Culture Archives - Jim Murty’s TravelTravelTravel

Countries, Europe, Music

Calvin and Capaldi are acceptable in the Maltese

7th May 20267th May 2026 funtime65

And because pop tourists keep coming back it’s why Calvin and Capaldi are acceptable in the Maltese.

The Scots singing superstars are hitting the Med party island this August.

And yes it is down with the kids, and the old kids.

Oh my Daze

Our Irish holidaymakers friends Cassidy Travel have put together packages for us around the gigs.

SummerDaze is one of Europe’s premier music festivals.

And brings visitors live open-air performances from global stars.

So we guess this is what you came for and who knows Dumfries DJ Cal may even bring Rihanna with her.

While if Lew is someone you loved then you will be happy he’s back since his Glastonbury meltdown.

And ready to give you a bleeding good time in front of the Maltese masses.

Someone Lew loved

Now you can give yourself a single helping of Lew.

And are broken by desire to be heavenly sent, whatever that means.

Then Cassidy will give you four nights of SummerDaze Malta with flights and concert ticket included from August 9.

And you’ll stay at the 4* Bora Bora Ibiza Malta Resort at €499pps.

While because we know Cassidy Travel is always thinking of you and it is summer.

Calvin callin’

You can book yourself a four-nighter around Calvin Harris from August 14 with flights and concert ticket included.

Staying at the 3* Lady Todd Hotel at €599pps.

While if you can’t choose between the two then Cassidy puts on a seven-nighter covering both superstars.

From August 10 with flights and concert tickets included.

Staying at the 3* Lady Todd Hotel at €849pps.

Countries, Ireland, Music

Fleadh a note to follow so

27th April 2026 funtime65

And now you know how it’s pronounced we’re ready to sing the praises of the Fleadh a note to follow so, and this year’s host city Belfast.

The grand old city will be hosting the 75th iteration of the All-Ireland trad culture and arts festival from August 2-9.

And already ‘yir man’ (and woman) are in full flow with the prep.

With 100 days to go until Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann arrives the organisers have announced seven new headline acts.

Piping hot

Acts such as Tempest Ceol and acclaimed uilleann piper Conor Mallon are set to take centre stage.

As well as old favourite Sharon Shannon and her Big Band.

The Fleadh was a perennial in our 13 years in Ireland.

With Ballsbridge in D4 in the capital often rammers with Riverdancers in early August.

Fleadh being a celebration of all Ireland the party moves around the 26 Counties and for the first time checks in to Belfast.

Tickets for the Comhaltas events will go on sale from Friday from fleadhcheoil.ie.

Shannon off to a flier

SharShann will get the whole thing up and running on the Sunday with her award-winning group Goitse.

And former All-Ireland winners Blackwater Céilí Band.

The seven new acts announced will also perform on the iconic Gig Rig stage which will be located outside Belfast City Hall.

On the Wednesday audiences can look forward to performances from two dynamic quartet groups, Tempest Ceol and NxNW.

The following evening uilleann piper Conor Mallon will take to the stage.

Scots fly the flag

And because we have our own ‘special relationship’ with the Irish we’ll be there too.

With the weekend ushered in on Friday with Glasgow ensemble TRIP.

Before rising talents Peter Street and the electrifying Mec Lir headlines Peter Street and the electrifying Mec Lir on the Saturday.

This main stage will host free live performances across all eight days of the event.

Childs’ play

Aw, and get this, to mark the 100-day milestone.

Over 100 schoolchildren across North Down and Belfast as part of a School Choir Project.

There will also be a collaborative performance from host branch, Ards CCÉ, South Asian Dance Academy, Belfast Bands Forum.

And an array of Champion Irish dancers led by Riverdance lead Lauren Smyth.

Countries, Culture, Deals, Europe, Food & Wine, Music

Efharisto Rhodes you are Colossal

21st April 202621st April 2026 funtime65

Efharisto Rhodes you are colossal and as we say Yassas at the end of our loveholidays odyssey we reflect on the legends we have met.

Michael, the pick-up driver who took us on our first night to the Amphitryon Hotel.

May you make enough from your driving and your day building job to realise your ambition to settle down and slow down in your 40s.

Manolis, our bar manager who patiently and smilingly put up with this Bandanaman mangling his language.

To you and those who fed us so fully a Yamas (or cheers).

Over an ouzo with the best Greek traditional band Bouzouki playing in the background.

