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Feb

A Walk on the Winter Side

by Joyce McGreevy on February 4, 2020

An intrepid traveler on a beach in East Sussex, England is proof of the power of wanderlust over the forces of winter’s chill. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Winter at an English beach is definitely “chill.”
© Joyce McGreevy

Winter Wanderlust in East Sussex

Rows of wooden beach huts are locked up tight, their colors vibrant as summer memories. Gray waves lunge at the Seven Sisters, chalk cliffs along England’s South Coast. January winds drive sand in fitful circles around deserted picnic tables.

Traditional English beach huts on a deserts beach in East Sussex reminds a traveler with winter wanderlust that summer will return. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Before beach huts were introduced in the 1900s, changing for a swim was done in a
bathing machine that, for modesty’s sake, was towed out to sea.
© Joyce McGreevy Read more...

Joyce McGreevy 4 Comments

Adventure Travel/Art of Travel/England/Literary World

Jan

London, Lost and Foundling

by Joyce McGreevy on January 20, 2020

An array of silver charms seen on Marchmont Street are evocative markers of Britain’s past, inspired by historical tokens at London’s Foundling Museum. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

I spotted one—then several—fascinating artifacts in the pavement. What were they?
© Joyce McGreevy

Historical Markers Lead to Fascinating Discoveries

I’d walked along Marchmont Street often yet never noticed them—small, mysterious objects embedded in the pavement. Unlike London’s “blue plaques,” historical markers at eye level that link figures of the past with buildings of the present, the Marchmont Street objects were easy to overlook.

On Marchmont Street, London a token embedded into the pavement becomes an historical marker for those with the focus to spot it. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Some historical markers hide in plain sight.
© Joyce McGreevy

Here was public art at its least public, eloquent objects underfoot, shyly waiting to be seen and heard. Yet they, too, were historical markers, clues to a poignant chapter of London’s past. Read more...

Joyce McGreevy 3 Comments

Cultural Symbols/Discoveries/England/On Foot/Travels to the Past

Aug

Cultural Encounters with a Competitive Edge

by Meredith Mullins on August 12, 2019

Bullfrog who is part of one of the most bizarre competitions in the world and also a part of the cultural encounters of competitions around the world. (Image ©

Five of the Most Fascinating Competitions in the World

Grab your frog, your worm, your spouse, your crying baby, your cheese-chasing outfit, your cherry pits, your cockroaches, and your mustache wax.

Let the games begin.

From Calaveras frog jumping, to British cheese chasing, to Japanese baby crying, to Finnish wife carrying, to Indian mustache competitions, it’s time for some competitive cultural encounters.

What is it that drives us to compete . . . besides that thrill of victory? And, more to the point, what is it that drives us to compete in competitions unique to our cultures? Read more...

Meredith Mullins 2 Comments

Cultural Encounters/England/Finland/India/Japan/USA

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