Archive: selected stories. A pressing problem Nervy Girl, May 2003 Can Europe's new sexual harassment laws curb Italy's workplace wooing? Americans and Brits – who has the last laugh? Oxford Mail, 10 February 2000 A cheeky debate with the great Scots journalist, George Frew Ancient Olympia: The Field of Dreams Athens News, 27 June 2003 Olympia enthrals visitors like no other ancient site, because each and every tourist has a connection with that tiny patch of the Peloponnese. Big Rock Candy Mountains: Cappadocia, Turkey Road and Travel, October 2004 Some are campfire-softened marshmallows, domed and dipped. Others are taffy chews, jerked upwards, lollipops, or peppermint sticks gummed smooth. All the stonescapes have the sugarcoated hues of the sweet shop: pinks, oranges and yellows in comforting childhood pastels. Birthplace of a love goddess Road and Travel, February 2003 Budapest's bullies, baths and not-so-blue Danube Athens News, 30 April 2004 Stunning design crippled by chaos and the people-handling skills of a Communist thug Camp David Oxford Mail: It's not an easy life, but he wouldn't trade those shining moments, where his eccentricity dazzles and his voice blazes over the microphone. Carbonated coffee and other Transylvanian treats in Romania Road and Travel, September 2004 I rent a clapped out Mercedes sedan, quite possibly older than me, and head for the hills – or rather the mist-shrouded Carpathian Mountains. Cappadocia: The surreal landscape where fairies and monks mingle Athens News: The unique rock formations of Turkey's central region have inspired the human spirit in diverse ways ­ to create fantastic tales and saucy postcards, and even triggering the birth of monasticism ¡Caramba! A Tale Told in Turns of the Card Bookmarks Magazine, September/October 2004 Debut author Nina Marie Martinez strikes a fresh, feisty pop pose, peppered with Chicana chics, Cal-Mex culture and a Cadillac convertible. City strokes Seattle Post-Intelligencer: November 17, 2005 The lake has become a private playground. Each day, at dawn and dusk, needle-nosed shells navigate this secret world, smack in Seattle's center. Church pushes the power of prayer Oxford Mail, 23 June, 2000 Cinema City Moviemaker Magazine, Winter 2005 "Hollywood on the Tiber" survives bombs, near-bankruptcy and blockbusters with bella figura. The cradle of western philosophy Athens News, 16 January 2004 Once the oldest and most powerful metropolis among the 12 Ionian cities, Miletus now stands in a marshy, neglected landscape Discworld: Ultimate champions prepare to defend national titles Seattle Post-Intelligencer: September 27, 2005 Toddlers lurch on the grass. A 41-year-old mother and punky teen sling a Frisbee disc back and forth. The scene could be any park, anywhere in America. Except these are national champions: Cat Pittack and Shannon O'Malley, members of Seattle Riot. Eastern Ireland: myth and melancholy Road and Travel: December 1, 2005 Such sweeping melancholy is typical of Ireland's eastern coast. Something's in the jagged North Sea spray, the granite-chunked crags and the heather that creeps in on little cat feet. And that something erodes and erases and exiles. Bones bleach into fable. Whiskey washes away fact. Then ivy muffles it all into mythology. The enchanted 'isle of rubbish' Athens News, 11 July 2003 Zakynthos is an island of rubbish – or so locals claim. Legends insist that God, after creating the world, swept the odds and ends into the ocean. And that mound became the third-largest of the Ionian Islands. England's Coal Coast Road and Travel, June 2006 The scion of Serenity Hall is silent. I am neither a tree-hugger, nor, it seems, tree-hugged. But I do take away something deeper from the coal coast, so stripped by the sea and corroded by commerce: a harsh and haunting landscape that somehow preserves the calm after the storm. Europe’s Cinderella: Greece’s capital turns rags to riches – and Olympic gold in 2004 Road and Travel, 1 June 2003 Ephesus: From Amazons to Alexander Athens News, 28 May 2004 Its history is peppered with mighty figures: Rich King Croesus, Alexander the Great, the Persian ruler Cyrus, the doomed lovers Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, and their nemesis, the