Yamas to new friends

To the new friends we met, the Three Yorkshiremen and Jay, Cherry and Jane.

And thanks for the offer of your room on the day of your check-out Jane.

Only I am still haunted by another invitation from my Athens odyssey.

And Toy Boy Brian, OK, he’s a fellow Sixtysomething like myself but travels the world selling vintage toys.

And meets celebs and gets the VIP treatment, hence him meeting the Bandanaman.

Then, of course, the army of cats who responded to our cheery kalimera.

Even when noon had passed and it should be a kalispera.

Especially Symi2, our forever friend who took residence of our laps.

And whose picture will now occupy a place on our crowded fridge.

Legends carved in rock

It is back now to chilly North Berwickety in Scotland where Rufus Rules now has a lot of living up to and explaining.

But not before a nod to the legends who come out at night.

Now Rhodes is clearly not shy of gods carved into rock.

But Nicklas and Despina are the god and goddess of rock at the Legends Rock Bar in Old Rhodes town.

Downing shots as they serve and producing a bottle of Bunnahabhain smoky Islay whisky and testing me on my Scottishness.

By asking me to pronounce it which incidentally is Bunahaveain.

And all the time Nikos the singer, of course, belts out the standards from across the rocky lane.

Reading the words perfectly from his screen which is no mean feat when it’s Cher’s warbling.

Kalinihta and dreams of gold

I leave with a kalinihta and breathe a sigh of relief that I have not said anything inappropriate.

As happened when I greeted the concierge in Rome with a buona notte e sogni d’oro.

But come to think of it, good night and dreams of gold does sound a fitting farewell to Helios, the Sun God’s island, Rhodes.

Your friendly neighbourhood Bandanaman is travelling with loveholidays and EasyJet from Edinburgh.

And staying at the Amphitryon City Hotel, 800m from the Old Town.

All for £1,028 for two, B&B and evening meals, for a week with airport transfers.

Countries, Culture

Brush strokes across Slow Art Day

11th April 2026 funtime65

I was slow at art at school and appreciate those who can draw, so Mr Cairney here are my brush strokes across Slow Art Day.

I’ve been slow too, like many, to Slow Art Day today and was only alerted to it by our pals at Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum.

Which is, of course, a great place to start.

Spuds you like: Van Gogh’s The Potato Eaters

Because to this untrained eye there is nobody who masses quite as much paint on a canvas as Vinnie.

So that you really have to get up close and study the encrustations on the canvas.

Which means more than the 30 seconds on average that is normally spent looking at a painting.

Monkeys and their Mickeys

Now unless you’ve studied art or tailgated a guided group you might not know what to look for.

But trust yourself, and besides you’re always likely to be found out if you hang on to a tour as the Son and Heir and myself were in the Capuchin Crypt in Rome.

Handily all galleries have audio guides and plaques to direct us to the messages in the art without cheating our way on to tours.

Of course, no piece of art is the same as another unless you’re a very good counterfeiter.

But some feel easier to decipher than others.

Such as one of our favourites, Jan Breughel’s Allegory on Tulipmania at the Frans Hals’ Museum in 1640.

And not just because Breughel anthropomorphises and satirises monkeys.

And there’s one in the corner with his mickey out peeing on a tulip… but it helps.

The Bayeux Tapestry ‘swords’

It’s also come to our attention, and other puerile folks that there are 93 penises in the Bayeux Tapestry.

And you thought they were swords.

Well, that’ll take you more than 30 seconds to count them all.

Now there was probably a very good reason why Mr Cairney never took our class to the Glasgow Art Gallery.

Because we would have guffawed at the half-dressed women so beloved of the Old Masters.

Rather than wonder at the surrealist wonder that is Salvador Dali’s Christ of St John of the Cross.

Venus without her blue jeans

Now Sandro Boticelli could never have imagined that his The Birth of Venus would become the plaything of Monty Python and pop up on students’ walls.

But we dare say that Sandro had fun putting the last touches to the body of the goddess who is displayed in the Uffizi Gallery in Firenze.

And it just shows that the allure of what you can’t see is often more erotic than what you can.

Although Michelangelo’s The Boy David has to be seen in all his nubile openness.

Now, of course, fans of Venus, and who isn’t, who live up in this northern tip of the British island don’t have to go to Fireze for their fill.

With Titian capturing Venus Anadyomene drying her hair at the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh.

And that only goes to show that goddesses aren’t really all that different from the rest of us.

