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The Great Escape in Poland

4th May 20254th May 2025 funtime65

AS a quarter of Brits say we’ll mark VE Day by watching an old movie we indulge in a bit of nostalgia by visiting the greatest war set of all, The Great Escape in Poland.

Now the good news is that you don’t even have to break in to pay pilgrimage to the most famous breakout of World War II.

The Cultural Experience, specialists in WWII vacations, are offering a real treat for war tourists… Stalag Luft III and The Great Escape.

Now sitting down to watch The Great Escape used to be an annual Christmas family ritual across the country.

Although I am still scarred at being sent upstairs at my bedtime hour and missing what happened after ‘Tom’ was found by the German guards.

And I only found out when I got older that Dickie Attenborough, Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson and David McCallum got out through the Harry tunnel.

Though only Claustrophobic Charlie made it back to Blighty, up the Thames on a boat if you don’t mind.

Cooler king

Revved up: Steve McQueen in The Great Escape

To delve deeper into The Great Escape The Cultural Experience provide tailor-made tours.

TCE advise we base ourselves in the Silesian town of Wroclaw, all right for us to catch up with our Polish buddies from Irish days.

They offer accommodation in good quality 4*, preferably historic, hotels where possible but also a billet that suits your budget.

TCE will organise flights too from London to Poland as well as all ground transportation throughout your stay.

And a local, English-speaking private driver guide to take us to all the sites we wish to visit.

And we promise to keep them busy on their three-day trip.

With Stalag Luft III naturally… and we’ll even bring our own Cooler King baseball.

Then there’s the POW Museum, Zagan Station and the Memorial to Murdered Prisoners.

While TCE offers a one or two extra day extension.

A pilgrimage to Auschwitz

To pay a pilgrimage to Auschwitz, poignant at any time but particularly so in this 80th anniversary of its liberation.

There are others too that TCE have helpfully set out for us in a Secrets of WW2 Tour.

Including the home of the Kreisau Circle in Kryzowa, Project Riese, Ksiaz Castle and the Gross Rosen Concentration camp Memorial.

The Kreisau Circle were a group of German dissidents who planned to depose Hitler.

And Kryzowa is now a site of common reconciliation between Poland and Germany.

Walim is the site of Project Riese, a subterranean complex in the mountains that acted as a secret headquarters for the German Military.

While Ksiaz Castle was another secret hideout and recently a Nazi gold train was found here.

And finally, Gross Rosen Concentration camp, where brutal forced labour in the nearby quarry was carried out by Jewish prisoners from all over Europe.

All of which reminds us that it is our good fortune and because of the sacrifices of those who came before us that we are able to enjoy The Great Escape in Poland.

Countries, Deals, Music, UK

London’s Theatreland

1st May 20251st May 2025 funtime65

Leave your troubles outside, in here life is beautiful… in London’s Theatreland with dream-makers Keith Prowse Attractions.

And, yes, there was a smile on my face when we whooped and danced in the aisles to Beautiful: The Carole King Story.

Until the mobile started pinging with complaints from the neighbours back in Ireland about our kids’ house party.

And the Earth moving under their feet.

The Emcee from Cabaret was right, of course, a musical night out is the perfect escape from normal life.

And London Theatreland is an alternative fantastical world.

Populated by the likes of Orpheus, MJ, the Phantom of the Opera and Elphaba and Galinda.

Bad, Mad, Wicked or Ghostly

Beautiful: Jesse Mueller in Washington DC

It is one of the many benefits of being a travel professional to be invited to the world’s biggest stages.

And I am eagerly anticipating what Broadway trailers the American Travel Fair have in store for us next month in Chicago.

So whether your tastes are Bad, Mad, Wicked or Ghostly then package up your troubles.

Maybe it’s because you’re a Londoner

And sign up for a deal with a musicals tour operator who is always worth an encore… Keith Prowse Attractions’ Bargain Londoner.

You’ll stay at the 3-star hotels like the Royal National, President Hotel or St. Giles, ideal for stretching your budget without compromising on the experience.

Sample Package:
MJ The Musical! – Travel between 16 June 2025 – 18 June 2025 | From €287pps

2 nights at the 3* Lancaster Gate Hotel (room only)
Grand Circle Seats to MJ The Musical at The Prince Edward Theatre

While the Great Value Londoner balances quality and cost with 4-star hotels.

