Tag Archives: Blogging Challenge
The Devil’s Bridges
Why would anyone name a bridge the Devil’s? The Devil’s Bridge near Kirby Lonsdale spans the River Lune on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. Built around 1370 it is steeped in the Medieval folktales of the time. According to the legend, a local woman could not cross the river to retrieve her cow. The […]
Crossing the Chasm
Bridges can be beautiful, especially those that span rivers, creating reflections and vistas for travellers to admire. The most spectacular bridges, in my opinion, are those that cross chasms and gorges, like the Clifton Suspension Bridge. The River Avon cuts through limestone to form this amazing gorge that lies west of the city of Bristol. […]
The Ancient Crossings
It’s the beginning of a new A to Z blogging challenge and my ninth year of participating. This year will also honour the late Jeremy Hawkins who designed the graphic art used by participating bloggers all round the world. Each day throughout April I will be posting on my theme: the history of British bridges. […]
A to Z Blogging Challenge – Theme Reveal!
Where would we be in this world if it wasn’t for bridges? They connect people and places, and at a time like now, we need those connections to be strong and resilient. Bridges survive for centuries, a testimony to early engineers who built them, and they bring together people across divides. My theme will explore […]
British or Beamish – the museum dilemma.
The mother of museums, but not the oldest, founded in 1753 during period of Enlightenment. World famous, controversial, imperial, and a tourist magnetic. Famed for its library and antiquities, the legacy of the vast sprawl of the British Empire. The objects in the British Museum embody knowledge from which both public and scholars might learn, […]
York Mystery Plays – theatre on the streets
The concept of a touring theatre group is nothing new. Its origins go back much further. Ever since Antiquity, plays have been performed, and in the absence of great amphitheatres, towns and cities were home to pageants and feasts, bringing music and drama to the streets. Perhaps the most famed of these are the mystery […]
Sadler’s Wells – the home of dance
My theme – British theatre through the ages – has so far covered many forms of entertainment, but to date, I’ve omitted one key one: dance. So today, I’m off to Sadler’s Wells, home of ballet and dance. However, given the theatre’s long history, dance is a relatively recent arrival at Sadler’s Wells. In fact […]
Royal Lyceum Edinburgh – the dramatic theatre
Theatres are all about people. The actors, the audience, the backstage crew, the writers and directors (and the ghosts…) Don’t forget the money – the producers and the owners who take a risk to build theatres and put on shows. The Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh is another one of CJ Phipps creations and was […]
Palace Theatre, the house of entertainment.
When I think of theatres I think of plays – comic, dramatic, tragic or controversial. Yet so many theatres began life entertaining with music, circus and pantomime. The Palace Theatre (not to be confused with the Victoria Palace) on Charing Cross Road, which was built in 1891, was no exception, it was originally called Royal […]
The Old Vic – for those who dare
It’s a nickname, Old Vic, and it’s been around for a long time, since at least 1880. It stands for Royal Victoria Theatre. But that wasn’t its first name. Just like the Royal family, the theatre had a Germanic name – Royal Coburg Theatre. Designed in 1818 by Rudolph Cabanel, a German architect, the theatre […]
The Quiet Writer 