Now whether you like your art pared back, saucy, religious, irreligious or a pile of bricks or unmade bed, then we’re all for it.

And spend as little or as long as you want, or can.

Africa, Countries, Culture

Cool in the Caftan in Marrakech

23rd March 202623rd March 2026 funtime65

It has long been the costume of choice of hippies returning from Morocco who reckoned they looked Cool in the Caftan in Marrakech.

But stood out like a thumb in the chilly north of our wee island.

There is, of course, a practical reason why North Africans and those in the Middle East wear the long flowing clothes and headgear they do.

And because they have been donning these cool clothes for centuries then they look a good deal cooler than their imitators.

It will come as little surprise to hear that the kaftan, or long robe, originated in the Ottoman Empire and spread across the Arab world.

Although it also shows up in Jewish dress and Russian too.

Flowing robes

For our purposes, of course, we let somebody else do the heavy lifting, and that somebody is the temporary exhibition at Caftan Week.

Of course, the emphasis is on the fairer sex here, and really long flowing robes are really only ever best on a woman.

And a dusky North African or Middle Eastern beauty at that.

Of course if you happen to be in the Rose City now and want to put in the prep before Caftan Week between May 7-10.

Then you should think about heading to Histoire de Caftan by Diamantine.

Which showcases textiles stacked floor to ceiling with every colour of velvet, muslin, cotton and sequin cloth.

Needle & thread walk through the souk

We’re advised to take the needle & thread walk through the ancient souks.

Now anyone who has walked through the souks will know that you’ll need to avoid vendors trying to barter with you and thrust apple teas into your hand.

The well mapped-out trail will take you to several vibrant areas of the ancient medina from tailoring to dyers souks.

Now Diamantine, has been at the forefront of the atelier scene for 15 years.

This year’s Caftan Week is dedicated to the theme ‘Nefes El Atlas’, or ‘Breath of the Atlas’.

And pays tribute to the mountains and their culture, which has acted as a source of inspiration for local designers and fashion houses.

And the exotic Pink City is easily accessible from your local airport and we found an EasyJet return flight covering the dates of Caftan Week from £302pp for three nights.

Countries, Culture

How Ireland is taking over Greeningland

16th March 202616th March 2026 funtime65

And this is how to do it without upsetting anyone, or how Ireland is taking over Greeningland.

It’s the Irish way, just to smile politely and win over the world through charm and then put your own cultural imprint on it.

Which is exactly how the Irish have been doing it for hundreds of years.

And since 2010 how they’ve been marking St Patrick’s Day through Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative.

With sites lighting up in green for 2026 including the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Empire State Building in New York, Niagara Falls, the CN Tower in Canada.

And The National Wallace Monument in Scotland, Heidecksburg Castle in Germany, the Cibeles Fountain in Madrid, La Croisette in Cannes, the Grand Place in Brussels and the Sky Tower in Auckland.

Green for go

Of course, each new year Tourism Ireland persuades more countries to bring new landmarks to the party.

Last year it was the polar bear sculpture in Longyearbyen in Norway.

And one of our favourites The Kelpies, the largest equine statue in the world, in Falkirk.

And this year the Jelling Stones in Denmark and the Bergisel Ski Jump in Innsbruck, Austria.

A bit more about the newbies.

A high old time

The Jelling Stones being two Viking Age rune stones from the 10^th-century,

And the Bergisel Ski Jump, well, it does what it says on the tin and has been for 100 years.

So wherever you live have a word and see if the powers that be can add a touch of emerald to their sites.

Which is what they did in the Chicago River to get the party and the water flowing.

And remember that there’s nothing stopping you limin’ and wearing green.

In your own household and with your own party and you don’t have to be Irish or part of the diaspora.

MEET YOU ON THE PADDY’S DAY PARADE

America, Countries, Europe, Music

Our five fab films for Mother’s Day

15th March 202615th March 2026 funtime65

And you can put money on Jessie Buckley gushing about being a mum in her Oscars acceptance speech, and while Hamnet is a tour de force, here are our five fab films for Mother’s Day.

With a nod, of course, to the mumdoms where they ruled the roost.

Let’s start at the very beginning

The Sound of Music: And if a mother’s love is unconditional then all the more credit for women who take on another man’s children.

And seven of them at that.

But when you’re an Austrian singing Julie Andrews nun turned governess then you have all the tools for motherhood.