Such as the Copthorne Tara, Holiday Inn Kensington or DoubleTree by Hilton, all hand-picked for superb service at an affordable price.

Sample Package:
Hadestown! – Travel between 01 November 2025 – 03 November 2025 | From €343pps

2 nights at the 4* Copthorne Tara Hotel with breakfast
Balcony Seats to Hadestown at The Lyric Theatre

And because you are a cut above, maybe try out the Touch of Class Londoner.

Step up your stay with stylish, service-led hotels and top seats in 4-star luxury at hotels.

Like The Royal Horseguards, Park Plaza Victoria or St. James’ Hotel with breakfast included for a refined London adventure.

Wicked entertainment

Sample Package:
The Phantom of the Opera! – Travel between 26 August 2025 – 28 August 2025 | From €439pps

2 nights at the 4* St. James Hotel with breakfast
Stall Seats to The Phantom of the Opera at His Majesty’s Theatre

And as ever there is a class above even that, the Posh & Pampered Londoner.

With the ultimate indulgence with stays at London’s finest 5-star hotels, such as The Savoy, The Royal Garden or The Mayfair Radisson.

Sample Package:
Wicked! – Travel between 19 June 2025 – 21 June 2025 | From €777pps

2 nights at the 5* Royal Garden Hotel with breakfast
Best Seats to Wicked at The Apollo Victoria Theatre

Just make sure that you don’t leave your kids in charge of a ‘free house’ at home as you party on in London’s Theatreland.

Countries, Deals, Europe, Music

Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, Mamma Mia after midnight

24th April 2025 funtime65

And because I’ve already showcased Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Mamma Mia after Midnight I’m back for more at London’s 02.

Bjorn Ulvaeus himself has recreated Skopelos from the movie in a Greek taverna and ending with a glittering ABBA disco.

The Beardie One naturally set up his Greek island in his home city of Stockholm.

Before taking the show on the road to London.

That Greek enchanted evening

For the past five years Mamma Mia! The Party London has welcomed over 500,000 guests.

And delivered more than 1000 performances and has been visited by guests from 110 countries.

All replicating the temperature and lavender scent you would experience at dusk on a Greek evening.

Keith Prowse on the house

And the good news that our invitation is in the post.

From our old pals at Keith Prowse Attractions to join everyone on the dance floor.

Keith will give you return flights from Dublin.

And put you up for two nights (Saturday show) B&B at the 4* DoubleTree by Hilton London Greenwich, all from €529pps.

Or an overnight special with a Thursday show from €327pps.

Diggin’ the Dancing Queens

Of course, there will be the Dancing Queens who will be wanting to hit the floor in a super troupe of party girls.

And KP offers a two-nights (Friday Show) Ultimate Girls Getaway. From €486pps.

And even a one-night Family Fun Day (Sunday show) at the 4* DoubleTree by Hilton London Greenwich. From €306pps.

However you put together your party then it’s worth giving Keith Prowse Attractions a Ring, Ring, Ring.

And watch out for the Bandanaman giving it large on the dance floor.

Like he did with his favourite party set, an Irish one, in the Med… and a shout-out here to our Dancing Ian.

Although the real showstopper, is as always, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, Mamma Mia after midnight.

Countries, Culture, Europe

Bayeux Tapestry and the weave of history

26th March 202526th March 2025 funtime65

So because after 1000 years it needs some sprucing up check it out now… Bayeux Tapestry and the weave of history.

The Medieval version of a Netflix drama, the scroll of the Battle of Hastings is getting taken down for a clean-up from this September.

There’s a lot of activity around the old 68m-long drape and William the Conqueror in the Bayeux Museum.

In preparation for William the Conqueror’s Millennium 2027 celebrations in Normandy.

All of which we on my islands of Britain and Ireland are being asked to get in on.

With the Bayeux Museum £32m revamp and the construction of a contemporary extension.

To reflect the “monumental nature of the tapestry”.

History is the new rock’n’roll

Twas all very showbiz we imagine back in the 11th century.

And because history is the new rock’n’roll a little bit of glitz here for you.

The Bayeux Museum recently acquired an 1872 lifesize replica of the tapestry from the estate of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts.

And it will use this to track the deterioration and alterations to the tapestry over the last 150 years.