Emperor Augustus. The area also draws Christian pilgrims, as the final resting place of the Apostle John and the Virgin Mary. Food Fight In These Times, 9 May 2003 Europe and America gear up for a confrontation at the WTO From poems to mining pits and pedicures Pulse, Summer 2006 A destination spa – once the site of Lord Byron's wedding –- revives a Northeastern English village The glory that is Greece Moviemaker, Spring 2006 Like the city itself, Never on Sunday is a glorious mix of impulse and intellect. Best of all, it addresses that very topic: The plot pits beauty (a prostitute full of joie de vivre) against the beast (an American philosopher, intent on proving that western civilization collapsed because it placed sensuality above sensibility). Greece 2004: beyond the Olympics Thisistravel.co.uk, February 2004 Many families are hesitant to plunge into the crowded, smoggy capital at peak season. They want a taste of Greek glamour – without eating the whole souvlaki. The solution couldn’t be more pleasant: head to the islands. After all, the nation boasts 227 options (and that’s just the inhabited ones). Greece’s First Lady of Hospitality Travel Age West, 2 June 2003 Glinting with gilt and marble, the Hotel Grande Bretagne is ready to resume its role in history. The French Renaissance mansion has hosted spies, kings, industrialists and stars, prompting its gracious title "the First Lady of Hospitality". Greek myths and legends Time Out Athens, 2004 The Hellenic deities certainly weren’t exactly role models. They lied, cheated, squabbled and toyed ruthlessly with humans. See also the A–Z of Greek Gods. Hero worship Time Out Athens, 2004 Ancient Greece is hot property in Hollywood right now, as studios scramble to launch a new generation of sword-and-sandal epics. (‘Toga saga’, another genre description batted about, is, of course, technically inaccurate: Ancient Greeks dressed in chitons, which doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.) The Hamilton Case: Intellect and Identity Clash in the Colonies Bookmarks Magazine, September/October 2004 Michelle de Kretser artfully captures the human condition and exotic texture of 1948 colonial Ceylon with nary a whiff of Merchant Ivory patness. A happy ending for a legendary pirate haven Athens News, 22 August 2003 Nafpaktos is a fairy-tale land. Only a fire-snorting dragon could improve the ambience. Heat is on GM backers Oxford Mail: Concerns led to a ban on commercial planting of GM crops until 2003. However, protesters would like to see a longer ban and more laboratory research. Many, like Mr Foulk, want a moratorium on GM animal feed as well. Hong Kong: It's still eastern Hollywood Moviemaker, Autumn 2005 Hong Kong glitters like a circuit board. Mirrored glass – not just blue, but pink and gold and green – reflects the sultry light of the South China Sea. Big thunderclouds boil across this neon-swathed cityscape. Brooding, bright and quicksilver, the landscape perfectly personifies the Fragrant City's cinema. Hong Kong: Diary of a Gweipo travelgirl, March 2006 The Fragrant Island, frankly, confuses me. Capitalist guilt and it-girl greed fuse my brain. Should I nab some Louis Vuitton Epi bargains? Barter for a black-market movie? Saddle my bureau with yet another inlaid jewel box, ethically purchased from a co-operative of oppressed artists? Torn, I do the only thing conceivable: dance until dawn in a scarlet wig and pink aviator glasses. A hoss, a hat and haute cuisine: C Lazy U Ranch, Colorado Road and Travel: December 2004 Riding a roan mare among the sweeping mesas and aspen glades of the Continental Divide Hysteric glamour: Hong Kong, China Road and Travel, August 2005 Glitz and grit collide in the Fragrant City. This cosmopolitan consumeropolis was once a pirate outpost, then a port trading in tea, silk and opium. From a barren rock, Hong Kong grew into one of the world’s densest cities with seven million residents. Irish Fighting The Celtic Tiger now courts moviemakers in the capital and countryside Moviemaker Winter 2006 “Ireland did not care a fart in its courduroys for any kind of art whatsoever,” Samuel Beckett once announced. He wasn't the first genius to seek shelter abroad: Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw