Culture Archives - Page 11 of 65 - Jim Murty’s TravelTravelTravel

How to be a Paddy on St Patrick’s Day

17th March 202417th March 2024 funtime65

And as Daddy’s Little Girl’s Scots beau gets a first burst of Dublin life here’s for the rest of you… how to be a Paddy on St Patrick’s Day.

Well, the first thing is to wear green.

And this is where it gets fun, you can pinch someone who doesn’t wear green.

And they can pinch you back!

Of course, you can go full Paddy and dress up as St Patrick in a big flowing cassock and mitre.

And accessorise with snakes, the types he is reputed to have driven out of Ireland.

For every St Patrick there is, of course, a million leprechauns.

Now you’ll need a big felt hat with shamrocks, a ginger beard and a ‘Kiss Me, I’m Irish’ tie.

Sláinte all

Now, onto the eating and drinking.

The time was in Catholic Ireland that St Patrick’s Day was the one day during your 40-day Lenten fast.

That you could break that fast and hit the gargle.

Of course in these less churchy days few give up the ales all 40 days.

So today is just an invitation to partake more.

And it must be Guinness with a shamrock drawn on the foam.

Party on

While there’s a nod to the past in eating corned beef, bacon and cabbage.

Although coddle, a sausage, rashers and veg stew is more Dublin

Now the Irish are in the middle of their week of the year.

And are extending their Cheltenham Festival festivities and Six Nations rugby party a further day.

None of which is lost on the hostelries or drinks bands around Ireland.

And I’m reminded here of the Arthur’s Day experiment from 2009-2013 by Diageo.

When on our annual pilgrimage up to my Mum’s old homestead of Brockagh, Co. Donegal, we lunched in her old bar, the Ramblers.

And I asked the owner Con what the regular at the bar would be doing to mark that day.

And wiping the foam off his mouth, he smiled back: ‘Same as every other day.’

Of course, like all national days there is an amplification of traditional music.

Crazy World

But if you want some insider knowledge on how to be a Paddy on St Patrick’s Day then do like the locals.

And get into a bar where there will deffo be a pub singer singing Aslan’s Crazy World.

And be part of the Paddy’s Day party… it’s all right, it’s all right.

America, Countries, Ireland, Music, UK

Rainy days and Mumsdays

10th March 202410th March 2024 funtime65

And on the first Mothering Sunday since we lost ours six months ago I’m singing Teasy’s praises with Rainy days and Mumsdays.

A twist on our occasional series Rainy Days and Songdays, our fusion of music and travel.

There can only be one place to start with this Rainy days and Mumsdays… where it all began in her beloved Brockagh, Co. Donegal in the north-west of Ireland.

Now all mums are unique, and we weren’t to know that other children weren’t lullabied to sleep with Irish rebel songs like Johnston’s Motor Car.

But Teasy’s cow eyes would twinkle when she would break out into ‘Down by Brockagh Corner one morning I did stray…’

Grannie’s song

Teasy’s folk: With her parents’ wedding photo

It was invariably Irish trad songs, revived by bands such as The Dubliners, The Clancy Brothers and The Furys that she would return.

With Donegal Danny and Derry Hair/Danny Boy, another close to her heart to remind her of her brother Danny, one of four who emigrated to America.

The crossover between Irish/Scottish folk and American Country music led her to rootsy Americana.

And John Denver and his anthem Annie’s Song which he wrote in celebration of his wife in ten minutes on a ski lift in Colorado.

And whose Greatest Hits album I would buy for her with the pocket money I’d saved up one Mother’s Day.

Annie’s Song would be the background music to my brother’s wedding, mine, and when it came to it, her funeral.

As Grannie’s Song for her grandchildren.

Pipes are calling

Swirl power: At World Bagpipes Championships

Today’s Mothering Sunday coincides with International Bagpipe Day.

Now, in Mum’s 70 years in Scotland where she had decamped to be with my Mum she became a big fan of the pipers practising in the fields near our house.

And I am reminded of a special two days I spent with Mum at the World Pipe Band Championships.

In Glasgow Green in her adopted Glasgow.

Where our hosts wined and dined us admirably despite Mum’s attempts to pay.

Always up for any experience we explored the National Piping Centre.

And even took in a performance from the Red Hot Chilli Pipers until her ears gave in.

But that appetite for life, a quality which made her such a voracious traveller, still burns bright.

And on today more brightly still.

