What’s lurking in the back of your cupboards? Could you feed your family with a two-year-old dusty tin of Spam and half a packet of pasta? A few weeks ago, such questions seemed laughable; the preserve of panickers and preppers predicting the apocalypse as the rest of us went about our normal lives. But suddenly, the … Read more
Prepare yourself for the finest of bonnets, a cavalcade of corsetry and a hairy parade of the shaggiest mutton chop whiskers seen on TV since the final of Crufts. Welcome to Belgravia, the new six-part ITV drama set in high society London in the 19th century. Many are calling it the new Downton Abbey, but not … Read more
For most of us, tipping around the world is an awkward exercise, whether it be taxi drivers, in restaurants or the staff in our hotel. But we have only ourselves (or our ancestors) to blame. For the tip originated way back in Tudor England, when it became the norm for overnight guests staying in private … Read more
Here’s the easy bit. The advice is against ‘all but essential’ travel to mainland China, parts of South Korea and ten towns in northern Italy, due to the coronavirus, while some countries, such as Israel, have started to impose their own travel bans. But what about a holiday in other parts of Italy or if … Read more
A trip to Spain doesn’t have to mean staying in a high-rise hotel on the Costas. A string of former royal palaces, castles, manor houses, monasteries and convents have been turned into government-owned paradors and they are the perfect places to experience authentic Spanish culture. Here are ten of the best to suit every budget. … Read more
There are few pleasures to rival pedalling off in the general direction of nowhere in particular, without a care in the world. Especially if your route is dotted with sites of great beauty and punctuated with places to stop off. And you don’t need to be a 10st strip of Lycra-clad muscle and lungs to … Read more
They are the hotel rooms that are, according to the inspectors – ‘perfect’. Forbes Travel Guide has unveiled its list of the world’s best hotel rooms for 2019 – and they all received maximum marks. Undercover reviewers stayed at hundreds of properties across the globe assessing them on comfort, convenience, cleanliness and maintenance. And according … Read more
Where I live and write in Bath, heavy traffic shakes my building. Family, work deadlines, my bank account and, yes, Brexit all conspire to make me feel hemmed in. ‘The essential test of freedom asks how far in any direction we can move from where we now sit without deviating or meeting obstacles,’ wrote the … Read more
Every year the taxman sends out around 28 million tax codes to employees and pensioners — with the bulk landing around this time of year. The code tells you how much you can earn before you have to pay any income tax. Your tax code notice might seem dull but if the numbers and letters … Read more
The Fleece Inn in Worcestershire has been named the best pub in Britain for 2019 – which considering the number of pubs Britain has, is a rather significant accolade. The honour was bestowed upon it by the prestigious Bristol-based travel guide Sawday’s, which specialises in finding special places to stay and eat at. The Fleece … Read more