Cathy Smith's Blog
Posted by Cathy Smith
The provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are known as Atlantic Canada. Fishing has been the life blood of this region for centuries but decreasing stocks, modern high-tech methods of fishing and a moritorium on cod fishing has meant people have had to turn their minds to other ways of making a living and they are just starting to realise the enormous potential for tourism.
Nearly four hundred years ago when French settlers colonized the area it was called Acadia, after an Eden-like place in ancient Greece where the inhabitants lived in rustic simplicity and content. This paradise was shattered when Britain won control of the French colonies and forcibly deported the Acadians.
It’s a tragic story and one which fascinated the poet Longfellow. His epic poem ‘Evangeline’ tells the tale of two Acadian lovers, Evangeline and Gabriel, separated at the time of the deportation. Evangeline spends the rest of her life looking for her lover and eventually finds him on his deathbed. In the 1750’s ten thousand Acadians were forced onto British ships and deported because they refused to swear allegiance to the crown.
Their homes were burned and belongings scattered. Many found their way to Louisiana and the French population there, known today as Cajuns, are the direct descendents of the deported Acadians. In time, many Acadians found their way back to their homeland and today their culture is thriving. The Acadian flag (the red, white and blue of the French tricolour with the addition of the yellow star of Independence) is painted on mail boxes, telegraph poles, and even on lobster pots.
No, I haven’t forgotten about the Micmac Indians who were probably the first indigenous people of the ‘New World’ to be encountered by Europeans. But that’s another story.
New Brunswick (Acadian Canada)
Posted by Cathy Smith
Winter Vacations in the Sun - Kenya
The warm dry climate of Kenya is perfect for a winter getaway. From majestic Mount Kenya which is great for trekking, to the pristine white sands of the coast which fringe the Indian Ocean, there really is something for everyone in this beautiful country.
Luxury Camping. The Masai Mara in Kenya is one of the best places in the world for viewing wildlife. Stay in large comfortable tents with all mod cons and sleep with the sounds of Africa all around you.
Hot Air Baloon Safari in the Masai Mara. See Africa's wild animals up close from your beautiful balloon, drifting above the endless grasslands of Kenya's Masai Mara
Treetops Adventure. Kenya's Outspan Treetop Adventure in Aberdare National Park is a world class resort for viewing animals in their natural habitat as they come to drink at the water hole.
Winter Vacations in the Sun - Australia
Australian outback town of Broken Hill is a popular and unusual tourist destination. It sits like an oasis in a vast red desert which is home to strange animals that have been here for millions of years. Nearby is a fabulous national park.
South Australia - Kangaroo Island
This is the place to see all kinds of wildlife: marsupials, koala bears, platypus and colonies of seals and sea lions. The perfect place to relax in a quiet rural setting - good beaches with safe swimming.
Humpback whales, dolphins as well as some of the best surfing in Australia. A huge attraction is World Heritage listed rainforest, Border Ranges National Park, one one of the most beautiful areas in Australia.
Ayer’s Rock (Uluru) is the biggest rock on the planet. This huge lump of stone is a spectacular sight. Travel south a bit to Coober Pedy where people make their living by digging for opals. Stay in a wildlife sancruary in the Flinders Ranges and do a bit of bush walking.
Winter Vacations in the Sun - South Africa
Kwazulu Natal is known for its game reserves but it also attracts those who are interested in military history, as the great battlefields of the Anglo-Boer War are here. You can have a self-drive safari experience as well as spend some time by the shores of the Indian Ocean.
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Posted by Cathy Smith
When spring is on the way, people in the UK start thinking about the ‘holidays’, by which they mean the summer holidays - the big vacation of the year. This is when the Brits flock to the overcrowded beaches of southern Europe to bake their pale wintery skins under the scorching Mediterranean sun.
My happiest memories of childhood are of the visits to ‘the coast’. Not to the Mediterranean beaches but to English seaside resorts. Donkey rides along the beach, slot machines, carousal rides, ice cream, sandy beaches - everything a kid could want. All this changed with the advent of ridiculously cheap air fares - think £25 ($50). for a return flight to Spain’s Costa del Sol where grown ups are so stupified by the heat they can hardly lift their Pina Coladas. Kids wear big hats and are covered top to toe with sun tan protection cream.