When I will jig in her memory and I’ll give three cheers for Teasy McNulty and Johnston’s Motor Car.

Countries, Music, UK

Mammy Mia’s final curtain

1st March 20241st March 2024 funtime65

It’ll be a poignant Mother’s Day this year as I remember Mammy Mia’s final curtain and reflect on the best leading lady.

It’s been six months since Teasy shuffled off the stage for the last time.

And I’ve been replaying her life story in my mind ever since.

Of course, I’ll be forever grateful to have had her in my life.

And I say ‘thank you for your musings for giving them to me.’

Abba days

If she was still here with us (physically, that is) we may well have taken her out to a show.

And with The Son and Heir now living in London and being our eyes and ears there that show could well be Abba Voyage.

Teasy would certainly be dazzled by the AI recreations of the super Swedes.

That wonderment never left her throughout her own 94-year voyage.

Just Wicked

Her twinkle at the end would be as bright as the day she watched The Wizard of Oz on the big screen in Derry as a ten-year-old.

In scarcely-believable wonder when Oz suddenly burst into colour.

It was a story she would oft tell us, and many, many more.

What she would make of the prequel Wicked we can only imagine.

I watched it in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin and reckon she’d have loved the theatricality of it.

Now the Oz prequel is playing in London’s West End and would make a perfect Mother’s Day gift.

In praise of Prowse

Particularly as Keith Prowse Attractions are handling all of the heavy lifting for you.

With overnight hotel accommodation with breakfast in one of London’s central hotels, for €129pp.

For those looking to extend the celebration, Keith Prowse also offers a two-night package.

Magic for every Mammy and particularly if yours is Wicked!

Countries, Culture, Europe, Food & Wine

Drink in vintage Firenze

18th February 202418th February 2024 funtime65

Si, we like this type of culture which puts the emphasis on wine and like which is why we agree, we should drink in vintage Firenze.

The experts at Titan Travel have analysed which major cities host the most “things to do,” from tourist landmarks to art galleries to music tours.

And here is where Fizzy Frosty gets interested… in which destinations have the most five-star restaurants and wine-tasting tours.

Of course, we should credit palace city Granada in Andalucia, Spain, with its Alhambra for taking No.1 spot.

But it’s Firenze which has been concentrating Her mind since we had to cancel our trip there last September when her much-storied Dad, oul’ Casey Jones sadly passed on.

Firenze frenzy

A great Italianophile he would, no doubt, have furnished us with books and maps on the city before we left… and somewhere in his legendary library we’ll find the very thing.

Florence, to give it its English name, as we found out when we were doing our homework, offers some of the world’s best wine tours (60.06 per 100,000 people).

And there’s even a Florence dinner and “Three Tenors” concert, where you can soak up Florentine food and culture and drink in vintage Firenze during a traditional dinner and concert experience.

Czech out the culture

Touch of class: On the King Charles Bridge in Prague

Now it might come as a surprise to those who only associate it with stag and hen parties that Prague comes in third on the list.

But not to Prahaphiles like us who have sampled the tastes above and underground.

Up the Castle and the climbing baby TV tower and in the beer cellars, Anthropoid crypt and nuclear bunker.

Prague, we’re told has 63.4 sights per 100,000 people to see in the Czechia capital by the Vlatva.

True Peru

For the cultural capital with the most things to do you do need to head to the Inca Empire.

It has the most excursions with 579.72 things to do per 100,000 people.

So for those of you know little more about Peru than Paddington and Machu Picchu then read on.

Architecturally-spectacular Lima does boast a statue of Paddy on Lima’s Miraflores Boardwalk, clad in his famous floppy hat and duffle coat, emblazoned with the British Union Jack.

We all know, of course, that Pad is a bespectacled bear and you can see his rellies, and maybe even Aunt Lucy, in the Chaparri Conservation Area.A community-owned and managed reserve, it covers a pristine area of grassy hills and vertical rock walls and studded with trees and cacti.

A 90-minute drive from Chiclayo, it boasts a wild population of threatened species including the spectacled bear.

And you can stay there at the Chaparri Lodge.

Whether Paddington, bespectacled bears and marmalade sandwiches are your cup of tea is your call.

Countries, Culture, UK

Happy Hoginane

31st December 202331st December 2023 funtime65

It’ll pass almost every Scot here or around the world by, but what we’ll be celebrating today is a Happy Hoginane.

No, not auto correct gone wrong but the French name of our New Year’s Eve celebration Hogmanay.

