Approaching Soweto today, it’s hard to think of this sprawling township on the edge of Johannesburg as a where the beginning of the end of apartheid was triggered after scenes of brutal racial oppression were witnessed on TV news bulletins around the world. My first impressions of the […]
Gold Reef City is “where old Johannesburg meets Disney,” said my guide book, branding it “a large, gaudy, tacky entertainment complex”. True, the first thing visitors encounter as they draw near is the big ferris wheel or the screams of passengers being entertained on one of the thrill […]
From the window of my hotel room, I had a ring-side seat of a harbour – South Africa’s busiest – bustling with activity. Cranes were hoisting large containers off ships, ready for onward travel by road and rail and loud beeping sounds reverberated across the bay as vehicles […]
James Stephenson has had so much positive press over the years for his efforts helping launch the modern railway – first on the Stockton & Darlington Railway and then on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway – that you could be forgiven for thinking there weren’t any other pioneers. […]
At Dublin’s St Stephen’s Green, musicians were packing away their instruments after an afternoon performance on the park’s fine bandstand, but the appreciative crowd wasn’t going anywhere. As the set-down music kicked in, people kept on dancing on the grass in front of the stage. Elsewhere in this […]
Whatever time of day you emerge from Angel tube station in Islington, the surrounding streets always seem hectic. People rush from cafe to cafe to grab their morning coffee and then later on move from bar to bar as they unwind after work. This area – like many […]
As far as places to enjoy a post work beer on Friday night go, sitting on a wooden bench at a trestle table in a yard in the middle of an industrial estate is pretty unusual. We are surrounded by warehouses, crates and, beneath our feet, it’s solid […]
There is no shortage of coffee shops in Stoke Newington. I counted at least 10, before settling on a café set at the back of a flower shop with a large peaceful courtyard garden. Away from the hustle and bustle, it seemed the perfect place to reflect – […]
Saturday morning joggers huff and puff as they rattle along the Parkland Walk – the capital’s longest nature reserve – in north London. But once it was trains that let off steam on this urban, yet green, route connecting Highgate and Finsbury Park (there is also a northern […]
Harrow is an area of north London in the shadow of Wembley Stadium that’s full of contrasts. Step out of the station at Sudbury Hill and you are greeted by a shabby high street with bookies and fried chicken shops, but a mere 10 minutes walk up the […]
Past In The Present 