Lunch on British Pullman carriages of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express – review
Yes, I have a lovely life: a restaurant reviewer, and able to take my pick of the very best that the World has to offer....
Eckington Manor Cookery School and B & B – review
Eckington Manor is just outside the market town of Pershore, Worcestershire, and could well provide one of the most memorable breaks you have had in...
Raghu Rai’s Delhi – book review
Raghu Rai may not be a name familiar to you unless you are a photography professional. He has, however, had a career which has been...
India – The Ultimate Sights, Places, and Experiences – book review
India is large, colourful, and sumptuous, and any other superlatives you care to mention. It’s a luxurious encyclopaedia of the subcontinent and covers pretty much...
Maharaja – The Spectacular Heritage of Princely India – review
Thames and Hudson are famed for their high-quality books and this is another fine example of the style of book we have come to expect....
Gardens of Delight – Indian Gardens Through the Ages – review
We British tend to think that we invented gardens and the concept of those spaces as areas of leisure. English gardens are mimicked the world...
Montreal – travel review
I lived in Montreal, on and off, for 3 years and I loved it. It’s a city that doesn’t often get a mention and that’s...
Meeting the Medicine Men by Charles Langley – book review
This site is called Mostly Food and Cocktails and the space that isn’t food will be filled with what I hope will interest and amuse...
The Bazaars of Istanbul by Isabel Bocking – review
Many thousands of tourists visit Turkey every year. They bask on the beaches, perhaps hire a boat for a holiday afloat and enjoy grilled fish...
The Complete Route 66, Lost and Found by Russell A. Olsen – review
It’s quite a mouthful of a title and it’s a big chunky book. You could not present just a pamphlet on such an iconic and...
Shanghai City Guide – Lonely Planet – review
Lonely Planet produces some of the most relied-upon and trusted guides around. The company started in a small way in 1972. Tony and Maureen Wheeler...
Sacred Sierra by Jason Webster – review
Well, to be honest, I didn’t find the title very inspiring. Sounds like a hermit looking for religion and it probably wasn’t going to be...
The Other Side of the Bar
…or One Bar, Two Buses, Six Coffees and a Funeral. Don’t we all just love it? The thought of a nice little bar in France,...
Ricelands by Michael Freeman – review
The World of South-East Asian Food. Michael Freeman must be one of the most celebrated and prolific photographers around. Ricelands is his latest book (there...
Spain Body and Soul by H M van den Brink – review
This is another remarkable book from those nice people at Haus Publishing. This is truly quality food writing, travel writing, poetic writing, and thoroughly absorbing...
The Rough Guide to China – review
It’s no good thinking you’ll buy a guide book when you get there, or get by with a bit of assistance from other travellers. That...
Les Moustoussades – Bands Together in Villemoustaussou – review
Every year our village hosts a marching bands competition. These are not crisply uniformed semi-military, baton-swirling groups, these are “bandas”! The eight bandas performing this...
Le Panier Festival in the Back Streets of Marseilles – travel review
Le Panier had always been a rough part of the city. It’s the oldest part of town with a dense lattice of narrow streets with...
Tapas Bar Crawl – Barcelona – food and travel review
We have what Jeni Barnett would call a “nearasdammit” son who is Catalan (note: I do not say Spanish). This has given us the advantage...
Absinthe – The Green Fairy
Originally produced in the Val-de-Travers region in Switzerland and in Pontarlier, France, Absinthe is a distilled anise-flavoured spirit made from herbs including the flowers and...