Meaning ‘gala day’ in Gaul lingo.

The French having played a key role in Scottish history through their Auld Alliance with us Jocks.

And that nickname Jocks for Scots is a French buy-in too from the Stuart dynasty.

You know, those hairy-arsed Scots who went on to rule Britain.

Mary New Year

It all started with Mary Queen of Scots, who was married to the Dauphin, the heir to the French throne.

And returned widowed to Edinburgh with her French ways, language, courtiers and servants.

And bore the last of the Scottish King Jameses (there were seven in total).

Or Jacques, or Jocks, when the Scots have mangled it to their tongue.

Well, we all know about the showcase Edinburgh Hogmanay Party on Princes Street.

Where this year it will be Pulp’s turn to wow the common people.

Bonne annee

But in the land which spawned Hogmanay they still celebrate Hoginane under the radar of the fireworks over L’Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower.

The French celebrate with le Réveillon de
Saint-Sylvestre with a feast including pancakes and champagne.

Another version and one that makes more sense to us is that it derives from ‘homme est ne’ or ‘man is born’.

From Normandy where they exchange hoguignetes, presents given at this time of year.

It’s a gift

Gift giving is an enduring theme of the Hogmanay in Scotland where for 400 years the New Year took precedence over Christmas Day.

With marking 25th December considered by the Protestant ascendancy then as a Catholic construct.

And pupils, my Dear Old Dad among them, attending school that day.

Among the pressies given out around Hogmanay through into the New Year with black bun fruit cake, coal, shortbread and whisky.

And all carried in across your door soon after midnight by a tall, dark stranger.

The thought process being that a fair stranger would be a Viking and bad luck… all that pillaging you’d think.

Now should you be oot and aboot in Scotland enjoy and maybe impress your pals with a Bonne Année, or Happy New Year.

And a Happy Hoginane.

Countries, Culture, Europe

The Child of Prague

15th December 202315th December 2023 funtime65

Enter a traditional Catholic home back in the day, like my Mum and Dad’s, and you’d see a holy water fountain, a Sacred Heart of Jesus with his bloody palms open, and the Child of Prague on the mantelpiece.

The ubiquitous image of an infant Jesus, holding what looks like an orb, and considered a blessing on the house.

Now despite a childhood of Jesuit indoctrination at school and church, the Child or Prague never came up.

Other than for us to place it with the other capital cities of Europe on a blind map for geography tests.

Prague, of course, was in Eastern Europe, cut off through the Cold War by history, politics and a lack of communications from the West.

Only as we were to find out when the Iron Curtain fell we realised that Prague was actually in Central Europe.

And with a longer history of Western influence than Russian.

Prague is our focus once again with the release of much-anticipated movie, One Life.

Starring Anthony Hopkins as Sir Nicholas Winton, a diplomat who saved hundreds of children on the cusp of World War II.

And, of course, Czechiaphiles as we are we will be first in the queue when it is released in our cinemas on January 1.

Now while the Czech capital has become a favourite of stag and hen parties.

And it prides itself on having more beer drinkers per head of population than anywhere on the planet, it is also a history buff’s haven.

Not that everybody appreciates that although the proud Prague natives are quick to pull up anybody who fail to respect their institutions.

As we found out the first time up the Astronomical Clock when our guide pulled up an American teen who sniffily put down the capital’s No.1 attraction.

Clock this

Of course, the Astronomical Clock has plenty of competition in that area.

And the non-Jesuit teachers who fostered my love of history and World War history would be proud of me here.

As I tootled around Praha discovering how the citizens stood up to the Nazis and the Communists.

Czech out (sorry, it had to be done) the Cillian Murphy film Anthropoid.

And as you can see as well as being a city replete with stories it is also a favourite for film sets.

Now after our Prague pals had seen off Romans, French and Austrians they turned their attentions to the Nazis.

Butchered

And the Butcher of Prague, a title not bequeathed often, Reinhard Heyrdrich.

You can see how the crack force that took out Heyrdrich had their last stance.

In the crypt beneath St Cyril and Methodius cathedral.

While, of course, Prague bustles above you, its underworld reveals a part of the city

And its inhabitants’ story few see outside of the tours.

Nuked

And so, you’d never know about the nuclear bunkers in your midst unless you’ve got an expert with you.

Or the lengths the citizens went too to prepare for the nuclear war.

All of which their Communist oppressors convinced them that the West was preparing for them.

While you guide will furnish you with how life was for kids back in the Cold War days.

