Category Archives: travel

189. Olympic laurels 2 – Beijing 2008

Posted on 29 August, 2008 by | 2 comments

beijing-olympics-2008-opening-ceremony-by-arcticiceboy-flickrChina. America. Russia. The world order changed this August, as I’m sure you must have noticed.

I found myself in Greece for the Olympics, back where it all started. Four years late for Athens, and half a world from China.

Yet Beijing reached right around the globe this month. Strolling by the beach on a hot summer’s night, the first images I saw were on a gigantic screen installed inside a bar – a mesmerising, spellbinding sequence from the opening ceremony.

the-new-face-of-china-beijing-olympics-2008-by-kk-flickrThroughout the next two weeks, the dramatic scale and serenity of the show grew and grew.

Each evening I would return to catch another glimpse of something fantastic, incredible, and Earth-changing – the opening up of China to the world, the swallowing of sport and the dawn of a new century on this planet.

And sometimes, I just watched the swimming.
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Posted in 2008, A1 - the best of roads of stone, heroes, history, London, sports, summer, travel

186. Firth of stone and fire – North Berwick, Scotland

Posted on 9 July, 2008 by | 6 comments

streets-of-north-berwick-scotland-by-paradasos-flickrThe afternoon has flown me here, all across a summer sky of grey. The evening beckons now, and outside the window the narrow streets are empty, the shops all shut up for the night.

Scotland. June. Long hours of daylight reaching out ahead.

I stretch my legs along the main street, past red sandstone houses, cafés, bistros and grey tile roofs. It’s a dull old Monday, and the North Berwick weekend bustle, if there ever is one, is hidden far from sight.

The town runs out on me with just the links ahead, and so I try the steps down to the beach. The tide is low and the shore is softly rippled, quiet. No traffic noise. No planes. Just grey sky, grey water, and the lonesome cawing of a gull.
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Posted in 2008, geology, golf, history, Scotland, summer, travel

183. Kenya 7: new light on a dark continent

Posted on 23 May, 2008 by | 22 comments

malaria-dysentery-apathy-oxfam-poster-2008-by-roadsofstoneThis poster called as I walked from the station, reminding me that it’s time to wrap up my series on Kenya.

My visit last summer left me with a whole lot to say about the country, about Africa, and our attitudes to the continent and her people. I sat down to write, and the project found life of its own. Today I’ll outline some highlights, final thoughts and reflections.
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Posted in 2008, Africa, environment, Kenya, summer, travel

180. Mountains of food – la cuisine savoyarde

Posted on 18 April, 2008 by | 17 comments

fresh-powder-flaine-france-april-2008-by-roadsofstone.jpg

I was in Haute-Savoie last week – part of the ancient kingdom of Savoy – that mountainous corner of France around Mont Blanc and south of the Swiss city of Geneva. The name Savoy comes from the latin sapaudia – fir forest – an origin still heard in the French word sapin (fir tree).

Long an independent duchy, the area was occupied by Napoleon’s troops from 1792-1815. After a period as part of Sardinia, Savoy was annexed by France in 1860.

en-avril-hiver-commence-flaine-france-by-roadsofstone

The region has strong associations with Piedmont in Italy, and with French-speaking Switzerland (Turin and Geneva are both much nearer than Paris). The local dialects reflect old mountain French with a smattering of Italian.

But the food doesn’t reflect Italy or France. Savoie is a stronghold of Alpine cuisine. Don’t expect delicate French dishes – this is the home of solidly calorific monster feasts to fuel any long day on the slopes.
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Posted in 2008, food, France, history, travel, winter

179. Kenya 6: Africa – how can we help?

Posted on 1 April, 2008 by | 42 comments

dream-world-internet-kenya.jpg What can we do to help the people of Africa?

Should we visit, as tourists? Is it enlightenment, or voyeurism, when tour companies arrange sightseeing trips to the ghettoes of Nairobi?

The problems are so massive that it’s easy to admit defeat – to assume that if governments can’t sort the problems, then aid agencies and individuals don’t stand a chance.

I don’t share that view. There’s a lot we can do, and here are some suggestions.
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Posted in 2008, Africa, Kenya, travel, world

178. Full fathom five – on Elbow Beach, Bermuda

Posted on 13 March, 2008 by | 9 comments

night-landing-in-bermuda-by-haywards-heath.jpg“Now would I give a thousand furlongs of sea for an acre of barren ground”
– The Tempest, Act 1, Sc.1

“Full fathom five thy father lies” – The Tempest, Act 1, Sc. 2

The sky is falling all around me as the winter afternoon is fading. Down, down we glide, towards the North Atlantic. Three thousand miles of unforgiving sea are all behind us and ahead lies just a pinprick of green holding out against the blue-grey vastness of the ocean.

The rain lashes against the windows as our wings bank on the approach, the landing lights looming nearer in the dusk. A rugged landfall, but now we’re safe.

Outside the airport and across the causeway, a deluge is raging in sheets across the road, the palm trees swaying wildly in the storm. The evening washes itself wet and windswept upon the shore. Continue reading →

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Posted in 2008, Bermuda, divided by an ocean, heroes, history, training, travel, winter, world