Phil steam ahead

Against all odds: But Phil has left an Alamo cornucopia

Rockers dabbling in history is actually not novel which shouldn’t be surprising as a good story is naturally in our artists’ DNA.

With Phil Collins the modern poster boy with his catalogue of Alamo artefacts which he donated to San Antonio in Texas.

And which, of course, I saw first hand in the pride of the Lone Star State and you should too.

Back to the Bayeux and what can you expect when the Museum reopens in two years’ time.

Well, the tapestry will be installed behind a display case on an inclined table measuring the full 70m length of the tapestry.

And it should be breathtaking if design studo Atelier BLAM’s past work is anything to go by.

With the designers showcasing their expertise at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

With the creation of the mechanical horse galloping along the river Seine.

How to get there

Yes we Caen: This year’s Millennium city

And Normandy is, of course, easy to reach, by trains, planes, ferries and automobiles.

With ferries leaving from Portsmouth, Poole, Newhaven, Dublin, and Rosslare.

And 101 train stations across the region.

Or fly into Caen which has its own millennium celebrations this year.

And where you can get into part with the medieval reenactments, parades, concerts and theatrical performances.

Africa, Countries, Cruising, Culture, Ships

Travel Department Egypt bargain we Sphinx

8th February 20258th February 2025 funtime65

And with Daddy’s Little Girl en route already our eyes lit up at a Travel Department Egypt bargain we Sphinx will suit you too.

You’ll see the pyramids along the Nile of course on this 12-day special with seven cruising.

On the luxurious 4* Star MS Radamis II.

And enjoy a twin city/resort visit by taking in bustling Cairo and Hurghada on the Red Sea.

Giza look

Your holiday begins in the Egyptian capital.

And be treated to a full day city tour with a Travel Department guide, a visit to the Egyptian Museum and a trip to the Khan El Khalili bazaar.

And this being Egypt where cats are worshipped then we imagine that they’ll have the run of the stalls just like in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar.

The Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx is next on you itinerary.

Before you embark on a relaxing river cruise down the Nile.

With a range of excursions along the way.

Including the Temple of Horus, the Valley of Kings, the High Dam and the Temples of Karnak and Luxor.

And wrap it all up with a three-night stay in Hurghada.

All 40km of it stretching along the Red Sea coast.

And a word to the wise to all you men, shave your top lip before you snorkel or your nostrils will get blocked.

Nile high club

Now with our old TD friends from Dublin kindly extending their New Year you’ll want to get on this.

With flights from €2,829pps.

And full board basis on cruise and B&B/half board in hotels.

Now we’ll hear all about it when DLG gets back… she’ll toot and come in.

And maybe give ourselves a New Year sale treat.

After all this is a Travel Department Egypt bargain we Sphinx.

Africa, Countries, Culture

Marrakech Fashion Week it’s pure Moroccan roll

6th February 20256th February 2025 funtime65

Spring/Summer Collection stretches to a new lumberjack shirt here but at the Marrakech Fashion Week it’s pure Moroccan roll.

Where the coloured cottons hang in the air and striped djellabas we can wear at home.

And they put on a higher-end fashion to what you’ll find in Jemaa El-Fnaa.

In among the charming cobras in the square which a trader wrapped around my neck for a photo.

And I was hawked out of my dirham to buy a Morocco football top which has had a few outings at five-a-side football.

Haven in the hustle

Jemaa El-Fnaa can be a daunting experience for a first-time visitor to the Rose City.

And the bustling souk will bring you cheek by jowl with shopkeepers only too keen to lure you in for a Turkish tea.

And not allow you out until you part with said dirhams for a threadbare carpets.

The riads with their verdant courtyards are your solace and solitude from the chaos.

And Dar Darma, an 18th-century boutique in the heart of the medina, is a haven of calm.

Up on the roof

From where you can look out from the rooftop on all the madness of the hippy heaven.

And the Atlas Mountains and the adventures that await over the horizon to the Sahara Desert.

Surrounded by a swimming pool, a shaded area, a solarium and hammam.

Spice up your soup

Now at DD a breakfast, lunch and dinner are all served at the time and in the place of the guest’s choosing.

And just as a sample the riad tells us that just one of chef Maria’s specials is seasonal vegetable soup.

Served with sour cream and a hint of spices.

There’s also briouats, meat or chicken tajine with citrus fruits and honey, meat or vegetable cous cous.

To finish with fruit or creme desserts.

