Tag Archives: environmental portrait

Names drop like musical notes – and me, once again, am caught without an umbrella… Apologies for the paraphrase, but when I envisioned dropping the names of some of the musical heavy-weights we had the good fortune to listen to at the Byron Bay Bluesfest 2014, I “saw” the names coming down like rain; like the tears in […]

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Isn’t it funny how we experience a “kinship” with identities whose views and/or behaviour we admire? And, how we feel a “connection” with personalities whose faces are visible in the media or whose opus with which we are familiar? We “know” these people – even though they have no idea who we are. Music is so evocative […]

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One of the pleasures of ground travel is the access you get to those places outside city centres. Ancient treasures and glimpses into the old ways of doing things can often be found just “off” the usual paths. The ancient Rajasthani village of Abhaneri is only a fifteen minute detour off the main Jaipur – Agra highway. Abhaneri is home to a ruined tenth-century temple […]

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Music festivals are a great opportunity to try new sounds on for size, but they are also a great place in which to give oneself up to the comfort of old favourites. We did both at the recent Byron Bay Bluesfest; because we had indulged ourselves and pre-purchased five-day tickets for this year’s annual Easter Weekend music […]

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Bagan, in Central Myanmar, is known for its temples. Not all its temples, however, are ruined relics of the Pagan Empire (9th to 13th Century). Others – like the beautiful Shwezigon Pagoda – are still living, breathing places. Shwezigon was Pagan’s first Buddhist temple. It was started by King Anawrahta after he took the throne by force in 1044, unified the country, and […]

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