Maria and Captain Georg took the train from Salzburg down to Italy.

Not over the mountains because they’d have ended up in Hitler’s Lair, and then onto America.

Where Georg and Maria added to their Von Trapp brood with three more Kinder.

The mothers of all mothers

Nonnas: And let’s hear it today for the grandmothers because every Nana is a mamma.

Or in Italian culture a Nonna.

Cue this charming real-life movie, starring Vince Vaughn, about a grieving son who honours his mum by opening an Italian restaurant.

With nonnas on Staten Island, using the recipes of Mamma which has become something of a tourist stop-off in the New York borough.

Some mothers do ‘ave ’em

Throw Momma from a Train: And because sometimes our mums can be overbearing, this Danny DeVito and Billy Crystal classic has to make the list.

A homage to Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, DeVito has his usual dark fun with the original.

With Griffiths Park, Los Angeles and Hawaii adding to the enjoyment and the plot.

Magic Mum

Harry Potter: And when you are a poor orphan child with the weight of being a boy wizard you need an adopted mum.

And where Aunt Petunia was ghastly Molly Weasley was magical.

Taking in Harry as one of her own along with her ragbag children, while also facing down Bellatrix Lestrange.

And for the best place to discover how she did it all and what magic tricks she invoked.

Then you’ll need to immerse yourself in the Wonderful World of Harry Potter at Universal Resort Orlando.

A mother in life and death

Who will love my children? And have the box of tissues at hand for this ultimate of Mother’s Day tearjerkers, again based on a true story.

Lucille Fray faced the worst fate any mother could endure, knowing she would die and would have to leave her ten children.

Because her husband would not be able to cope… and no snide remarks here because there’s a man in the room.

Add to that the homespun, earthy setting of Iowa and that the real-life children appeared on the TV show That’s Incredible.

On the night of the film transmission back in 1983.

America, Countries, Culture, Pilgrimage

The Indian roots of Route 66

12th March 202612th March 2026 funtime65

And as we continue to follow the journey of the Mother Road on its 100th birthday it’s important to follow the tracks of the Indian roots of Route 66.

With the great American thoroughfare winding its way through more than 25 Tribal Nations.

Half of which, 1,372 miles, are native American lands

So, while we celebrate the neon diners and roadside attractions.

The American Indigenous Tourism Association is reclaiming the native American history of these lands through their A Sovereign Journey campaign.

On the right trail

We were here first: Native American women

From the Pueblos of New Mexico to the Hualapai Nation in Arizona and the 39 distinct Tribal Nations in Oklahoma.

The road is a gateway to a vibrant, modern Indigenous landscape.

With Sherry L. Rupert (Paiute/Washoe), CEO of the American Indigenous Tourism Association painting another picture.

‘For too long, our stories were treated as an afterthought or a marketing gimmick. The American Indigenous Tourism Association is proud to provide the tools for travelers to journey with intention.

‘Honouring the sovereignty and resilience of the Native Nations who remain the heartbeat of the Mother Road.’

And your Indian guides

With the centre of the initiative AIT’s guidebook, American Indians and Route 66 originally published for the 90th anniversary in 2016.

This comprehensive travel guide, created in partnership with the National Park Service is funded in part by the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program.

It provides historical context on the road’s impact – both the economic opportunities and the challenges of land displacement – and offers travelers essential etiquette for visiting tribal lands.

Digital footpring

To support the centennial, AIT has launched dedicated digital resources to help travellers plan their Indigenous-focused road trip:

Dedicated Route 66 Portal: Visitors can access a wealth of historical materials, trip-planning guides, and educational resources.
Native American Travel App–Route 66 Map Initiative Designated Official Route 66 ACentennial Project: It does what it says on the tin.

While our Indian friends helpfully map out more.

Destination Native America and Route 66 Interactive Map: The Destination Native America website (DestinationNativeAmerica.com), provides an interactive map to discover Indigenous-owned businesses, cultural centres.
Route 66 Events: Discover ways to celebrate this road-tripping milestone with Only in Your State, the official publishing partner of the Route 66 Centennial.

Countries, Culture, Food & Wine, UK

The world’s oldest check tartan really is English

9th March 20269th March 2026 funtime65

Geordies are oft tagged Scots with their heads bashed in… now add to that their claim that the world’s oldest check tartan really is English.

The back story is that we’ve just spent International Women’s Day with The Scary One and her mum in their English homeland.

