The Ukrainian city of Kyiv (more commonly referred to in the West as “Kiev”, although that’s actually the Russian word) isn’t exactly at the top of many peoples must-visit list, but I’m here to tell you that if it’s not on yours, you should go ahead and put it right at the tippity top, right …
Author: Ashley
Adventures in Sussex: Camping in Blackberry Wood, Hassocks
Jon and I kicked off this year’s camping adventures by going to a place that we’d heard great things about from fellow camping aficionados (lol) last year. Blackberry Wood gets rave reviews across the board and now that we’ve been I totally get it – fantastic location slightly hidden in Sussex, pitches that seem completely …
Things to know before visiting Chernobyl
“No one believed the first newspaper reports, which patently understated the scale of the catastrophe and often contradicted one another. The confidence of readers was re-established only after the press was allowed to examine the events in detail without the original censorship restrictions. The policy of openness (glasnost) and ‘uncompromising criticism’ of outmoded arrangements had …
2017 year in review
I began blogging regularly in this space in 2009, but 2017 was definitely the year that I wrote the least here. This was due to a lot of things, but generally just dealing with the emotional fallout of a year that included Brexit and Trump’s election meant that writing about my life just seemed completely …
A 72 hour Christmas Surprise in New York City
This year I had plans for a very chill Christmas break. Jon and I had both been working a lot and I was looking forward to ten full days of sleeping late, reading books, playing video games and taking country walks (and eating cheese…..lots of cheese). However, Jon had different plans, and on Saturday …
Fighting autumnal nostalgia with American candy from Kingdom of Sweets
I think I’ve been away from the States long enough that very few things make me homesick anymore – leagues less than the numerous things that did in the past, anyway. However, everything that does make me homesick happens right around this time of year. Autumn comes and I miss the riotous change of leaves …