by Valerie | Apr 3, 2014 | art, General interest, history, museums, people, travel
In the afternoon some of us were offered the chance to return to Petra on our own but with the same ticket (£55). We walked downhill, past a few olive groves and many more temple-tombs high in the rock face, some with weather-beaten reliefs, probably angel figures... by Valerie | Mar 27, 2014 | art, General interest, history, museums, people, theatre, travel
I keep on thinking of these tombs as temples – to the Afterworld. Innumerable, all carved into the soft sandstone striated with different hues, or sandy as one expects with sandstone, or the rose-red stone Petra is famous for. The variety never ended. Variety in the... by Valerie | Mar 25, 2014 | art, General interest, history, museums, people
Tell your friends that you are going to Jordan, and they’ll respond, ‘Petra!’ either with gleeful satisfaction or longing. So would it match up to expectation? Our guide was fully aware of this. He explained that we would start at 8.30, not at 8 as on our programme.... by Valerie | Mar 14, 2014 | art, General interest, history, museums, people, travel
In just under an hour we’ll touchdown in Amman. Why Jordan, bordering Israel to the west on the other side of the Jordan River, and the tragic war zone of Syria to the north? It’s precisely because of this, because of my fascination with the ancient civilisations of... by Valerie | Feb 12, 2014 | 1950s, art, book reviews, childhood, horse riding, museums, reading groups
The wind is howling down my chimney. Yesterday we drove back from visiting friends in York through light snow – the first this winter. Tonight I’m driving a carload of friends into the countryside to the only member of our book group who lives out of town. Let’s hope... by Valerie | Feb 9, 2014 | art, book reviews, General interest, history, museums, people, travel
Instead of spending time this week blogging, I’ve wasted hours trying to deal with combined – or ‘dual tariff’ as the phrase goes – gas and electricity bills. I pay by direct debit. So far, so good as far as Npower is concerned. I’m not sure about me. Every 6 months...
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