazine job, 24 years ago, my editor sent me on a press trip to Paris. Setting off before dawn on the Eurostar, the remit was to interview world-renowned language teacher, the late Michel Thomas, en route. Thomas coaxed long-forgotten French out of me in the most astonishing way. And the …
You’ve probably seen the word ‘sheeple’ used about people who unquestioningly follow the herd. It’s used as an insult, in its presumption that there’s nothing worse than a sheep for blindly going along with the crowd. What about you? Have you ever unquestioningly played follow the leader? Most people have. Even if you rebel against …
There’s nothing quite like curling up somewhere cosy – perhaps with a snug blanket and hot drink – to get lost in a good book. For many people, reading for pleasure is an evening activity and a way of unwinding and calming the mind after the busyness of the day. Perhaps you like to settle …
