Wish you were here

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. Impossible? No. This post takes a look at how padlocks *there* are taking the place of the wish you were *here* postcard. Words from Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about my books and blogs). I also publish an interview every week with people who live or work in Islington at islingtonfacesblog.com - there's a prize for the 100th follower.

This may be a very new trend, or an old one that I've only just spotted.. but looking around London I suddenly noticed there are padlocks collecting on the bridges. At the Wobbly Bridge by St Paul's Cathedral there are zillions (see my arty picture above).

Most of the padlocks have names scratched on them - friends forever, young lovers and families travelling.  Once they are locked on to the rails someone gets to throw away the key into the River Thames below.

in Paris at half term my daughter's friend put one on to a bridge across the Seine. There are even souvenir sellers flogging the love locks.

It's a lovely idea in theory... But a cynic tells me the padlocks end up weighing the bridge down so much that either the bridge collapses... or the men with bolt cutters need to be called in. A piece in the Huffington Post here says that it's turning into a big problem in the cities famous for luring in the lovers - Paris, Cologne and Venice...

Over to you
Perhaps the love locks idea is worth adapting and just adding a travel padlock to places near home that are endlessly drawn back to complete with your unique "having a good time" message. What do you think?

How the hackers made me travel to Cyprus (except I didn't)

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. Impossible? No. This post takes a look at how being hacked on line allowed me to find out a lot about Limassol in Cyprus. Words from Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about my books and blogs).

Not quite Limassol, Cyprus though there are ruins and a sea view
at Harlech Castle in Wales. The Welsh coast here is full of sand dunes -
Limassol makes more use of its coast & has planted lines of palms
between the seafront and the city.

A few days ago my whole email list received a spam.

THIS IS SPAM.... (except the subject was SOS help)

Sorry for the inconveniences, I'm in Limassol, Cyprus and I just misplaced my bag containing all my vital items, phone and money at the Bus station. I am stranded at the moment, I may need a little help from you.

thanks Nicola

My email signature (with my phone numbers) had been deleted. This meant that anyone who didn't smell a grammatical rat and replied asking what help I wanted didn't send their email to me, instead they were redirected to a false yahoo email account which looked similar in name to my gmail account. They were then asked for 550 euros. I really hope no one handed that over. It's a lot of cash, especially when the obvious thing to do in a situation like that would be to go to the embassy...

Now I'm a journalist and I have ridiculous numbers of email contacts - many people don't know me very well. The moment I figured out I'd been hacked... (9am on a Friday morning)  I worked out a plan  about what to do - change my password, and cancel the email redirection (which I was frankly lucky to pick up as it just popped up for about 30 seconds near my dashboard before fading. 

I assumed that was it, but quite soon people started contacting me asking if I was OK. I had more than 30 calls/emails that day alone. It wasn't long before I was getting rather curious about LImassol, Cyprus. TripAdvisor has 65 hotels listed for this busy holiday and business centre. At the bus station (I couldn't resist looking at the timetables on line) there are zillions of buses including ones that run night, day, Sundays and to rural stops as well as the city. The restaurants look lovely - although some visitors aren't so keen on the many stray cats that turn up when you eat.

I may not have heard of Limassol before, but it's a big place: there's a port, a posh yacht club, fabulous ancient ruins, a lot of tourists, a sea front lined with palms, gardens (and a busy road of course).  Indeed it's such a cool spot that in 2017 it will be European City of Culture, see this link http://www.limassol-2017.com/index.php?pageid=26

On the LImassol bidding page for Culture Capital there is a fascinating poem written... 

...with the aim of obtaining the title European Capital of Culture, the long voyage towards the destination that is the city’s Programme for 2017 has begun. The words of Constantine Cavafy, one of the most important Greek poets of the modern era, are characteristic, as he described Odysseus’ journey to Ithaka.
“As you set out for Ithakahope the voyage is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery. Keep Ithaka always in your mind. Arriving there is what you are destined for.B ut do not hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years, so you are old by the time you reach the island, wealthy with all you have gained on the way, not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.” Constantine Kavafis

Culture is both a destination and a process and through the process comes the benefit, overcoming obstacles and dangers, gaining experiences and knowledge, always looking forward to arriving at the final destination. 2017 will be a special year and the city of Limassol will celebrate the success of reaching the final destination, having taken on board all that is required for the next voyage. The long voyage, however, begins with bad weather and stormy seas. The whole of Europe is still being buffeted by the effects of the global financial crisis while many neighbouring countries are experiencing social unrest and a great deal of questioning. Culture is nothing less than a catalyst for solutions and answers to all these passing challenges.