Personally, I just cannot see the point in roasting onself on a beach. It’s not everyone who wants to turn their body into a piece of burnt toast. Give me the English seaside any day. Many resorts over a certain size have wonderful covered Victorian piers where you can stroll if it should rain (of course, it never does!), However, change is in the air and many people are holidaying at home; fed up with the hassle at airports where security precautions mean hours of boredom spent hanging about.
Then there’s the question of what all this flying is doing to the environment. Don’t get me on that - there just isn’t enough space left on this page! Think about it and plan your next holiday at an English seaside resort.
Posted by Cathy Smith
I’ve always loved good food. By ‘good’ I don’t mean haute cuisine. I mean well prepared tasty food. My grandmother in the north of England, cooked dishes that working people had been eating for centuries: such as cowheel, tripe, black puddings and, believe it or not, they were delicious.
Black pudding can still be bought in butchers’ shops and is popular with people who enjoy the Great British Fry Up - in other words ‘The Great Cholesterol Binge’. A huge plate of sausages, fried eggs, baked beans, mushrooms, and black pudding, which is sometimes known as ‘blood pudding’. It is traditionally made by mixing together pigs blood, boiled oats, onion and seasoning and the pudding is then put into skins (as sausages are).
Not for me, do I hear you say? Well, black pudding along with the tripe, cow's heels etc. has made a comeback. The packed out St. John restaurant in London has pioneered the return of ‘nose-to-tail’ eating. In earlier days when working people had to watch every penny this is the kind of food people ate. Nowadays, well-off people are flocking to this restaurant to eat spleens, livers, stomachs, pig’s feet. This type of food is known as ‘offal’ , it is not only very tasty but also very nutritious.
Other restaurants are following as traditional dishes seem to be making a comeback .My articles on Suite101 about British Food have been close to the top of my hits list for months. Now why do you think that is? Could it be that a delicious meal of tripe and onions is on the dinner menu tonight? Read more about Traditional British Food:
Posted by Cathy Smith
Growing up in the north east of England I didn’t get to travel far, but the sea was only a half an hour train ride away. My head was stuck out of the train window and by the time we could smell the sea my hair was as tangled as a rat’s nest and my cheeks bright red.
The beach seemed to stretch forever. I had a bucket and spade and I built sandcastles decorated with shells and pebbles and had rides on the carousel to the tune of ‘Louisiana’. After living abroad for many years I paid a visit to that small seaside town. Oh why do we have to grow up? Yes, the beach was just the same but way down at the end of it were factory chimneys belching black smoke. I was shocked when I was told they had always been there. I saw only sea and sand.
Another treat was a trip toNewcastle with its wonderful quayside market where strong men struggled to escape the iron chains that bound them; fortune tellers predicted anything you wanted for a shilling, and bags of broken biscuits (cookies) were sold from the back of a truck. The market is still there - no strong men or fortune tellers these days, unfortunately.
Now I live in London but my soul is in the north. Sometimes we see the world but don’t know our own country. I have decided to rectify that. I’m visiting a places that I heard about as a child but never visited: the mystery and beauty of Lindisfarne where Christianity was brought to England; Hadrian’s Wall, the last outpost of the Roman Empire; the pre-historic carvings in the National Park, and much more. Some of the best walking in the UK is here,
Northumberland - Walking Hadrian’s Wall
Walking in England - Historic Northumberland
Walking in Northumberland With a Shepherd
Walking from Howick to Craster
Gertrude Jekyll's Garden at Lindisfarne
Hadrian's Wall - Why Was it Built?
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Posted by Cathy Smith
London is a very old city and there have been street markets here since the Romans founded Londinium around 43 AD. Part of their grand plan for the walled city was a market square. It seemed like a good idea but Saxon invaders didn’t think so and put an end to such trading. However, merchants were as persistant as they probably are today and it wasn’t long before a number of markets sprang up and by the late 17th century many were well established.
In the Victorian era they sprouted up everywhere and by the end of the 19th century there were about a hundred markets trading in the streets of London. In those days they were much noisier places than they are today. The air was full of street cries, fortune tellers and entertainers and plenty of places where people could dance and drink away their wages.
Sometimes you can find a real bargain but it’s not always good idea to make this your goal. Better to just wander and enjoy the banter between sellers and buyers and pick up some fresh fruit and vegetables, a bunch of roses, or a trendy t-shirt for half the price you would pay in a store.
