Header photo – Zurich riverside/ Border photo – street cobblestones, Prague
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Category Archives: not really travel
Aliens captured!
Lazy me. I AM working on a couple of other posts but it takes time, especially if there are more than one or two photos to add. Until then… I came across this photo taken at a local autumn fair … Continue reading
Xmas rats on my dashboard
I know, this barely counts as blog-worthy but hey, it’s timely, no? These two critters came from IKEA many years ago. They started life sitting on the top of my office cubicle and, somehow, somewhy, they began getting dressed up … Continue reading
Posted in All Suzanne's travel essays, not really travel
Tagged dashboard rats, Ikea rats
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Bolshoi Ballet – Spartacus 2016
This is not, strictly speaking, a travel post. I went to the movies near home recently to see a ballet but enjoyed the broadcast so much I decided to blog about it. See… my two favorite performance disciplines are live … Continue reading
Euro news from Prague Post – drink more cava
Not only did Prague Post publish photos of their tree lighting in Old Town Square – making me pine for the trip I took to see their Xmas markets a couple of years ago (see Facebook page) – they also … Continue reading
Removing a couple of posts
Recently, I have become aware of the growing number of spam comments attaching themselves to a few of my older blog posts. This is supremely annoying, not to mention time-consuming – clearing out the spam folder so often. If this … Continue reading
Posted in not really travel
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Look for a new £1 coin in 2017
From the London Independent. Found this sitting in my draft folder, but I should have posted it ages ago. The first thought that popped into my head when I saw this was… will this new twelve-sided £1 coin work in vending … Continue reading
Important updates on Masterpiece Mystery!
From London Independent. For those of us who are even more addicted to British murder mystery programs than to Downton Abbey – news that there will be more episodes of both Inspector Lewis AND Endeavour is really, really good! The … Continue reading
This is silly! Magpie blog sets new record
For the almost three year life of this blog, daily hits to the site have numbered in the single and low double digits most of the time. Statistics automatically generated by WordPress include the daily numbers of hits and showed … Continue reading
Top Scotch whiskies
From London Independent. Ten top Scotches, a mix of single malts and blends. Blends? Really? I bought a nip of Highland Park in Edinburgh last month; quite nice but, admittedly, not the 25 year old stuff – more like 10 … Continue reading
craft beermaking growing in Germany
From France 24. The craft beer trend so well-established in the US has come to Germany. This could require some essential on-site research in the near future!
Quails for dinner at the Space Station
From France 24. This story relates to a rather far-flung destination, and one I don’t anticipate experiencing. But I got a kick out of the headline – it immediately reminded me of a Muppet sketch – “Pigs in Space”. Wrong … Continue reading
A new market in Sheffield aims to be the Borough Market of the North
From the London Independent. The first outdoor food market in ten years opens in Sheffield. Will it have the quality, variety and appeal of London’s Borough Market? Time will tell. Not what you’d call an easy visit from London, but if … Continue reading
Top (mini) mince pies for 2013 – yummm!
From the London Independent. If you’re hanging around London for the Xmas holidays, here’s a handy list of packaged (mini) mince pies to top off your holiday meal/s!
Champagne vending machine in London
An excerpt from a London Independent article on eating lobster described a fabulous (non-seafood) sighting in Selfridges, the London department store. To wit – = = = = The convenience of instant luxury crystals I love the idea of the … Continue reading
Rare Jewish manuscript found in England
From the London Independent. A rare Jewish manuscript from the 18th century has been found and will be auctioned off. (Not related to the art horde recently found in Germany). Check those soup cartons before recycling!
Posted in Archaeology in Europe, England, European art, News from Britain, not really travel, UK news
Tagged Haggadah found, rare manuscript
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A bit of rugby news
From the London Independent. An appraisal of the New Zealand All Blacks and their consistent world dominance. And a post-mortem on England’s loss to the Kiwis. The review has one element that I would like to emphasize – a second-row … Continue reading
Posted in England, News from Britain, not really travel
Tagged England rugby news, New Zealand rugby news, rugby news
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International Herald Tribune morphs into Int’l NY Times
From France 24. Just in case you’re looking on a European newsstand for the International Herald Tribune, it’s gone bye-bye. In its place, the International NY Times is now the masthead to seek. I liked the IHT. I could read most … Continue reading
The debate on extended retail openings in France
From France 24. Doing business on Sunday in France may be coming. Groups are lined up on both sides of the issue. Will the spreading trend of acquiring stuff displace this more than one hundred year old law? Maybe this … Continue reading
A good year predicted for Dutch wine – Dutch wine?
From DutchNews. 2013 looks to be a good year for Dutch winemakers. The Dutch make some great cheese. Who knew the Dutch made wine?? Great combination, though.
Wine is back on the bill in nation of Georgia; Russia to upgrade its rail system
From France 24. Russia banned Georgian wine for a while beginning in 2008 but it’s baaaack! From Deutsche Welle. Russia is planning to pour pots of money into modernizing its rail system, including the Asian portion. Makes me wonder what … Continue reading
More April 2013 news from Europe
From France 24. The Gates of Hell have been dug up in Turkey (not a government building – it’s an archaeological site). From London Independent. This event was linked to in a previous blog post. Ruminations on the reopening of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum … Continue reading
Not the same old lawn ornaments
One of the shops at Floriade, the Netherlands’ once-every-ten-years horticultural exhibition, had a variety of plastic lawn ornaments for sale. In addition to the usual ducks, chickens and gnomes, they also had goats and… you won’t believe it… guinea pigs!! … Continue reading
Magpie blog announcement
Over the coming weeks and months, I will be fiddling with both the blog theme (format) and with how I present news links. The themes I play with will still have header images – I quite like that feature – … Continue reading
Pajamas needed
From Oxford Mail. I’m just posting this because the headline tickled me. A play set in a pajama factory needs lots of pj’s as costumes for the cast. I can’t really help; I recently had to throw out my worn … Continue reading
Posted in General magpie travel, News from Britain, not really travel, UK news
Tagged Oxford news, pajamas needed
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New production boost for London black cabs
From London Independent. I didn’t realize that the maker of London’s black cabs is now owned by a Chinese company. Now comes word that they’ll be ramping up production, with a view towards building hybrid vehicles and, eventually, hydrogen-powered cabs. … Continue reading
Multiple Mona Lisas
From France 24. Swiss analysis, including carbon dating, has confirmed that, although the Louvre’s Mona Lisa is an authentic work by Leonardo da Vinci, it’s a copy he made of an earlier version.
Posted in European art, France, General magpie travel, News from Europe, not really travel
Tagged Leonardo da Vinci, Louvre, Louvre Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa
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The newest and youngest Macbeth
From London Independent. James McAvoy, age 33, has started a run as Macbeth in London, the youngest Macbeth if only by a couple of years. Through 27 April.
NY’s Grand Central Terminal celebrates centennial
From France 24. Celebration of Grand Central Terminal’s centenary. Much as I love London, Grand Central is probably my favorite train station anywhere. It’s where I land on my day trips to NYC. One of these days, I’ll make time … Continue reading
Top ten Scotch whiskies
From London Independent. There was a similar list published in September of 2011. New year, new list and this time, all single malts. Top ten single malts. One entry appears on both lists – the Old Pulteney 12 year old. … Continue reading
Dutch Queen Beatrix to abdicate in April 2013
Just an interesting tidbit from DutchNews. I know almost nothing about the monarchies and monarchs of continental Europe, possibly because they are so low-key. The only time we hear anything about them is if one of them dies or one … Continue reading
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