Home in Time for Tea

The Search For the Northern Lights: Where, When, and What Are They?   Beautiful glowing lights in the night sky - smudging streaks of colour, snaking along underneath the stars... What are the Northern Lights?   The Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon taking place in the dark skies of the  polar regions, around the winter months  - approximately October to March in the Northern Hemisphere. The Southern hemisphere experiences the same phenomenon in the Antarctic regions, visible at the opposite time of year but less accessible. The proper name for this incredible phenomenon is Aurora Borealis or Aurora Australis for the Aurora in the Southern hemisphere. It takes place around the winter months because that is when the skies become dark enough to see them. Because of the latitude of the polar regions, the sun doesn't really set in the summer, and doesn't really rise in winter.  In the peak of summer the sun never sets in pl...

Weekend on the English East Coast of Norfolk and Suffolk: Southwold and Gorleston in the Surprise September Sun. Clean and Sandy Beaches, Colourful Beach Chalets, and Boutique Art Galleries The East Coast of England often comes with a complimentary chilly wind whatever the time of year but with the right clothes it is a delightful, often sunny place. This sunny weekend in September however, saw hundreds of British holidaymakers out in force to enjoy a particularly hot and sunny few days on the wide, sandy beaches of the East Coast. Southwold-On-Sea, Suffolk: Lively, Upmarket Seaside Resort on the English East Coast Southwold is a quaint, historic (and upmarket) town in Suffolk. Property is sky high, but why wouldn't it be? The long sandy beach has a blue flag status , making it one of the cleanest in the area, the streets are lined with upmarket shops and boutiques, and there are so many many varied attractions...

T he Edinburgh Fringe Festival can only be described as a frenzy of drama, display and interactive performance, all mixed in with some colourful weirdness and social imagination... Some may find all this performance and obscenity just a little too awkward or just plain weird. However you can't knock it until you've tried it and the atmosphere is just something you can't miss. One particular 'site-specific performance'  I saw this year offered a fantastic and entertaining insight into the interpretation of the  all-too-common employment let-downs and job interview failures . 'Would Be Nice Though' (link below) was expertly written and performed by Odd Comic (Holly Bodmer and Dot Howard), and features an unusal start to the performance events, in an unusal setting. The almost  abstract montage of scenarios and interpretations of the harsh world of employment are played out with a very small, intim...

          A Seasickness Phobic's Ferry Journey to Corsica I wake up from a shallow sleep. It's pitch black and I have no idea what the time is. I don't feel drowsy at all, in fact I can't believe I'd even been asleep. The ferry's been swaying for a while and it's gotten worse. I knew I shouldn't have eaten those chips - God, how long ago was that? I have no idea. It can't be more than 8 hours - that's the length of this crossing to Savona from Corsica. It will surely be over soon. I lie on my side and close my eyes, trying to will myself to remember I'm safe, upright, and just in a lovely little ensuite cabin on night time mediterranean seas, rocking gently with the calm waves. There's nothing at all to worry about. I'll feel more sick if I keep thinking about it, so I'd better suck it up. For goodness sake I just need to go back to sleep. I roll over angrily. I hold the ...

              For new insight into extremely unusual and mysterious parts of the world, read these gripping novels. Be inspired about new places to travel to, and see them from a totally different point of view. FACT 1: I've still never been to the actual places these books are set in FACT 2:  I haven't been able to stem the flow of travel ideas and inspiration I've experienced since reading books like these FACT 3: I've now visited places I never thought would be on my list FACT 4: I still need to visit the actual places these books are set in... Sun at Midnight - Rosie Thomas   Antarctic wilderness, totally undiscovered, freezing and stunning waste at the end of the world. This novel features a scientist's unexpected and lengthy visit to Antarctica and the relationships she forms with diverse people she encounters at the research station. ...