America, Countries, Music

Let’s all go peanuts for Elvis’s 90th birthday

8th January 20258th January 2025 funtime65

On a velvet cloud The King will be sitting down for his favourite snack today so let’s all go peanuts for Elvis’s 90th birthday.

Elvis being a good ol’ Southern Country Boy loved his soul food.

And anyone walking in his footsteps in Memphis will naturally want to drop in on his favourite diner Downtown at The Arcade Diner.

Where you can sink your teeth into Elvis’s famed ‘Fried Peanut Butter N’Banana’ with an extra of bacon just to pile on the carbs.

As is the way with Elvis folklore there are competing stories as to its provenance.

The birth of the Elvis sandwich

Some accounts have it that Elvis and his bodyguards refuelled as was their way after a gig in 1976, a year before his death.

And they hit the now-closed Colorado Mine Company restaurant for a bite to eat.

There, he is said to have ordered a Fool’s Gold Loaf.

A sandwich made with a loaf of sourdough bread, a pound of bacon, a jar of peanut butter, weighing in at a not unsubstantial 8,000 calories.

If though you prefer the more elaborate tale more in keeping with Elvis excess then how’s about this one for curing the munchies.

With Elvis returning to Graceland and getting hangry and jumping on his private jet with a couple of friends to fly to Denver.

Where the owners of the restaurant met him at the hangar .

With a pile of the enormous sandwiches (some say they brought 22, others say 30).

And he never left the hangar, washing the scran down with Perrier and Champagne and heading back to Memphis.

Elvis’s people

The more prosaic explanation is that the Zepatos family who knew Elvis well would give him his own favourite food.

At his own booth when he’d park his golf buggy up.

And just chew the fat with him and ask him about dad Vernon and mum Gladys.

Now the Arcade Diner, Memphis, Tennessee‘s oldest, is still in the hands of the Zepatoses, the fourth generation.

Because for all the spotlight Elvis brings Memphis they like to keep things in the family.

And as they’ve always been around here.

The Graceland business

The King and I: Elvis, Priscilla and Lisa Marie

Graceland, of course, is still a family business under the tutelage of the formidable Priscilla.

With the family still rolling in and embracing the greater family, the fans.

This week is poignant of course with the passing of Lisa Marie.

And the tributes and performances and retrospection on Elvis.

Nine decades on from his birth in Tupelo, Mississippi.

A host of events are taking place through Graceland.

Nigella’s nutty sandwich

For us, of course, we will watch his films, listen to his music and perhaps even dress up too.

And here with the help of one of our most celebrated chefs Nigella Lawson.

We give you the recipe for his peanut butter and banana sandwich.

From the cookbook Love Me Hunger…

So let’s all go peanuts for Elvis’s 90th birthday and make our own King’s sandwich.

America, Countries, Music

Mariachi y’all with Cassidy in Nashville and Mexico

18th December 202418th December 2024 funtime65

And if Beyonce can fuse hip hop and country then we and Cassidy Travel can mash up Mariachi y’all in Nashville and Mexico.

Well, both musical movements like an oversized hat, bright clothes and fancy boots.

And Tex Mex proliferates in the Lone Star State.

Fingers on the pulse

Cassidy, who always have their fingers on the pulse, have matched Nashville and Cancun for their customers.

With a ten-night package across the border travelling on April 29 from €1,999pps including flights.

With three nights at the Downtown Nashville Hotel.

And seven nights at the 5* All-inclusive RIU Resort Cancun.

Urban Legend

Sunshine on Keith: Country’s Keith Urban

For those lucky enough to be visiting Music City over the festive season there is the chance to see our old buddy Keith Urban.

Keith, a great pal to Country 2 Country, Europe’s biggest Country festival which we witnessed him headlining in Dublin.

And we know Music City will be in for a treat when he does so again at the free and Paramount + Jack Daniel’s New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash.

Do the Cancun

Of course, for many, the pleasures of Mexico’s iconic resort is their 22kms of sandy beaches.

But for the rest of us it’s the sombreros, tacos and tequila, guacamole and the mariachi we’ve enjoyed.

From Boston through Florida to San Antonio, Texas but not as yet, but soon, Mexico.

While those who want to can dip further back into Mexican and Maya culture with its pyramids and ancient structures.

With a day trip to Chichen Itza, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, a match for our own wonders Rome’s Colosseum and Jordan’s Petra.