In Alnwick in Northumberland, only an hour and a half from our North Berwick home on Scotland’s south-east coast.

And learning about how fluid our stories are, with Northumberland having changed hands countless times in Borders skirmishes.

Which must explain how check tartan plaid first showed up in the third-century AD before more northern peoples took it on.

On track in Alnwick

It has in truth been a two-way street between Scotland and the north-east English county.

And our venture into the Alnwick institution that is the repurposed train station and now bookshop/cafe, closed after the war, Barter Books … and which reveals all.

The best story: With the Scary One and her mum

With iconic Scots Oor Wullie and The Broons showcased on the shelves and Billy Connolly to the fore.

Read all about it

On the shoulders of giants: The greats of literature

Barter Books is of course, more than a second-hand bookshop.

One of the biggest in the country and expanded since it first opened 35 years ago.

With its most notable addition its renowned buffet from a room they never even knew they had but fell upon a dozen years after first opening.

And which we sit in today by an open fireplace and historical pictures from Northumbrian yore with The Top-Hatted Station Master purveying the scene.

The rest is gravy: The famous roast beef sandwich

It is here that we sit eating our roast beef and onion gravy sandwiches, recommended as indeed Barter has been by Daughterie, and coffee stout.

Everybody screams for ice cream

And if that doesn’t fill you up you can reward yourself with ice cream, cakes or speciality coffees from Paradise, the former Stationmasters office.

We are glad to have got a table at all as Barter Buffet can become busy and visitors have been known to queue to get in.

Perhaps it is because regulars to BB, 45 miles north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, clearly linger over their food, with a good book from the shop.

Of course, in the best company, it would be rude to read although when the conversation drifted I took in the artefacts, the top-hatted lamp shades.

And the pictures of what look like Scots but are really Northumbrians in those 3rd-century black-and-white check tartans.

Wham bam Bamburgh

Now you can easily spend the whole day, and Barter is open every day but Christmas Day, but any day tripper must take in the dramatic Bamburgh Castle before heading home.

Of course, we haven’t left ourselves enough time, and anyway we must always leave ourselves another reason to return and we will.

But before we go we take in the celebrated wooden-panelled Copper Kettle cafe in the quaint village.

And high teas with pots of tea that would sate any hungry hiker and scones and jam reserves or cake treats.

Countries, Culture, Deals, Food & Wine, Ireland

If Ireland did boozy St Patrick’s Day breakfasts

1st March 20261st March 2026 funtime65

If Ireland did boozy St Paddy’s Day breakfasts… well, they do, and the Ruby Molly has promised to get the party started early.

So early, in fact, that they’re starting the night before on March 16, with what they’re billing a Pre-Parade celebration.

The action gets going with an hour of free welcome drinks between 4pm and 5pm and a Dublin feast of food.

Featuring those Irish classics Guinness, Jameson whiskey and, er William Grant.

See they do cater for their diaspora from Scotland.

While it wouldn’t be Dublin if there wasn’t a singalong.

And the Ruby Molly has Jerry Miles to entertain you while you scoff your specially curated menu inspired by Irish classics.

Tour de force

You’ll be perfectly situated for the Dublin Grand Parade, just ten minutes from the hub that is Temple Bar.

And the Guinness Storehouse within strolling distance for the best panoramic views of the city from the Gravity Bar, and best pint of plain.

Although family loyalties will always mean we point in the direction of the Liffeyside institution that is the Workshop bistro bar, next to the Tara Street Dart (or train) station.

While if you’re wanting some culture, or just get away from the crowds for a breather.

Then Trinity College and its Book of Kells and the National Gallery are havens of peace.

Of course, it’s no coincidence that the Ruby group dedicated their hotel to arguably Dublin’s most famous citizen, one Molly Malone.

Molly’s Dublin

As its location in Oxmanstown on the north of the river is solid market trading land.

Where you’d not be surprised to find Mrs Brown or her boys.

Once the site of an abbey, the rediscovery of parts of its vault in the 1880s, 7 feet under the street, adds to the mystical allure surrounding the hotel.

Drawing inspiration from the vibrant covered market of 1892, Ruby Molly channels former market trader Anna Lawlor’s story.

A place where farmers sold their fresh produce.

Including the much-coveted strawberries that adorned the tables of Dublin’s finest hotels.

And well-endowed Dublin lasses sold their cockles and mussels, alive-oh.

Rates from €345 (16–18 March). Images and further details available on request.