Now for those of us who were there at the beginning there was pretty much only Super Mario and FIFA.
And there was no manual as to how get further than the end of your arm.
Thankfully Universal are here to help those of us who are stuck at the start.
Time Warp
Ride on: The Super Mario Kart
Guests will access SUPER NINTENDO WORLD via the Warp Pipe to enter the land for the “Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge” ride located within Bowser’s Castle.
And what’s more you’ll get your plumber’s vibe on with head-mounted augmented reality (AR) goggles.
From the depths of the dungeon within Bowser’s Castle, you’ll be sent on your way by Lakitu.
Promising that it suits all levels (even me) it’ll steer you through courses underwater and in the clouds to compete for the Golden Cup.
While obvs collecting coins to defeat Team Bowser and win.
Coin it in
The Plumbers’ dance: Mario and Luigi
“Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge” raises the stakes for guests as an intriguing and repeatable ride with a variety of outcomes.
To build up the excitement for the early 2023 opening you’ll get to enjoy the Feature Presentation retail store.
And it is well stocked with SUPER NINTENDO WORLD merchandise such as Mario and Luigi themed apparel.
Fantasy land: Orlando
And iconic character hats and a selection of plush characters, including Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Bowser.
And reward yourself: At Pat O’Brien’s, CityWalk, Universal
This being Orlando and Universal then you’ll not be able to move for Mario and Luigi lookalikes… and that’s the way we like it.
Now lazy titling becomes wearisome to those of us who have become victims of the bigger country syndrome.
And for those of a Scots, and Welsh, variety it is an occupational hazard to put up with being called English the further we travel.
Similarly in the Netherlands where the short hand of Holland had been used when that should only apply to the north and south of the country.
In 2020 while the rest of us were preoccupied by Covid the Dutch ditched the nickname Holland.
Whatever you call it, and since being alerted to the sensitivities while there for the first time 30 years ago, it’s still Edam good country.
North stars
Fly the flag: North Macedonia football fans
Now putting your place on the compass at the top of your name is always a good idea to differentiate yourself.
And we see it in South Sudan and also in North Macedonia, the latter to placate the Greeks where there is a region, Macedonia.
Throughout the post-imperialist world countries have reclaimed their countries and changed their names to their native tongue.
Shout of Africa
March to Freedom: Siseko and Mandela in SA
And so Swaziland became Eswatini, meaning ‘land of the Swazis’ in their language in 2018, the 50th anniversary of independence from the British throne.
Yes, blink and you can miss the changes and the Port Elizabeth I knew in South Africa’s Eastern Cape has become the Xhosa-clicking Gqeberha… as it should.
In these Celtic countries in which we live (Scotland, Wales, Ireland) there has been a move too to Gaelicise our towns and villages.
Gael force
Piping hot: Scots culture
And during Scotland’s march to freedom, the Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba has raised to prominence.
So here’s to all countries who reclaim their birthright, to Turkiye yeah… and Alba.
Or the Republic of Scotland as we’ll get back to striving for.
Just as soon as this forelock-tugging and curtsying deception, the Platinum Jubilee, is out of the way.
And continuing our series, and because we’re not all pliant subjects, here are five music concerts to escape the Platinum Jubilee.
Queen’s domain
Ready, Freddie go: Freddie Mercury
Live Aid, 1985: And the generational music festival from Wembley, London, for the Ethiopian Famine Relief when Freddie Mercury and Queen stole the show.
From the moment Status Quo kicked off we were rockin’ all over the world.
While Prince, Lionel Ritchie, Madonna et al put Philadelphia on the pop mark.
Stardust in Woodstock
Hippy shake: Woodstock
Woodstock, 1969: Before all that Yasgur’s Farm in upstate New York broke the mould for music fests and climaxed the Sixties.
Joni Mitchell famously had to miss Woodstock because of the NY traffic but bequeathed her song for Matthews Southern Comfort.
You don’t have to… you can drown out the God Save the Queen’s with Jimi Hendrix’s electric version of the Stars and Stripes.
Up Pompeii
In the Pink: Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd at Pompeii: And the kings of stadium rock would never play at the local ground when Classical sites would do.
The ambient super group set the pattern at Pompeii for the rest, one we fully endorse.
Well, in best Travel fashion, we wish you were here.
