by Valerie | Feb 23, 2016 | people, travel
Joseph was our guide on our tour of Syria five years ago, just before the outbreak of war. Since then I’ve often thought of him, hoping he and his family would be safe. He is average height, slight and looks like many others around the Mediterranean. Quiet and... by Valerie | Jan 27, 2016 | book reviews, General interest, history, poetry, reading groups, travel, writing a novel
I’m crocodile green with envy when I learn that my writer friend Steven doesn’t do any revising. He’ a genius! He thinks and thinks about what he’s going to write for days, even weeks, and when he feels it’s ready, he writes the one and only version. The final one.... by Valerie | Nov 13, 2015 | art, General interest, history, Italy, museums, people, travel
Severed from the internet after my laptop’s ‘face’ slipped so I couldn’t find the icons and commands at the bottom, I’ve been unable to send emails or post blogs and lived a carefree time of neglect. My antiquated computer in Beverley still functions, but I have been... by Valerie | Oct 13, 2015 | childhood, General interest, history, Italy, travel
The leaves of the horse chestnut tree outside my window are edged in gold. Over the summer a bird of prey – some say a hawk – nested in one of the Minster towers and feasted on my companions for many a year, the woodpigeons. Schoolchildren scavenge for the conkers... by Valerie | Jul 25, 2015 | history, Italy, museums, people, travel
One Easter in Italy we were preparing supper we heard chanting. I turned off the flame under the pasta water; we pulled on jackets and followed the sounds and lights moving across the valley. The sun had not set and we could just make out a group of people holding... by Valerie | Jul 16, 2015 | art, General interest, history, Italy, museums, people, travel
Everyone who has been to Venice has looked out from the Piazzetta, the Doge’s Palace on the left and Sansovino’s magnificent library on the right, over the bevy of gondolas across the lagoon to Palladio’s San Giorgio Maggiore. It is marooned on an island – seemingly...
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