When I take the rubbish out to the bin store outside my block of flats, I try to perform this necessary task as quickly as possible. Lift the lid, throw the bags in and make my getaway before the smell becomes overpowering. One thing I don’t tend to […]
Bedminster without the tobacco industry would have been like London without its port or Nottingham without lace. At its peak some 13,000 people were directly employed by the trade in this inner Bristol suburb. But many other related businesses and their employees benefitted indirectly from tobacco manufacturing in […]
Take plenty of pictures if you visit Gdansk Shipyard anytime soon: change is in the air. Exploring this once-bustling industrial district on Poland’s Baltic coast, there were a few large vessels lying in dock and cranes towered on the horizon when we visited. But given that most of […]
Fascinating as Cromer is as a place to explore in its own right, it really pays to venture from the centre and enjoy a stroll along the cliff tops. The town sits at the eastern end of the Norfolk Coast Path, a 47-mile waymarked trail stretching all the […]
Of all the ways of describing Cromer’s busy sea front, refined is probably not one of them. The main streets nearest the coast are lined with amusement arcades, fish & chip shops and bric-a-brac souvenir shops. To top it all, just beyond the boating lake and crazy golf, […]
These days Birmingham and Manchester battle it out to be England’s second most important city, but from medieval times to the 18th century it was Norwich that was the runner-up to London. Cloth was the industry that made this place famous and weavers’ work was brought here from […]
When antique shops don’t display their prices in the window, you know the individual items on sale inside aren’t going to come cheap. Welcome to Chelsea, the fashionable suburb where the now famous Chelsea Bun was first produced in the 17th century, and an area that is today […]
Chelsea Pensioners don’t have far to go if they want to visit the area’s biggest annual event. The giant white marquee of the Grand Pavilion of the Chelsea Flower Show is quite literally at the bottom of their garden. When I strolled through the beautifully-kept grounds of the […]
To understand the history of Cordoba in a nutshell it is only necessary to visit one building. The Mezquita is the oldest Islamic structure in Spain and one of the greatest ever built for the religion the world over. Intriguingly now housing its Christian cathedral, nestled inside this […]
As recently as a decade ago King’s Cross was not the place to head to if you wanted to enjoy a pleasant evening out with friends. Anyone arriving from the north of England was advised to jump straight on the Tube and go elsewhere in the capital if […]
Past In The Present 