The Travel Section

Friuli – Italy minus the crowds

LIKE most regions of Italy, Friuli Venezia Giulia has no shortage of attractions for visitors but one of its most appealing is what is NOT there … hordes of tourists. Friuli, as it is known – if it is known at all – is sometimes called ‘Secret Italy’ because of its location, perched at the…

Read more...

Nature talks at Shaftesbury

FROM wild geese to the night skies, Shaftesbury’s Folde nature and art bookshop, has lined up a fascinating series of writers’ talks for the spring and early summer, continuing  with Taking Flight on Thursday 18th May. It will feature Lev Parikian talking about his new book, Taking Flight: The Evolutionary Story of Life on the…

Read more...

Far horizons – travels of the imagination

TRAVEL writer Rory MacLean, who lives in West Dorset, has curated an exciting programme for Sherborne’s first Travel Writing Festival, from 14th to 16th April in Sherborne School’s Powell Theatre. These last years have brought dramatic changes to our lives – Brexit, Covid lockdowns, soaring energy costs, climate change and the largest, most brutal war…

Read more...

Chinese drama at Tollard Royal

TOLLARD Talks return to the village on Cranborne Chase on Friday 14th October with an unusual and exciting event, Chinese Boxing, a performance by Mark Kitto, an expert on the vast but mysterious country. The play is also being performed at Martock’s beautiful parish church on Thursday 13th October, at 7.30pm. The event is organised…

Read more...

The spirit of cider – in Ukraine

APPLES and the drinks we make from them have an ancient history, buried deep both in the wild fruit forests of Kazakhstan and in European myths and legends. There is something irresistible and indomitable about our mutual relationship. Here’s a story from Ukraine, via the American food website and newsletter Broken Palate. It is both…

Read more...

A vegetarian in Venice

VENICE is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Perhaps the most beautiful. And it has some famous (and famously expensive) hotels and restaurants. But with the emphasis on seafood, of course, and the traditional dishes such as fegato, it doesn’t have  any kind of vegetarian food culture. So when we went to…

Read more...

A palate for spices

THERE was a time when the only spices in the average kitchen were nutmeg, pepper (usually white and finely ground) and possibly cinnamon. Names such as baharat, sumac or zaatar were, literally, foreign to the average British cook. Tastes and cooking knowledge have moved on hugely and nowadays, in part thanks to inventive and inspiring…

Read more...