Santa Claus is coming to town! The Basel Christmas Market is world famous for its old-fashioned had-crafted decorations and yummy food stalls – not forgetting the gluhwein. We even get a visit from St Nicholas and the Grim Reaper at dinner! we hope this sint a bad omen for 2019 was my 5 year scan comes up! Continue reading
The Haywain triptych by Hieronymus Bosch – a stolen photo!
It’s become a habit to celebrate our joint birthdays somewhere exotic – we are only 6 days apart and yes, I am the older woman. Last year we were in Nicaragua and this year we chose Madrid as it equidistant from Basel and London – plus we’ve only ever been there on business. Continue reading
The gang selfie: me, Rebecca, Mish, Tommy and Lucian – its their future
A gaggle of us, all ages, nationalities, heritages and genders assembled at Green Park on Saturday for the Brexit March.
Sunset on the Dents du Midi
Talk about an Indian summer! Mid-October in Champery and temperatures are over 20 C. Determined to make the most of it we have two good walks, but stupidly I left my walking shoes in London, post-Zimbabwe, and had to buy a very smart new pair, half price in the sale (check them out in the photograph below).
Avenue of jacarandas
I have always found Harare one of Africa’s most tranquil and colourful cities, despite the bad press. Give me Harare over Joburg and Nairobi any day. We always spend a day here on our return from Mana Pools. At this time of year the bougainvillea cascades purple, crimson, golden, and the jacarandas form vibrant lavender avenues along the main roads . Continue reading
Long Pool in the early morning
Back to Goliath Camp Mana Pools, Zimbabwe for the eighth time. As usual we take the whole camp with a group of friends, some of whom are new to Africa and to safaris. In addition to our host and incomparable guide, Stretch Ferreira, we are lucky to have Sean Hind, who is a brilliant birder. We have two objectives: find the leopard that has eluded us to date, and break our birding record of 115 species. Continue reading
To end my week in Switzerland we decide to visit Zurich, Switzerland’s premier city and centre of finance and wealth. As predicted, the weather is grim on Saturday – the main reason for leaving the mountains. We book into our modern boutique hotel, the Marktgasse, right in the centre of the old town, and sally forth umbrellas to the fore. Continue reading
