"Thanks to animators over the years, the leprechaun has become a well-known figure; we can all recall his buckled hat, beard, pipe, beguiling accent and pot of gold. 'Everyone who comes in here gives the same description,' says Mark. But he’s here to put me straight on the little people and their many other mythical colleagues. Despite the name, it’s actually a museum devoted to all of the island nation’s rich folklore..."

"'He was like all troublemakers - they were disenfranchised, angry young men with no jobs, no future at all, they were the bottom of the pile," says Terry Cunningham, as we chat in McCarthy's Hotel, an atmospheric old pub in Fethard, deep in Ireland's County Tipperary. The particular angry young man we have in mind is John 'Red' Kelly, a poor local tenant who stole two pigs in 1840 and was sentenced to transportation to Australia..."

"Things are gradually improving, thanks to a disparate band of cafe owners and baristas from Australia and New Zealand. Little by little, antipodean-style cafes have been popping up across inner London, including April's opening of a branch of Melbourne's St Ali. The British media have noticed the trend - the afternoon I flew into London on my latest visit, The Evening Standard ran a story with the headline 'Aussie rules coffee in London'..."

"It looks like the end. I’m trapped in a small room with a bunch of other people off the street, feeling a jolt of fear as three Daleks close in around us. The metal villains from the popular BBC science fiction series Doctor Who are convinced we’re in league with their enemy the Doctor, and before we can react, their trademark cry of “EXTERMINATE!” rings out..."

"'St James for the gentlemen, Mayfair for the ladies,' says tour guide Simon Rodway. The dapper tour guide brandishing a silver-topped cane is leading us on his London of James Bond walking tour, the first of three tours I’m taking in connection with 20th century British fictional characters. He’s right on the money as he recites the old expression about these neighbouring London locales..."

"No amount of historic circumstance can top Stoker’s evocative description of the Russian schooner Demeter blown across Whitby’s harbour with its dead captain lashed to the helm, crashing beneath the East Cliff before disgorging the vampire in the guise of a huge dog. As a result, Whitby has become a popular destination for vampire-fanciers."

This book can be purchased online from Amazon.com.

Not available for republication.

"Even though it’s very Off West End, I still have the common London experience of going to the theatre and realising I’ve seen some of the actors on the telly or at the cinema. Outside on the wet streets, people are bustling through the rain toward Kilburn Tube station, or stepping into the welcoming pub opposite. There’s something both very British but very international about the scene."

Stepping outside London's theatrical mainstream to go 'Off West End'.
Available for republication (print and Web).
Images available.

[Read the full article here]

"Shad Thames is a curious laneway running parallel with the Thames, between a set of large brick warehouses. Above the street a series of walkways runs back and forth between the buildings. It’s an atmospheric sight; and it’s also, I remember, where Daleks were seen to roam when it was a dilapidated, rain-drenched strip in the 1980s. Which just goes to show - even metallic alien invaders can’t stop gentrification."

Taking three walking tours based on fictional characters in London.
Available for republication (print and Web).
Images available.

"A stay at one of London’s great hotels, such as the Savoy, will set you back a mere $1000 a night. But cheaper lodgings are available..."

I investigate relatively inexpensive accommodation in London, as part of a survey of budget options around the world.
Available for republication (print and Web).

"The power, the power! I’m standing at a computer console in London, selecting missions undertaken by a well-known secret agent. As I touch each icon, an impressive digital globe rotates on the giant screen above me, indicating the locations in James Bond’s adventures. Yes, I am a Bond villain and I hold the fate of Agent 007 in my very hands. Nyah-ha-ha!"

On the London trail of James Bond 007, and his creator Ian Fleming.
Available for republication (print and Web).
Images available.

"Dodging part of a fast-moving actor’s costume is not one of the usual rituals of going to the theatre. But I’m at the Globe Theatre, and here the rules are quite different. There’s no real danger of losing an eye, of course - the actors know exactly where they’re treading - but there’s a great sense of energy and excitement when they wheel in your direction to spout Shakespeare’s famous lines."

Taking in the entertainment at London's more stimulating theatrical venues.
Available for republication (print and Web).
Images available.

"For a truly English experience, you can’t go past the British Lawnmower Museum in Southport, which invites the visitor to sample the 'extraordinary history of garden machinery'. The exhibits include fast mowers, solar mowers, robot mowers and tiny mowers. There are even 'Mowers of the Rich and Famous', allowing you to discover what Princess Diana used on the lawns of Kensington Palace."

Ranges through the world's oddest museums, exhibiting everything from sulphur to Spam.
Available for republication (print only).

"There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Or indeed, to visit Britain. The Romans came to conquer the place, the Vikings to plunder, and most modern visitors have images of castles, pomp and pageantry whirling in their heads. But some of the best English language TV and film has come out of the UK, and an increasing number of tourists make a different kind of pilgrimage – to the location of their favourite Brit flick."

Guide to travelling through the UK in search of TV and film locations.
Available for republication (print and Web).

I also have a selection of high-quality digital images available, depicting a variety of international locations. 
See examples of my travel photography.

If you'd like to republish one of these pieces, or would like a new piece written about the same location, please get in touch via the contacts below:

email:
tim@iwriter.com.au

phone:
0411-242327
(international +61-411-242327)

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