Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for england
A Dickens of a Celebration
By Linda Tancs
Today marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Britain’s beloved author Charles Dickens. To mark the event, a wreath laying ceremony will take place in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey, at 11 a.m. Dickens is buried in the South Transept of the Abbey. The ceremony will include readings from his novels and his other writings by actor and director Ralph Fiennes, author Claire Tomalin and two of Dickens’ descendants. Events will take place throughout the year. Don’t miss the re-opening of the Charles Dickens Museum, based at his only surviving London home. The Museum of London is also hosting an exhibition, complete with the desk and chair where Dickens wrote some of his greatest works. The best of times await you.
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Mum’s the Word
By Linda Tancs
You’ve heard it before: talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words. In London they celebrate action–visual theatre–at the International Mime Festival. Until 29 January you can experience the circus athletes of Sugar Beast Circus, mask theatre of Kulunka Teatro, the light and shadow of Fleur Elise Noble, acrobat-dancer and magician Claudio Stellato and object theatre of Théâtre Tête de Pioche. In short, a feast for the senses.
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First Time Opening of London Mansion
By Linda Tancs
Two Temple Place, the neo-gothic mansion on London’s Embankment once owned by financier William Waldorf Astor, has opened to the public for the first time. Now an exhibition space, the magnificent dwelling will also be the first venue in London to showcase regional collections. Admission to the gallery is free.
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A Christmas Celebration at Winchester Cathedral
By Linda Tancs
The choristers of Winchester Cathedral have toured to international acclaim. Today and 22 December are your chances to make beautiful music with them at the free carol service. In this historic setting representing the seat of Anglo-Saxon and Norman power, you’ll bear witness to 15 centuries of English history. The cathedral is also the final resting place for literary great Jane Austen. And as she so aptly put it, may your Christmas abound in the gaieties which that season generally brings.
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Eye on Blackpool
By Linda Tancs
Blackpool is a seaside borough in northwest England. Heavily dependent on tourism, its newly regenerated Promenade features, among other things, a reopening of its iconic, Eiffel-esque tower. After a 10-month restoration project, the structure boasts an entertainment complex befitting any tourist destination, including a dungeon and 4D cinema. But nothing beats the panoramic view of the Eye, the refurbished observation deck with views rivaling London’s famous wheel. On a clear day you can see forever, as the song goes.
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Extreme Driving in London
By Linda Tancs
London’s International Horse Show at Olympia hardly sounds like the venue to be associated with extreme driving. Yet that’s exactly what’s happening for the first time at this year’s event. Extreme driving is a high speed indoor driving competition featuring the world’s top three drivers. A new equestrian disicpline, the action will take place on the evening of 15 December and the afternoon of 16 December. Sure gives new meaning to the expression, hold your horses.
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Fashion, Food and Frolic in Stratford
By Linda Tancs
UK shoppers are no strangers to the Westfield Group, one of the world’s largest shopping centre portfolios boasting approximately 25,000 retailers in more than 10.5 million square metres of retail space. The new Westfield in East London’s Stratford is Europe’s largest urban shopping mall with 222 stores, a fresh food court and leisure and entertainment activities like a bowling alley, casino and cinema. Sign up for sneak peeks and you could win 1000 GBP.
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Treehouse Dining in Northumberland
By Linda Tancs
Ordinarily you might not wish to see a tree trunk rising like a phoenix from the floor of your dining room. That is, of course, unless you’re dining in a treehouse. No doubt a unique experience, The Treehouse at Alnwick Gardens in England’s Northumberland offers farm-to-table menus, live music and a long list of beers and wines. Not to mention the bird’s-eye view. Needless to say, the kids will love it.
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1066 Redux
By Linda Tancs
In the mood for a joust? If so, the Battle of Hastings reenactment on 15 and 16 October may be just the ticket for you. The annual event in Britain’s East Sussex features 400 soldiers clashing in the annual re-enactment of the 1066 Battle of Hastings, on the very battlefield where it took place. A decisive Norman victory, the battle took place between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II. The living history encampment will immerse you in medieval life. The cavalry awaits you.
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Scotsman Soars from Edinburgh to London
By Linda Tancs
The Flying Scotsman is arguably the world’s best known steam locomotive, having dutifully plied the route between London and Edinburgh for decades. Purchased for the nation, it found a home at the National Railway Museum where it is undergoing restoration to full mainline running condition. In the meanwhile, what’s a busy traveler between Edinburgh and London to do? East Coast has the answer. In May, the train operator introduced a Flying Scotsman express service, a four-hour jaunt calling only at Newcastle in its route between Edinburgh and London’s King’s Cross station. The new service is the cream of the puff, you might say. Other improvements include a new early-morning service from Berwick-upon-Tweed, Alnmouth and Morpeth, which connects into the Flying Scotsman service at Newcastle.
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