Here's a video which might help you get to know the place.

Looking at the pix I'm struggling to imagine where in the UK looks the same. But Kavafis' poem and interpretation for the Culture Capital 2017 certainly matches the spirit of this blog. This hacking incident not only gave me a taste of virtual travel, it also revealed that I have a stunning number of contacts who were willing to check I was OK, ranging from an ice cream seller to a lawyer, many people I've interviewed, even the guy who cuts my hair!

It's not quite like reading your own obituary, but it certainly made me realise that I'm a very lucky person blessed with a lot of friends. I'd rather not have been hacked (and will be changing my passwords far more regularly now) but on the plus side I have I've learnt a lot about Limassol in Cyprus and other people's generosity. Written up properly it would make a sweet little screen play, but that's a task for another day.

Living history at Ironbridge

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. Impossible? No. This post takes a look at the joys of visiting the birthplace of the industrial revolution and wondering what it must have been like in its heyday... was Ironbridge the sort of hell some unregulated resource hotspots seem to be now - say when making mobile phones on Indonesia's Bangka island?  Words from Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about my books and blogs).

It's rare that I make a long car journey with my family, mostly because taking a train is far more comfortable. However in August we decided to drive from London for a fortnight in Wales so hired a car which would allow us to make a detour. For kids who don't use cars much a pitstop at a motorway service station can be a highlight, so what we needed was a place to stretch our legs.

Ironbridge was the obvious candidate for a cultural stop-off too. It's the birthplace of industrial history - a fact I kept sharing with my passengers as we turned in the direction of another brown tourist sign that led us to Ironbridge from the M54. 

To begin with the kids, dog and my partner all seemed underwhelmed by the prospect of visiting an iron bridge (this is a very literally named location but it was built in 1779 so should be forgiven for that!). 

However when my family saw that Ironbridge is set in a beautiful gorge the mood changed. There are 10 museums to visit, and most are open every day from 10am-5pm. Some are free although the family pass offers 12 months of visits and on our short stop-over we didn't need to pay for anything, other than the snacks we picked up. 

Best of all the area offers a real sense of Victorian working history - not just the bosses, but also the workers involved. This honest interpretation is clearly liked by visitors - recently Tripadvisor rated Ironbridge as a better place to visit that the Pyramids in Egypt. It's also rated one of the top UNESCO sites in the world (ie, in a beauty/historic battle against Macchu Pichu, Peru and the Great Wall of China). See UNESCO's info here.

What I liked after hours of motorway driving was the serenity... yet in it's hey day Ironbridge and the surrounding area was simply hell. This is partly explained by a journalist writing for The Daily Telegraph, see the link here:

The gorge contains a four-mile stretch of the River Severn, flowing south from the Welsh mountains to the Bristol Channel. There has been iron-making there for centuries: what put it on the map and – arguably – fuelled the industrial revolution was mass production. In 1709 a Bristol Quaker, Abraham Darby, began smelting with coke from the Shropshire coalfield instead of woodland charcoal. His Coalbrookdale Ironworks churned out the raw material that would underpin everything from railways to steam power. The gorge glowed with industry 24 hours a day like a vision of hell. Darby’s grandson built the elegant, single-span, cast-iron bridge itself in 1779.

It made us all think about how industry has been cleaned up - at least in most of the UK. Yet for some workers conditions remain life-threatening and environmentally destructive. For instance the business of mining for the materials needed to make smartphones devastates parts of the coast and farm land on the Indonesian island of Bangka. 

In the end we walked over the iron bridge and took the dog for a run along one of the many footpaths that follow old railway routes (it helps that the area is so well signposted, see pic above). We also sped around a tiny  museum (free) and then stocked up on pies and coffee. I could have stayed for several days, and indeed plan to return as there's a huge amount to explore at the Blists Hill Victorian Museums, Ironbridge Museums and Coalbrookdales Museums sites. 

Best of all it's a very car-free friendly location - with free park and ride well signposted.

Find out more at www.ironbridge.org.uk including the special evening events and Christmas weekends (16-17 November 2013).