And how gas mark preps were a part of daily school life.

Now while religion was frowned on by the atheist Communists Habsburg churches abound.

The Holy Child

With our favourite little holy statue the Child of Prague is housed in the the Carmelite church of Our Lady of Victory in Prague.

And the history of which you will find there.

But if you want to be prepared check out the Carmelite site and find out.

About how the Child himself lost his arms but beseeched a believer to get them back.

Countries, Culture, Music, UK

England, a land of pure imagination

13th December 202313th December 2023 funtime65

Calling all chocoholics, don’t be a Wonka, follow us to England, a land of pure imagination.

The most anticipated film this Christmas sees Timothée Chalamet reprise Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp’s Willy Wonka.

And the good news for Anglophiles is that Wonka was shot around England.

And you won’t need a golden ticket to get to follow in Willy’s footsteps to the locations in the movie.

Wonka magic

As if by magic Warner Bros Studios London in Leavesden was transformed from Harry Potter’s world into Wonkaland.

Where you can transport yourself to Scrubitt & Bleacher’s enterprise, the cathedral vault and Wonka’s chocolate shop.

The beauty of Roald Dahl’s world is, of course, that it is universal.

But he was informed by his English surroundings (yes, we know he was Welsh born)!

The Golden Ticket

And Wonka celebrates iconic English destinations.

The action begins in picturesque Lyme Regis in Dorset on the south coast.

Where Willy’s cargo ship docks in the town’s harbour

While Oxford makes a cameo with the Bridge of Sighs as a backdrop.

Or our old stomping ground in neighbouring Royal Berkshire.

And Mapledurham with its scenes of Willy and his mum and the willow tree and Thames canals.

Go west and you’ll hit historic and literary favourite Bath.

Where the Bath Colonnade is prominent.

St Albans in leafy Hertfordshire, north of London.

Where Verulamium Park doubles as the zoo where Willy and his sidekick Noodle visit.

Chocs away

London, of course, is the jewel in any English odyssey.

And St Paul’s is as iconic a building as any in the English capital (you’ll have to watch to see the reference).

All in the green and pleasant land is a perfect filling for Wonka’s world.

Ah yes. England, a land of pure imagination.

Countries, Culture, Europe

Rock me Amadeus in Dresden

12th December 202312th December 2023 funtime65

The great composer would find a lot the same in the Florence of the Elbe today which is the beauty of the Saxon gem… so, rock me Amadeus in Dresden.

Dresden, as we have come to know despite a British school system that tried to airbrush the WWII firebomb, rebuilt its grandeur.

With its palaces, kirches, friezes and Semperoper retouched in every finest Renaissance detail from 1789 when Mozart visited.

Such was Mozart’s renown that culture and opera lovers of the day would travel far and wide from his Austrian home

To Germany and across the continent to listen to the superstar.

Culture vultures

Much as they do today but whereas opera buffs then would rely on rickety stagecoaches.

Today’s culture vultures can just leave it all to the go-to people in opera holidays to the great music cities of Europe, The Institute for Culture Travel.

IFC is floating a four-night tour to buy for Christmas, in Hof & Dresden from Friday, June 14 to Tuesday, June 18.

Hof and running

Let me entertain you: With a Cassidy score

15^th June: Opera in Hof – Patrick Cassidy’s ‘Dante – From Inferno to Paradise’

You’ll start in Hof in this picturesque Bavarian town where you’ll spend two nights.

The highlight will be the world premiere of Patrick Cassidy‘s opera, ‘Dante – From Inferno to Paradise’ and a meet and greet.

Patrick, Ireland’s most renowned living classical composer, is known for his film scores.

And the aria ‘Vide Cor Meum’ from the film Hannibal.

Pure magic

Before you hit the road for Dresden and the master himself and that Magic Flute ‘Die Zauberflöte’ at the repurposed Semper.