Rocks in the Rockies
And Red Rocks hasn’t escaped the notice of rock’n’roll royalty.
With everyone from The Beatles through U2 to OneRepublic (in front of yours truly and a private audience) playing there in Denver.
Glasto blasto
Hello from me: Adele
Glastonbury: Now there have been many claimants to the crown of Queen of Glastonbury.
Beyoncé, the Queen Bey herself, Dolly Parton and the diva of divas Shirley Bassey.
Better then, sit back and watch these five… concerts to escape the Platinum Jubilee.
And like London buses there will be another couple of lists along over the next few days.
And because we’re not all pliant subjects here are five films to escape the Platinum Jubilee.
And other ideas will follow through the week.
Historical
Life is a Cabaret: Berlin
Cabaret: And because it’s only the best film ever made.
Daddy’s Little Girl was my proxy in Berlin this past week where she partied at the KitKat Club, named for the Cabaret burlesque club.
From the opening credits of the MC and Sally Bowles singing Wilkommen you will be drawn into 1930s Nazi Berlin.
It is musical, historical, tragic and comic. In a word it is Magic.
Comical
The talk: Jim and his Dad in the Great Lakes
American Pie: And this is like having to choose your favourite child (btw, it’s the one who buys you the biggest gift).
Who can pass Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Some Like It Hot, Gregory’s Girl, Monty Python and The In Betweeners?
But on the grounds that there are three of these.
Then the classic coming of age trilogy on the Great Lakes will keep you occupied, smiling and gorging in American Pie. Whisper it but Los Angeles doubles for East Great Falls.
Mysterious
Kathy’s no clown: Fried Green Tomatoes in Georgia
Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe: And the title lives up to its billing in this Deep South Classic from Juliette, Georgia.
Juliette, 56 miles from Atlanta, is where the action takes place and you can still visit The Whistle Stop Cafe.
And no, they don’t put on a barbecue.
Feelgood
Feline better: A Street Cat Named Bob
A Street Cat Named Bob: Now we’ve all binged on movies on transatlantic flights… and often fallen asleep during some.
And a tip here… if you’ve worked out that you can fit in three movies, always pick the one you least want to watch as the last in case you do nod off.
I’m glad to say that I picked A Street Cat Named Bob as my first movie on the way over to LA… and cried.
It is set around Covent Garden in London and deals with a drug addict homeless man who is saved by a stray cat. And it proves that cats really are better than humans.
Scary
It’ll make you cross: The Exorcist in DC
The Exorcist: And scarier still than the cutesie little girl who turns evil, spins her head and chucks priests down stairs with the power of her mind, is that its true.
The author William Peter Blatty agreed with the family to change the child’s sex from male to female to defend their anonymity.
There are tales too that the actress Linda Blair was psychologically damaged by playing the part.
You can visit the area where it was shot in Washington DC. Head for Georgetown.
So that’s five films to escape the Platinum Jubilee, and we’ll come up with another listicle to plan your altenative Platinum Jubilee weekend.
Berlin Wall what it’s gut for? Absolutely everything, say it again.
And a piece of the wall now has pride of place on a magnet on the fridge from Daddy’s Little Girl.
It sits next in alphabetical order to Belfast which still has a dividing line between opposites.
Now whether my brick of the wall is authentic hardly matters.
It’s what it symbolises. and if it keeps a kerching vendor in business…
A wall of history
Fridge magnate: How I’ve chronicled our travels
The Wall, of course, stood for 28 years, before Berliners scaled it and smashed it.
And it has been scattered to the four corners of the world.
And all across America where Ronald Reagan had famously charged Mikhael Gorbachev to ‘tear down this wall’.
The best place to see the Wall is, of course, in Berlin.
Kiss off: Brezhnev and Honicker
And our little mole who has been scurrying through the German capital these past few days has seen it wherever she goes.
Well, we knew already that it’s at Checkpoint Charlie, but did you know about the section at the northern edge of the St Hedwig Cemetery.
And at the Invalid Cemetery.
As well as along the Flutgraben Channel where you can also see the Schlesischer Busch watch tower.
The longest extant section of the Wall runs for 1.3 kilometres along the River Spree.
