Tag: travel

  • 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…

  • Samba!

    Brazil is known for its vibrant cultures and the samba is amongst the most well-known; Samba de Roda, a festival event from Bahia, is recognised as a unique art form in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Samba derives from the colonial period in Brazil’s history. At its foundation are the traditions and cultures of enslaved…

  • The extraordinary music from Malaita

    Disclaimer: Please be aware that some of the links in this article may show images of human remains, currently in museum collections. The people of the Southern part of Malaita, the largest land in the Solomon Islands, are called the ‘Are’are. Until an ethnomusicologist called Hugo Zemp from le Musée de l’Homme in Paris recorded…

  • Andora

    Ten years ago, an auction of Soviet space memorabilia was offered for sale by auction. The collection belonged to Andora, a German artist who, becoming fascinated by space and its exploration, completed cosmonaut training. Andora painted a Proton rocket, at the request of the Russian space agency, that was shot into space in 1992. A…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Each week a playlist is curated to go along with the blog. The pieces on the playlist refer to articles on the blog, sometimes obviously and sometimes more obliquely. To listen, click on the player above. If you have a paid subscription to Spotify you will hear all the pieces uninterrupted. Free subscriptions will have…

  • Yto Barrada

    Yto Barrada is a Moroccan artist who lives between Tangier and New York. The artist uses, in her work, natural dyes and has created a garden estate, “The Mothership“, near Tangier, to explore dyeing with these materials. In a recent exhibition at the Pace Gallery in London, entitled “How to Plan a Garden”, Barrada made…