and James Joyce all exited stage left. The inhospitable creative-culture continued into the 1950s, when poet Patrick Kavanagh described Dublin as “the cruellest city on earth.” Fifty years later, the capital couldn't be more different. Ischia: The Green Island of Eternal Youth Italy Daily: The warm informal "ciao" is on every lip – and seems heartfelt. Locals stop and chat, heedless of unlocked doors. It’s a small, safe place, determined to stay that way. The village embraces tourism but doesn’t succumb to it. Sidebar Journey to the volcano's sapphire heart Athens News, July 2004 The blast – the most powerful in human history – detonated with the strength of 150 hydrogen bombs. Three-quarters of Santorini vanished, leaving only a rind, curving around a six-kilometre-wide bowl of blue. Judging a book by its cover Roman Bookbinder, Daniela Bevilacqua, 79, puts pages together the old-fashioned way Messing Around in Boats Road and Travel, January 2005 A British narrowboat excursion certainly ranks among a few of the world's favorite things, along with raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Mining, music and moonshine Road and Travel: September 15, 2005 Banjo notes cascade over the bourbon-colored river. Hidden among the oaks and magnolias, a fiddle embroiders the Appalachian folk tune. Our paddles pause, then stop. We drift downstream, two city slickers in a canoe, trespassers amongst the hills of southeastern Kentucky. Muddy Waters: Budapest, Hungary Road and Travel, November 2004 Everyone tries to like Budapest. Eastern Europe is trendy – and the recent EU expansion only added cache. Mushing in the Rocking Mountains Road and Travel, March 2005 Tongue flapping, the spotted mongrel churned the chest-deep snow. He lunged, twisting on the tugline: just one bell on the tangled wind chime of baying hounds. Then – hike! – the team shot forward over the crusted powder My Sister's Keeper Bookmarks Magazine, June 2004 Ever fearless, novelist Jodi Picoult tackles a biomedical controversy: is it fair to create a life to save a life? A new era for Ischia Athens News, 28 November 2003 The island of Ischia, Capri's overlooked neighbour in the Bay of Naples, is heating up, luring tourists with natural hot springs, serenity and the famous garden of British composer William Walton Patra: Emerging from the Sirens’ Shadows Athens News, 6 June 2003 Olympic Challenges The Daily Mail: Athens has embraced the Olympic motto –- "swifter, higher, stronger" – as the city prepares for the 2004 Summer Games. It may also have added "dearer"... Oxford Intelliguide (update) November 11, 2005 Home to the country's oldest university, Oxford is eccentric, engaging and personable – epitomizing the spirit of Old England in many ways. Patras: A Glimpse Beyond the Porthole Road and Travel, and Travel Age West, March 2006 Patras' renown is partly due to its carnival. One of the world's largest after Venice and Rio de Janeiro, it attracts around half a million people mid-January to mid-March. The Treasure Hunt remains a highlight: hundred-strong teams – many with goofy names like "Blue Flames" or "Golf Sexperience"–- comb the city for hidden prizes. Petra, Jordan: A life in ruins Road and Travel: June 2005 Hooves tattoo down the Siq, that sinuous half-mile crack of canyon. Dusk drips down the walls. Gods squat in the shadows; ancient desert lords hacked into the scarlet sandstone. We cower, alone and forsaken. The pixie behind the pixels Cnet: Model Lucy Clarkson now slips into the halter top and gun harness of cyberspace’s pinup. Puerto Vallarta, A Town 'Built on a Film' Four Decades of the Iguana: Sun, Sin and Celluloid Moviemaker Magazine: Winter 2004 Forty years ago, John Huston’s gritty Night of the Iguana put Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on the paparazzi map. Other movies – from Predator to Kill Bill Vol. 2 – have since followed in the big man’s footsteps, capturing the area’s sugary beaches, coastal cliffs and rainforest-swathed Sierra Madres. Rime of the Ailing Mariner Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 23, 2006 Sun syrups over the freshly frosted Olympics and the gilded cones of Baker and Rainier. The sails hang slack like old lettuce. Capt. Samantha