Gallery of rogues
Glass act: Laurie and a German drinking vessel (empty, of course)
In 1990, after the Wall had ceased to be functional, the eastern side of the wall was painted by 118 artists from 21 countries, resulting in the longest open air gallery in the world.
So head out to the East Side Gallery on Mühlenstraße 3-100, Friedrichshain.
Of course, Berlin has the Wall, and much, much more and Daddy’s Little Girl has been exhorting us to go back out there with her in the future.
But she’s sleeping off the jet lag and partying and is drip-feeding us her tales and Berlin Wall what it’s gut for?
As she famously pronounced in her twist on the Robert Palmer video the best thing about bein’ a woman
Is the prerogative to have a little fun… yes, it was E’er The Twain in Vegas.
And we agree to about oh, oh, oh, going totally crazy, forget I’m a lady, men’s shirts, short skirts, oh, oh, oh. Yes, man I feel like a woman.
Vegas, of course, is a time vortex where you can forget who you are for a while and channel your inner fantasy.
Whip you into shape
What happens in Vegas: With Cami
Which is what Cami from Utah was doing down in Harrah’s off the strip in Neon City.
Party people by the bar on bachelor parties were having shooters poured down their throats by barmaids.
While up on stage a burlesque cross-dressing band, The Whip-Its, were whip-crackin’ away and belting out the best Seventies and Eighties covers.
And we say, yeah, bring it on.
Shania’s journey
Oh, oh, oh, oh: Shania still rocks
Shania Twain is, of course, the Queen of Country Pop, and the great thing about Country is that it never forgets its stars.
The Canadian went stratospheric in the Nineties but Lyme’s disease, the loss of her voice (can you imagine?) and a marriage-go-round saw her disappear for 15 years.
She returned a more critically-acclaimed and considered choice than in her heyday.
Vegas, of course, had never forgotten her, just like they never forgot Ringo Starr or Marie Osmond.
Or anyone who shone brightest before but now is happy to just glisten.
Still the One
And on a theme: Female empowerment
Our friends at Cassidy Travel know as well as anybody how we all like to get our glad rags on and party with the Vegas set.
And they are offering a week in Nevada with Shania (56, really?) as the highlight.Travel on August 30 and take in the Shania concert on September 2 at the Zappos Theatre.
And all for under €1,000 (€969pp) which will give you €31 to bet on the tables.
Although maybe not ask me for craps tips.
As my attempts at rolling the dice, a la Ocean’s Eleven, ended with the cubes going over the table.
Hooray for Harrah’s
Whip it up: With the Whip-Its
The rounds were declared void and I was bestowed the nickname Hannibal.
You should also drop into Harrah’s or any of the Off Strip party bars and shake your stuff.
Drop into Cassidy Travel today or contact them on 01 8779853 to see a real singing superstar.
It’s just the way Neon City does it. Twas ‘E’er The Twain in Vegas.
And whether you’re keeping the red flag flying here, celebrating the Internationale or just twirling around a maypole it’s Mayday Bravo today.
It was, of course, an Irishman, Jim Connell, who came up with the emotive words in 1889 to go with the tune O Tannenbaum.
He had been travelling by train, where you can do a lot of your thinking, in London.
So to mark May Day we’ll revive our Rainy Days and Songdays occasional series with these May Day tunes.
Way to go, Joe
Folk champion: Joan Baez
Joe Hill – Joan Baez: And this workers anthem relates to a union leader, framed on a murder charge and executed in Salt Lake City.
But the organiser stands for everyman and of course returns to the narrator in a dream.
And in typical American storytelling style it covers the geography of the whole country… from San Diego up to Maine.
Lennon doctrine
Comrade Lennon: And Jimmy in Prague
Working Class Hero – John Lennon: They were more Lennon than Lenin in Prague during Soviet rule.
When they would congregate at the Lennon wall to protest.
Lennon, the Working Class Hero from Liverpool, has influenced as many if not more around the world from Hamburg to New York and beyond.
Tennessee tunes
Music town: Memphis, Tennesse
Sixteen Tons – Tennessee Ernie Ford: This ditty of a song with the catchy refrain derives from Kentucky’s Merle Travis in 1947.
And the line ‘You load sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt” came from a letter written by Travis’s brother John.
We’ve taken Tennessee Ford’s 1955 version which hit the top of the Billboard charts and was inducted into the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry.
