Category: Travel

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Each blog is accompanied by a Spotify playlist, a curated list that refers to articles on the blog. Sometimes the audio has an obvious connection, sometimes it is more oblique. To listen click on the player above. Paying subscribers will be able to hear all the audio uninterrupted. Those with a free subscription will hear…

  • The joyful art of Maungarongo Te Kawa

    The Māori artist, Maungarongo Te Kawa, uses an array of techniques and materials to create fabulous, marvellous and wonder-filled quilts. “Ron” Te Kawa uses fabrics to convey messages to uplift, explore and explain his world. He recently undertook a residency in Norway; his words speak for themselves. Maungarongo Te Kawa was a keynote speaker at…

  • Costume and Textile Symposium

    For the past two weeks we have been travelling in the North of Aotearoa New Zealand, a trip that started because of the Costume and Textile Symposium in Whangārei. CTANZ (the Costume and Textile Association of New Zealand) is a membership body and each year runs a symposium somewhere in the country. Often the meeting…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Every week a playlist is curated on the Spotify platform for the blog. Each item references something in the blog, sometimes obviously and sometimes less so. Paying subscribers to Spotify will hear all the tracks uninterrupted while free subscriptions will have advertising breaks. Anyone else can hear short extracts from the playlist. To listen either…

  • Ainu costume

    The Ainu people of Northern Japan have a unique culture, one that was almost lost. Now mostly in Hokkaido, the Ainu once lived from Honshu to Kuril, and differ in their linguistics and culture from the Japanese, who displaced them 150 years ago from their ancestral lands. In April 2019 the Ainu people were recognised…

  • The colours of Aotearoa New Zealand

    The first impression of the South Island/ Te Waipounamu of Aotearoa is of endless green, but this could not be further from the truth. At this time of year with Spring in the air and lambs in the fields, it is time to go out and about, exploring the countryside and the historic sites that…

  • The Spotify playlist

    Each week the blog articles are accompanied by a curated Spotify playlist that you can hear using the player above or by going to Spotify and searching for “Music to read a blog by”. The playlist entries each have something to do with the articles on the blog, sometimes very obviously and sometimes more subtly.…

  • Toumani Diabaté

    Toumani Diabaté was a Malian griot and player of the West African kora. Hailed as the “king of the kora”, Diabaté was from a family of griots, and his blending of traditional with contemporary music earned him considerable acclaim at home and abroad. Read more: https://www.africanews.com/2024/07/20/malis-king-of-kora-toumani-diabate-dies-at-58 https://theconversation.com/malis-kora-star-toumani-diabate-a-personal-reflection-by-his-music-producer-235993 Watch more:

  • Snowshill Manor

    For those who are concerned that they own too many things, here is someone who took this passion for collecting to colourful and wondrous extremes! Charles Wade, a trained architect turned artist and illustrator bought Snowshill Manor, after returning from the First World War, to house his ever-expanding collection. Over the years until he died…

  • The Spotify playlist

    Each week a curated list of audio is made on Spotify to go along with the blog entries. The playlist includes old and new music in lots of different genres, and each piece is chosen to reflect something on the blog. To listen click on the player above or search for “Music to read a…