View of Stroud looking south from Stroud Slad Farm camping field. Stroud is an interesting town, more so if one is visiting from Totnes in Devon. Why? Because there are some similarities which inform about both Places. Nestled in a valley on the edge of the limestone Cotswold Hills, Stroud is a small town about […]
Caucasian Shirvan ‘banded’ kilim. Wool. 3.50m x 1.60m My first experience of Woolfest in the Lake District was overwhelmingly positive. As a first-time trader I was initially apprehensive even though I had visited Cockermouth a couple of years previously, more about that bizarre experience later… I stopped en route at a pleasant campsite that afforded […]
Last weekend I stayed in Bath, a city in the west of England. I was visiting this area for two reasons: I had decided to exhibit textiles at a fair held at Claverton Manor, the home of The American Museum in Britain I was also keen to enjoy the hospitality of my elderly aunt who […]
Central Asian Khirgiz Felt ‘Ok Bash’ – tent pole cover. Wool with horse hair tassels. Cotton lined. Ex Mary Burkett Collection Age: Circa 1900 ‘Stitches in Time’, is an exhibition of Tribal carpets, rugs, textiles and ethnic clothing that was held at South Brent Old School Community Centre and The Gallery Birdwood House, Totnes, South […]
This is what some local people think of this region of Bolivia, taken from http://www.atlantisbolivia.org/sajama.htm The area contains everything that one could wish to see, enjoy and experience living in the Andes. The practice of sports, adventure activities, delight in recreation and nature, observation of species in danger of extinction, the possibility to submerse oneself […]
The Sunday Market at Tarabuco, Chuquisaca, in Bolivia is not every tourist’s cup of tea. On Tripadvisor many who have recently visited are clearly underwhelmed by what this small unpretentious town has to offer. As a day trip from Sucre it requires a four hour journey just to get there and back. Depending on one’s […]
Memories of visits to Tibet always fill my heart with longing. For many years I hoped to visit the east face of Everest where the Kangshung glacier reaches out beneath a sheer five thousand metre wall. I also carry with me the joy and respect for my hosts gained whilst living amongst Tibetan pilgrims who […]
Roughly ten years ago I was invited to China. I became a ‘foreign expert’, the name the People’s Republic of China give to foreigners granted work visas, and over a three year period I spent time travelling and exploring some of the more remote regions of this vast country including Yunnan in the South West, […]
The symposium at Rippon Boswell in Wiesbaden last year offered attendees the chances to enjoy the hospitality of Herr Maltzahn and his dedicated team away from an auction’s hustle and bustle. Travelling from the South West of England via Heathrow to Frankfurt I arrived on schedule at a clean AirBnB just two doors down from […]