Haney pronounces this glorious winter day "as close to shorts weather as Seattle ever gets." Yet my breakfast trails in the wake. Roman Traffic Alfresco Italy, A Love Story, July 2005 A coin cast into the Trevi Fountain ensures a return to Rome, according to folklore. My motivation won't be the art, the ruins, the fine wines and food, however precious. No, my euro is for another shot at Zen and the art of moped mayhem. Romantic Rendezvous Road and Travel, February 2005 From the Queen Mary 2 to a French Kissing Festival, Claddagh rings to Crusaders' castles, here are ROAD & TRAVEL Magazine's top picks for romance in the stone streets of Europe. Rome's Papal Highway Italy Daily: The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. And for the Via Giulia, the result couldn’t be more charming. A sacred city re-emerging from the ruins Athens News, 4 July 2003 Messolongi's soil is stained by the blood of heroes. The town is mighty, but morbid and marshy: Not the most obvious choice for a carefree holiday, in other words. Santorini: Star of the Cyclades Road and Travel, July 2004 Countless Greek promotional posters, which peddle the whitewashed walls, azure domes and sheer volcanic crescent of cliffs, cutaway like a child's diorama, revealing the Aegean's geological secrets. Seattle Coffee: Are You Experienced? Trip Magazine May/June 2005 Forget Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain. Ignore Bill Gates, even if he's the planet's arch plutocrat. The split-tail mermaid overshadows them all. Seattle Intelliguide (update) November 11, 2005 Funky and liberal, the "Emerald City" remains proud of its blend of natural beauty and kooky culture. Simon perfects the art of taking the mickey Oxford Mail, 1 March 2000 Sparky island spirit uncorrupted by Corelli Athens News, 20 June 2003 Kefalonia didn't submit easily to the Normans or the Turks or the Germans ... or the cloying clutches of Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Spray away on the walls and the web Italy Daily: Internet graffiti gallery has a preservationist role Summoning Spring in Oxford MSNBC, March 2005 England’s 'city of dreaming spires' sacrifices its beauty sleep to celebrate May morning. Stone Cold Beauty Road and Travel, July 2006 After a breakup, some women binge on chocolate. Others buy shoes. I went to the Balkans: substituting wander for lust. Oh yes, I was in Feisty Femme mode, all right. Forget heartbreak. Bring on the beer and borscht! The surreal landscape where fairies and monks mingle Athens News, 5 December 2003 The unique rock formations of Turkey's central region have inspired the human spirit in diverse ways ­ to create fantastic tales and saucy postcards, and even triggering the birth of monasticism Sweat baths and skeeter-cures: Helsinki, Finland Road and Travel, July 2005 Below the calmness and chic design lies coffee-fuelled eccentricity. Under the midnight sun, Helsinki heats up with vodka, saunas and tango. The Temp Oxford Times: She was careful to add depth and gravity to The Temp "I didn't want it to be another 'chick lite' book," Serena admits. And it isn't. The giddiness descends into trauma, followed by an intricate revenge, like a Greek drama. The Venice of Scotland Road and Travel, July 2003 Don't expect to see and be seen. Kirkcudbright is all about introspection and natural beauty. Where Baroque baths meet Communist chic This is Travel, 19 September 2003 My first glimpse of Budapest was the Nyugati train station, an odd blend of Victorian ironwork, eastern Bloc grime and a slick blue-glass mall. This mishmash, not without its charms, is repeated throughout Hungary's capital. Wild and wicket: extreme croquet Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 2005 In this game, there's no such thing as a level playing field Players take a genteel picnic pastime into all-terrain overdrive, hacking across rotten logs and mole holes. Locally, the Lakewood Croquet Club holds court. Zen and Art of Moped Mayhem in the Eternal City Road and Travel and MSNBC, June 2003 All roads do lead to Rome, specifically to Piazza Venezia. It's a swirling, sucking whirlpool of metal. And I'm riding the wave bareback on a beat-up moped. This is Italian traffic, al fresco.
		Back to the portfolio