The New Boss
Something to say: The Who
Won’t Get Fooled Again – The Who: And the Cockney Four whose shows were as much about menace as music nail it here.
And they captured the working class fascination of the Mods in Quadrophenia in their odyssey to Brighton.
But it’s this anthem against The Man and its clarion call: ‘Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.’
Lady Donna
Summer time: Donna Summer
She Works Hard For The Money – Donna Summer: Now you might not associate the Queen of Disco with a societal message.
But the New Yorker penned this after seeing a toilet attendant asleep on her shift at a post-Grammy event in West Hollywood.
And a reminder too for all that while music is replete with messages of working men, working women have had it just as bad and worse.
You’re fishing off the Algarve coast and The Scary One wants to know when the Portuguese boat comes in.
Or more where the toilet is.
The answer at the westernmost point in Europe is Madeira!
Safer then to indulge in the any number of fish outlets in Piscine Portugal.
Now sardines have become a go-to family meal dish for as long as we can remember on this island of ours.
And we probably take our links with Portugal, the home of the sardine, for granted.
But our love of this fish dish is just another link in the world’s longest-standing alliance, between England and Portugal.
The Old Alliance
Portuguese fishing men of awe: And calming seas
Dating back to 1373, the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance was formalised in 1387 when John of Gaunt’s daughter Philippa wed John I.
English and Portuguese nobility discovered they got on quite nicely and Charles II and Catherine of Braganza further extended the links.
And most notably brought tea to this island.
Now you may be asking why we’re bringing you this royal history lesson.
Well, possibly because of the day that’s in it with Queen Elizabeth celebrating her 96th birthday today.
But also because our Portuguese friends have been in touch with an update on their bounce back ahead of a busy year.
And they have flagged up these Algarve treats when you venture further afield than poolside.
Nine lives in the Algarve
And what’s on the menu? Fish, of course
■Take a boat trip in Ria Formosa Natural Park, a unique coastal lagoon in central Algarve, elected as one of the 7 Natural Wonders of Portugal.
■Visit Cape St. Vincent, the southwest edge of mainland Europe, which is particularly spectacular at sunset.
■Hike along some of Algarve’s key walking routes such as the Seven Hanging Valleys Trail near Lagoa, with views over the Benagil Cave.
A window into another world: Of caves
■Cycle on the Ecovia trail to discover the natural marvels of the region. Highlights include the birdwatching haven of the Alvor Estuary (and my old friends the spoonbill birds).
■And we all love a Sagres when we’re in Portugal but probably don’t take in the majestic cliffs of Sagres point, or the pretty coastal fishing villages of Salemaand Burgau.
■Now southern Spain is rightly proud of their Moorish history but the North Africans were in the Algarve too. The Castelo de Silves is a great national monument to learn about the Moors.
■ You’ll want to get out on the water too. Take a ferry from Olhão to Armona Island or from Faro to the least developed and inhabited Deserta Island.
■Ah, yes, our sardines, or fresh seafood in Portimão, at one of the many riverside restaurants or in Olhão, next to Ria Formosa promenade. Head inland and try the stews too.
■But not forgetting the beaches. And the award-winning beaches like Dona Ana, Camillo, Meia, Marinha and Falésia beach.
That’ll keep you busy and I think you’ll agree that it’s all there when your Portuguese boat comes in.
We’re flagging up a celebratory musical which has been touring the UK.
And which is dropping in on our own wee capital, Edinburgh here in Scotland.
Bus boy: And I’d have given Rosa my seat
Premiered last Autumn it is running at the King’s Theatre from April 25-30 .
FGWWCTW is based on the popular books by Kate Pankhurst who realised while writing them that she was related to the Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst.
The sisterhood of women from history are brought to life on stage.
From Civil Rights heroine Rosa to Marie Curie to Frida Kahlo and more when inquisitive heroine Jade discovers the Gallery of Greatness on a school trip.
All of which allows us to do a deeper dive into these Fantastically Great Women.
Rosa Rising
Sit where I want: Rosa Parks
The most famous bus passenger in history was seamstress Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, to a white passenger.
And so she became the symbol and the headline name for a legal action which struck a key victory for the Civil Rights Movement.
March to Freedom: Siseko and Mandela in SA
