I like to think I would have been a Beatnik had I been born and in my 20s in the 1950s. On further reflection, the more realistic version of the 20-something Beatnik me would probably have been limited to a black roll neck, black capri pants, cigarettes, black coffee and sitting around cool cafés in […]
Vienna, Café Jelinek – How to breakfast like a 2010s Beatnik Read More »
What do you imagine when you hear “flea market”? Overpriced tat, hoards of people pushing and shoving, dusty crockery, trestle tables sagging under miscellaneous car boot/jumble sale type stuff, bacon butties and polystyrene cups of tea, furniture with woodworm, broken electrics, old plugs, poor quality “art” and nothing of value OR antiques, furniture worthy of
Where to go to channel your inner Parisian – Paris flea market (Marché aux Puces) Read More »
Everyday things often seem more appealing and desirable when they’re spotted on holidays. These photos from a holiday in and around Turunç, Turkey are mainly of plant pots, gourds and other outdoor hanging ornaments, ubiquitous features around the Bozburun peninsula but unusual and covetable to me. The use of white on white, white with blue
Turkey – holiday ideas for outdoor plants, features & colours Read More »
How is it possible that a form of pottery and its design from up to 7000 years ago can be recreated in the 21st century and seem modern? This Romanian Cucuteni-Trypillia-style dish was made in Cucuteni in 2018 to pottery-making methods and design dating back to somewhere between 5200 BC and 2750 BC. Cucuteni is
Romanian pottery – 7000-year-old design looking modern today Read More »
To my unrefined nose it’s a load of romantic nonsense when people enthuse about the air of their holiday destination being scented with blah, blah or blah. I can appreciate the odd waft of flowers, baking, wet soil, etc, but not with every step taken inside and out. Oman, however, is the exception where my
Oman – how to use frankincense without the need for dragons Read More »
If I were to play word association linking Sicily with souvenirs, the immediate follow-on would be “heads”. Glazed ceramic heads of a (Moorish) man and a (Sicilian) woman are as everywhere as everywhere means when you’re exaggerating an otherwise valid generalisation. Unsurprisingly, there is a story behind the heads and, equally unsurprisingly, there are variations
Sicilian ceramic heads with a gruesome past Read More »
