Ribble Valley slideshow

In my last post, I wrote about a recent trip to England's Ribble Valley and promised to post more pics. Here they are. Most of these photographs were taken at the Chipping Show. Chipping is a Ribble Valley village that hosts an annual farming show for the locals to show off their stuff. The event was fun and incredibly photogenic.

All photographs by Emilia Simonelli © 2006.

"... a bucolic piece of gently lilting countryside in northwest England ..."



Most of these photographs were taken at the Chipping Show. Chipping is a Ribble Valley village that hosts an annual farming show for the locals to show off their stuff. The event was great fun and incredibly photogenic.



The Chipping Show seems to have been a big hit with the locals.



A popular tent at the show was the poultry tent.



And what would a trip to an English agricultural show be without the ubiquitous sheep?

Where to have your tipple in the Ribble

My wife and I had the great pleasure of spending the past bank holiday weekend with some very good friends at their home in the Ribble Valley, a bucolic piece of gently lilting countryside in northwest England that (at least to my American expat eyes) is about as English as anywhere on this green island. In fact, at times the people and situations we encountered were so extraordinarily English that our hosts joked that they had called central casting before we came to arrange the “sets” for our visit.

And indeed, the “sets” often seemed perfectly arranged: folks in country casual ambling about with their dogs … flocks upon flocks of sheep grazing for our viewing pleasure … pub after pub (after pub) providing some of the finest ales (all local) that this writer has ever tasted.

Yes, we were in good hands when it came to our pub visits. Actually, one of our two hosts has dedicated an entire blog to the many pubs of the Ribble Valley. His blog, Ribble Valley Pubs, is a brilliant (and honest) resource for anyone ever fancying a proper pint in a proper pub in this lovely corner of Lancashire.

Ah, only a three hour train ride from London’s Euston Station but, in every sense, a world away. I already look forward to my next pastoral getaway to the Ribble Valley and, for once, hope that not too many people read one of my posts.

Expect more photos soon!

UK tourist attractions get unhealthy diagnosis from "mum"

Tourist attractions 'unhealthy'
Fast food remains top of the menu at major tourist attractions across the country, a report has found.
BBC News
Last Updated: Friday, 25 August 2006, 12:39 GMT 13:39 UK

A "secret mum", who visited 14 top attractions for the Soil Association, found most sites were failing to provide healthy food and drink choices.

Click here to read the full article.

Take that, Protestant work ethic!

Holidaying Pope criticises overwork
The Herald
August 21 2006

During his traditional weekly appearance to bless the faithful, Benedict XVI quoted from writings of St Bernard in the 12th century meant for popes of his time on the subject of overwork.

Click here to read the full article.

How to pack for your flight (for the time being anyway)

Baggage advice for UK passengers
BBC News
Tuesday, 15 August 2006, 11:33 GMT 12:33 UK

Click here to read the full article.

(A similar entry has been posted at ontoLondon)

Workers to strike at London airport?

Visit the ontoLondon blog for information about a potential strike at Stansted Airport over the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend.

Click here to read the post.









http://www.ontolondon.com/

JFK to Tahiti direct? For the time being anyway

Recently, I've become a regular reader of South Pacific Travel Blog, "an island travel blog with news and views from the South Pacific," which is maintained by travel writer David Stanley. Below I reference his latest post about Air Tahiti dropping its thrice weekly JFK-Papeete direct flights.

New York Flights Threatened
by David Stanley
South Pacific Travel Blog
Thursday August 17, 2006

A good part of the problem lies with American immigration regulations ...

Click here to read the full post.

BBC article outlines new UK flight security measures

Baggage advice for UK passengers
BBC NEWS
Published: 2006/08/12 09:23:01 GMT

The arrangements, announced by the Department for Transport, apply to all passengers starting their journey at a UK airport, and to those transferring between flights at a British airport.

Click here to read the full article.

More about this article at Londonist.

Take my vacation, please!

Please Don’t Make Me Go on Vacation
By STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM
Photograph by Kirk Condyles for The New York Times
New York Times
Published: August 10, 2006

A study released last year by the Families and Work Institute found that American workers have on average 16.6 paid vacation days but that more than one-third of employees (36 percent) did not plan to use their full vacation.

Click here to read the full article.