For updates about Friends of the Earth's make it better campaign, see http://www.foe.co.uk/what_we_do/make_it_better_about_37804.html

Italy in Wales (via Portmeirion)

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. Impossible? No. This post takes a look at the joys of pretending to be in Italy from an Italianate village in Wales....  Words from Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about my books and blogs).

Portmeirion offers Italian views and
rabbits... (a Welsh reminder).

Oh how lovely Wales is when the weather is good. But even on a wet day Portmeirion - the extraordinary Italian village built by eccentric Clough Wiliams-Ellis makes you feel you might have been teleported an Italian seaside hillside. See here.

My mum and Nell consider
 different options for birthday
presents: would you want a
fountain or a lion statue?

What's so Italian about Portmeirion?
Well, it's got arches, frescoes, bell towers, strong colours, italian restaurants and cafes, public sculpture, seaviews, a (concrete) ship, and even those tall thin green fir trees that scream "Italy" (not literally!).

All that's missing is a load of skinny cats.

I love the way you can visit, picnic or play. There are lots of walks and if the tide is out lots of beach too. You can also stay at Portmeirion - there are 17 self-catering cottages, plus a hotel. Years ago my mum did this and said the visitors to the cottages were brought breakfast in a wheelbarrow...

Plus breakfast service...
Once at Portmeirion you can take home their lovely botanical china. Or you can get into the 1960s TV spirit by being a "prisoner". This is such a cult activity that there's now an annual Festival No 6. In 2013 it's from 13-15 September.

We also enjoyed surprises on walks around the grounds. Nell was thrilled by the money tree stump (above) and plans to make one at home (should we ever have a tree we chop down).

Even in the rain my mum was inspired to paint a quick sketch. There's definitely something fabulouso - excuse my Italian - about the place...

Travel via chocolate bars

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. Impossible? No. This post takes a look at the joys of eating chocolate, with a shout out to the cocoa beans from the Dominican Republic and Belize....  Words from Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about my books and blogs).

Most chocolate eaters know chocolate is good for them (and here's the evidence!)

Researchers recently claimed that drinking two cups of cocoa a day makes older people cleverer -by slowing down memory decline, see here. I don't think I'm the right age for their target group, but I've recently finished off my stash of chocolate - and on a money saving drive decided not to replace my big bars because they usually get more than one modest piece removed from them during the working day.

Result: I don't feel half as clever or half as happy. Dare I add that I forget why...

So here's a post in praise of chocolate - wherever the cocoa beans are grown but especially the Dominican Republic and Belize. Extra special praise for the lovely Green & Blacks brand that suggests it's good to eat Madelines and croissant jazzed up with chocolate. And even better to give James Bond's favourite drink - a martini - given an extra zing with a bit of chocolate..... (see photo above with recipe cards included in a taster box of chocolates that a lovely person gave me last Christmas).

Fancy a bit of chocolate now? Now excuse me while I report back to the Ompa Lompas.

Over to you?
Can you cope without chocolate? Are you an afficanado when it comes to beans, flavour and brand? Is chocolate a luxury or a necessity in your carbon-fuelled life?

Finding Persian rugs at auction

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. Impossible? No. This post takes a look at how an auction can let you carpet bag, possibly via  a trip to Uzbekistan, or maybe Pakistan....  Words from Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about my books and blogs).

Nell, Lola and our friend Marie pose at the auction.

It's been a mini-ambition of mine to introduce the kids to an auction. I love auctions - livestock or antiques. But I rarely go despite it being such a great way to learn, find bargains, understand money, lose money, make money etc. The research has been lengthy and included complex planning to take them to Criterion Auction Rooms in Islington. First I interviewed an auctioneer, see this link to islingtonfacesblog.com, Peter Ball: auctioneer. Then they had to save up pocket money to bid (this will take them years!). Then I took my daughters to look around the items on view, twice.  They instantly began to like finding chairs to sit on and make attempts to spot bargains.

At last the Monday 3pm sale coincided with us all being around - and my increasing desire for a Persian carpet to stop my office chair sliding across the floor.  The rugs go on sale as early lot numbers, though a few are much later. This sale had: "A hand knotted Bokhara rug the red field with bold repeated geometric decoration" with an estimate of £80-£150.