So get your dancing shoes on and raise your voices for 2025 with a Mariachi y’all in Nashville and Mexico.

Countries, Europe, Music, Oceania, UK

The winner takes it all with ABBA’s global tourism

9th December 20249th December 2024 funtime65

And as London reveals its Avatar show has coined in £1.4bn for the economy it’s true that the winner takes it all with ABBA’s global tourism.

It has, of course, been quite the Voyage for super Swedes Benny, Bjorn, Agnetha and Anni-Frid.

And it should not be forgotten it was Great Brighton where ABBA got their big break with their Eurovision win 50 years ago.

ABBA superfans following the 3m who have taken in Voyage in London should also visit other touchpoints in England.

The Brighton Dome, Birmingham Odeon, where they played their first British gig and the Royal Albert Hall where they sold out two shows in 1977.

And we’ll even forgive Agnetha for dissing my hometown.

When she opined: ‘I was sick and tired of everything when I called you last night from Glasgow’.

ABBAnatics everywhere

ABBA remain at heart a Swedish band but in much the same way as The Beatles and Elvis they belong to the world.

And we can celebrate them from Waterloo in Belgium through Greek and Croatian islands to ABBA-crazy Australia and beyond.

ABBA, of course, have been the gift that keeps on giving across our life.

With the Mamma Mia film franchise introducing the band to a whole new generation.

Isle be bound for Greece and Croatia

And ABBAnatics make a pilgrimage to Skopelos.

And get selfies at Agios Ioannis Sto Kastri, the little church on a rock, where the movie’s wedding scene was filmed.

While my, my, how could they resist the charms of the Croatian islands for the follow-up Here We Go Again.

With Vis , a 35-mile drop in the Adriatic with a population of just 3,600, who all know the dance moves by heart now.

And we’re advised to get the pebbles between our painted toes (you know you do) on award-winning Stiniva beach.

Thank you for the Aussies

ABBA, of course, have an almost Beatles-like devotion in Australia where they toured early in their career.

And where their TV special was watched by more people than the Moon Landing.

Little wonder then that their 1977 tour was immortalised in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth.

With, of course, the Fun Four more than obliging for the de rigueur kangaroo shots.

So as Britain shows the way on how to cash in on ABBA’s global reach.

It’s worth remembering that there’s money, money, money for all of us, even beyond their Swedish base .

And the Abba Museum, Stockholm and their Swedish haunts.

Because the winner takes it all with ABBA’s global tourism.

America, Countries, Music

The Merseyssippi Blues

4th November 20244th November 2024 funtime65

It’s 4,351 miles between Jackson and Liverpool but nothing between them musically which is why today we’re celebrating the Merseyssippi Blues.

The blues and rock’n’roll-inspired Beatles and Merseybeat assured Liverpool’s place in the musical landscape.

And so it was only natural that when the string-plucking musicos of the Magnolia State decided to branch out.

To mark the Blues beyond their borders they decamped to Liverpool.

To unveil a Mississippi Blues Trail Marker, their first in Britain, at the Cavern Club where the Beatles made their names.

And where the Sixties British musical invasion of America took shape.

And where now stands a special Blues plaque at the Club to commemorate the special relationship.

Devilishly good music

How better then to mark the occasion than through music?

And who better than a Johnson… award-winning Mississippi blues artist James ‘Super Chikan’ Johnson?

Known for his electrifying shows at Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale.

Super Chikan obvs has a Blues birthright as a Johnson.

Nobody did more for the Blues before BB King than Robert Johnson who sold his soul to play guitar at the crossroads at Dockery Plantation.

Which is the centre point for any music fan’s odyssey on the Mississippi Blues Trail.

Love, love me Blues

If Johnson is Blues royalty then Lennon is Beatles royalty.

And Julia Baird, John’s half-sister, represented the Fab Four, was there to roll out the Blues carpet for the Mississippians.

Of course, just as Johnson’s Crossroad should be on anybody’s visit to Mississippi.

Then the Cavern and the Beatles Story and any one of The Beatles tours out of the club should be on a tourist’s Liverpool itinerary.

And what better than the Magical Mystery Tour, run by Holly Johnson’s brother Jay.

See, it’s all circular.

So if you live on this island why not start your Deep South odyssey at the Cavern Club, the home of the Merseyssippi Blues.