Your price will include:

Return flight Dublin-Berlin
Coach transfers as follows:

14 June: Berlin airport – Central Hotel in Hof with lunch stop
16 June: Central Hotel in Hof to Steigenberger Hotel de Saxe in Dresden
18 June: Steigenberger Hotel de Saxe in Dresden To Berlin Airport

Two-nights in the Central Hotel in Hof with breakfast
Two-nights in the Steigenberger Hotel in Dresden with breakfast.
Meals as follows:
14 June: Lunch in Leipzig on route to Hof

14 June: Drinks reception and welcome dinner in the Central Hotel in Dresden with Patrick Cassidy in attendance
15 June: Pre-opera dinner
16 June: pre-opera dinner

Category 1 ticket to Dante – From Inferno to Paradise by Patrick Cassidy in Theatre Hof
Category 1 ticket to Mozart’s enchanting opera Die Zauberflöte at the world-famous Semper Opera House.
Walking tour in Leipzig (duration approx. 1-hour)
Walking tour in Dresden (duration approx. 2-hours)

Price: €1,493pps, Single Supplement: €249

Caribbean, Countries, Culture, UK

Zephaniah, it’s a wrap

7th December 20237th December 2023 funtime65

It’s a day we’ve been dredding without even knowing it was upon us… for the world’s greatest living poet Benjamin Zephaniah it’s a wrap.

Now you might recognise him as the preacher from Peaky Blinders but Brummy Benjamin had been a street poet for decades by then.

A man of the world and a child of the Windrush Generation of West Indians who bailed out Britain after the war.

The son a Bajan postman and Jamaican nurse, resettled in England, he was of his world.

And he spoke to the world with wit, wisdom, energy, compassion and warning.

Preacher man: Benjamin in Peaky Blinders

Of course, like every prophet in his own land, he was largely ignored by those who could effect change.

And staggeringly he was offered an OBE by the palace who clearly hadn’t read his republican rhetoric.

For a starting point for Benjamin you’ll want to start in his beloved Birmingham and a Peaky Blinders tour.

Or even a visit to his favourite football team and former European champions Aston Villa’s ground Villa Park.

A citizen of the world

Benjamin, though, had a thirst for the planet, a vegan, he expounded its survival in his writings.

A passionate advocate of women he championed women’s rights throughout his life.

And in a reminder of the close links forged through a joint oppression in Britain from the indigenous population.

Who would put up signs in workplace doors and hospitality’ ‘No blacks, no dogs, no Irish.’

Benjamin spoke up in the theatre of conflict that is the North of Ireland.

And, of course. he like me is a poet and his words inspired my rap ‘A wake-up for the people’ at the Edinburgh Fringe.

And the paean I wrote for him and sent to Benjamin Zephaniah.

A child of the Windrush

Now his greatest legacy as he leaves us after 65 years around the sun will be for all of us, fellow travellers through this world, his words, his message.

Which he is oft-quoted on in the phrase he coined ‘the last ones of the ship.’

When he argued that the most recent immigrants turn on any future incomers to the country.

As a son of the Windrush Generation you can do worse than remember Benjamin in both the island of his people, Jamaica.

Famous five: Forth Stanza at Edinburgh Fringe

Or his native, multicultural Birmingham and adopted island of Britain.

Benjamin Zephaniah, it’s a wrap. But your words and your poetry will always live on.

Countries, Culture, Europe

Julius Caesar tour of Rome

2nd December 20232nd December 2023 funtime65

They’re big sandals to fill but that won’t stop us. On a Julius Caesar tour of Rome.

And, yes, Brutus you can come too.

To mark the new BBC retro of the oul’ Roman emperor, Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator, we’re walking you through his life.

Was With help from those who know his story best, his friends, Romans, countrymen.

So lend me your ears, or better still your eyes, and I’ll tell you the best places to soak up Jules’ La Citta Eterna.

Do it yourself

Now there’s always an operator quick to part you with your denarii.

But we’re about letting you keep more of your hard-earned coin.

You know the ones with Caesar’s head on it, although the taxman always takes it as quickly as you make it.

So we advise you do it yourself in the Italian capital.

And take in Caesar’s Forum, the Roman Forum and the Temple of Julius Caesar.

The march of time

Now because Julius Caesar’s fascination endures there is a new old landmark.

The Roman authorities have opened up for us this year,

The Largo di Torre Argentina, where Brutus and his co-conspirators cut Caesar down to size.

It has hitherto been below street level.

And includes the remains of Pompey’s Theatre and four temples, which date back as far as the 3rd century BC.

Behind two of the temples lies the ruins of Pompey’s Curia, a hall that hosted the Senate

You’ll pay just €5 to move through a walkway at ground level and view the structures up close.

Meeow Mia

Cats, of course, pay nothing as it should be.

For the past 30 years, the fourth temple has housed a cat sanctuary.

And offers sterilisation and adoption programs for an estimated 350 cats.

So with Italy on the radar for next year we might even channel our inner Brutus on tbs Ides of March.

For our Julius Caesar tour of Rome.