So I bid - actually I failed to bid for two earlier lot numbers through not really understanding how to make myself known or wave a paddle. Eventual result: carpet under the hammer to the scruffy mother on the sofa with three children (they didn't say this) for £70. Of course you spend more than this as there is an auction house mark up but for £84 I'm the happy owner of a fabulously worn out garnet-red coloured rug. What I don't know yet is if it is a central Asian rug from Uzbekistan, see Bokhara, or a Pakistani Bukhara rug. Either way it's fabulous.

The info at this website (which stocks Persian, Bokhara, Tribal and Kilim styles) reckons a 9x12 foot Bokhara rug - which is the size of mine - could take 9-10 months to make by a small group, because the knots are hand tied. What an astonishing craftsmanship made my rug. I just hope a fair wage was paid by somebody, somewhere for it. I'm certainly not it's first owner!

The dog and I are very happy with the new surface.

Over to you
Are there items in your home, that you use all the time, but actually have a strong link to somewhere else in the world? I guess "made in china' counts too.

Red Kites and Roald Dahl: Bucks for books

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. Impossible? No. This post takes a look at Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire one-time home of Roald Dahl.  Words from Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about my books and blogs).

Delicious drinks from Cafe Twit. Just add fizz and ice cream.

The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre is billed as a perfect day out for six to 12 year olds.  I left it years too late and ended up at the converted coaching inn - excitingly entered via a courtyard enclosed by Willy Wonka's gates from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - with two 15 year olds and a 12 year old. Of course they weren't the oldest visitors, as there are plenty of adults there. The exhibition is surprisingly cerebral - lots of words and letters to look at. The games are all about how you can be a writer - even the entry fee gets kids an adorable My Story Ideas Book and a pencil to use as they discover more about Dahl's life and wicked humour. It's a very different experience to the breathtaking Potterworld experience one country away which goes for shock and awe as you meet the film sets.
But Roald Dahl is a wonderful children's writer and creations like Matilda, and the dream-catching BFG have already stood the test of time. At the museum kids are given permission to explore their imaginations so they can travel anywhere, and then write about it. All aided with crazy food and drink concoctions served up at Cafe Twit.

Great Missenden is far smaller than I expected, yet has a wonderful array of shops (bizarrely almost all  but the sweet shop, Co-op and train cafe shut on Sundays - is there some kind of country rule about Sunday activities?). It also boasts spots that could be familiar to Dahl's fans - the library which Matilda visited while her mum went to bingo. The petrol pumps from Danny the Champion of the World (not read this yet) and the "n-orphanage" from which Sophie was stolen by the BFG.

Revisiting stories I read with my kids wasn't the only thing that gave me flashbacks. From 1975-80 I went to a boarding school in Buckinghamshire, an experience I would only wish on enemies - and certainly not children. It was such a painful experience that even now I try to avoid Buckinghamshire. But still as the train reached Amersham and the views opened up I felt that sinking go-back-to-school heart ache return.  This must seem silly as the county is a looker: studded with beautiful beech woods, once well-managed for chair making.  It also takes in a chunk of classic English chalk downland known as The Chilterns which stretches into neighbouring Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Oxfordshire.

Marie, Nell and Lola pose while the red kites
swoop out of the picture.

Lola swings, with Marie and Nell in the beech woods.

The area around Great Missenden is also renowned for the successful re-release of the once common Red Kite (a bird once so prolific it's geographical range stretched from Finland to Gambia). After our tour of the museum we took an hour-long exploration through hay meadows and woodlands (a trail provided by the Dahl museum), during which the kids spotted two Red Kites hovering - easy as they have a distinctive V shaped tail. "It's so close you can see the colours," said Lola in some awe when she saw the first. 

Back in the Roald Dahl museum we had another look at the hut where Dahl cocooned himself for morning and afternoon writing sessions. It certainly offered sharper insight into the writer's mind. Dahl loved coffee and chocolate as he wrote (I do too!). Beside the now-dead writer's chair is a desk where sits shavings of his spine (to ease an old injury caused by a plane crash, see his life story in Boy), his hip joint and an equally round ball made from Kit-Kat wrappers. Each equally gruesome, all shouting for their fascinating story to be told...  

We didn't quite travel the world on this trip, but it left us all thinking about how to describe our worlds better. Definitely an inspiring way to start the holidays.