I will introduce you to some of the best known markets in London. Mostly they are open at weekends, with a few exceptions. so you won’t be able to visit a different one each day of the week but you will enjoy mingling with Londoners and you will enjoy exploring the street markets of London.
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Posted by Cathy Smith
What is art anyway? It doesn’t even have to be in a gallery. For example, a life-sized sculpture of a naked man by British artist Anthony Gormley was placed on the sidewalk across Waterloo Bridge in London. Had it been in a conventional art gallery it would not have received half the attention it got from passers by - some turning around to inspect it more closely.
Gormley placed similar sculptures on the roofs of high buildings and people wandered around, trying to spot them. That's the sort of thing that makes people ask questions - and questioning is part of what art is about. Visiting an art gallery is another, and the most usual way of looking at art. But, again,what is art?
Go to the Tate Modern on the South Bank and look at the huge, one-colour, canvases by Mark Rothko, or pop over to the National Gallery to gaze at a Rembrandt self-portrait. Why are two paintings so completely different considered to be great works of art? And why, if you or I covered a big empty canvas all over with purple paint or created a representation of ourselves, would our work not be considered a masterpiece?
Well... that is the question, and this is what art galleries are for. They are places where we can check out hundreds of works of art and try to understand what makes them great. It’s not something that happens overnight but it’s a fascinating journey. We don’t have to like everything we see but the more we see the more we find that we do like. Ask questions. Buy a book in the gallery shop which describes the collection, ask someone who you know is interested in art. Once you are hooked it’s with you for life.
London's Art Galleries
Posted by Cathy Smith
It was those imaginative. far-seeing Victorians who were instrumental in creating these treasure houses. They had power as well as the panache to see their ambitions through to fruition and the main museum buildings are a monument to their persistence.
In spite of their likely good intentions, the ethics of taking objects from ‘the Colonies’ has long been debated and in recent times (sometimes bowing to pressure) some items - particularly those with religious significance, have been returned to their original homes.
One great Victorian in particular, none other than Queen Victoria’s consort, Prince Albert, was responsible for the amazing cluster of four major museums in Kensington: the Science, Geological and Natural History museums and the V&A close by. This area has been called ‘a people’s education park’ and would take a lifetime to explore properly. Initially Prince Albert was the power and imagination behind the buying up of land on which to build these great museums.
The British Museum is the largest museum in the UK and one of the oldest museums in the world as well as possibly being the most visited attraction in London.The most popular museum for children is the Science Museum There are many other museums in London, some perhaps unexpected. For example, The Ragged School Museum which was opened by Dr. Thomas Barnado in 1877 in order to give poor children a basic education.
Others include a Tea and Coffee Museum, a Museum of Chinese Art a London Transport Museum, a Theatre Museum and a Freud Museum, plus many more. In 2001 free admission to all major museums and galleries was introduced, except for major touring exhibition like, for instance, the Terracotta Warriors from China, which are very expensive to organise. For more of the world’s best ‘freebies’ - watch this space.
British Museum
Science Museum
Posted by Cathy Smith
Back in the good old days when men were men and women were, well, sometimes a bit wimpy, Ella Fitzgerald sang about how the British Museum had lost its charm. That was because she was anxiously waiting for her man to arrive and worrying in case he didn’t. Once he showed up (romantically appearing through the fog) everything was sweetness and light and, although it doesn’t say so in the song, they probably pranced off to the Museum and lived happily ever after. Or something like that.
Sorry Ella, but if there is any building in the world that could never lose its charm it is the British Museum. One of London’s greatest landmarks , it is about to host one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the twentieth century - China’s Terracotta Army. Twenty or so of the figures will be on show from September 13, 2007 - 6 April, 2008. This will be the largest number of the warriors from X’ian ever seen outside of China.
The warriors will be housed in the former British Museum reading room, the same room where Karl Marx studied and researched for his major work Das Kapital. Many other famous people are connected with this famous room, which nowadays is no longer used as a place of study and is open to the general public. Plans to build a new 1,000 sq metre space in which to hold large-scale exhibitions are underway but in the meantime the warriors will have to make do with the reading room.
So, if you are in London, never mind about hanging about mournfully waiting for your man/women to show up, get yourself off to the British Museum for this magnificent exhibition’.
Other London Museums