Art Nouveau, or Jugendstil as it is also known, was an art and architecture movement of the late 19th to early 20th centuries, at its height 1890–1910. As an artistic philosophy it proposed that art should be a way of life, and that everyday items could be beautiful too. It was inspired by nature – flowers, animals, natural forms. In the old buildings of Riga it is at times at its most flamboyant and exuberant.
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Asen’s Fortress is built on a cliff overlooking the Asenitsa River in Bulgaria’s Rhodope Mountains, and is impregnable on three sides. It isn’t surprising therefore that there has been a fortification here since the time of the Thracians, who fortified it in the 5th century BC. The fortress was rebuilt during the time of the Roman Emperor Justinian as one of a series of fortresses erected to defend the Empire against invasions by Slavic tribes.
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Artist Ben Wilson is the ‘Chewing Gum Man’. While he has produced many other artworks, it is his minute and detailed creations on discarded blobs of chewing gum that have brought him fame. And one of the best places to see them is on London’s Millennium Bridge.
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At half-time during Newcastle United games at their home stadium, St James’ Park, one song is always played. 'Coming home Newcastle' was written by Ronnie Lambert, the Geordie busker. In it he captured the feelings of exiled Geordies returning home from abroad or London. He also reflected the love that Geordies feel for their native city.
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In June 1940 France fell to the advancing Nazi army and was occupied. The British government decided that the Channel Islands, just off the Normandy coast, were of no strategic importance and would not be defended. The islands were effectively demilitarised, and the residents were faced with an impossible choice. Should they stay and face occupation or go, leaving behind families, friends and possessions?
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We visit Iceland for its magnificent landscapes: mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, craggy coastlines. But for street art? Probably not; and yet its capital, Reykjavik, is a cool town with plenty of beautiful and/or interesting murals to be found.
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'Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.' (Kahil Gebran) And if every tree is a poem, a tree that stands alone is perhaps a performance poem - a poem that is shouted to the heavens?
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Imagine a small hill-top town, its old buildings ringed by a defensive wall. The wall is threaded through with covered passageways, known as copertelle. In the past these afforded the residents a safe route around the town even at times of attack. Today they repay exploration by visitors who want to absorb some of the unique atmosphere of this pretty town.
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When I first saw Stokesay Castle I thought that a house had been built on to an older stone castle, but in fact it is an exceptional example of a crenelated manor house from the late 13th century. This is how the better-off lived in the later Middle Ages.
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London is blessed with many parks and green spaces and every Londoner has a favourite. Mine is St James’s Park. I love it for its views, its sense of history, its beautiful lake, and for its birdlife. The park was originally created by King James I who had the marshland here drained to create a park for his palace at Whitehall, where he kept a collection of exotic animals including camels, crocodiles and even an elephant
