I was in The Netherland for the first time, 16th March to 20th March 2009, where I stayed in Leidschendam (with my brother). Over four days, I travelled to canal city of Amsterdam, capital city of Den Haag (Madurodam model village and Scheveningen's Zuiderstrand), University town of Leiden and the flower gardens of Keukenhof.
Diverse Traveller - Every Woman's Guide to Travelling
Working from home especially when working for yourself may seem like a perfect career choice; but when you do it day in day out, the disadvantages are consuming. For me yesterday was such a day.
Being mistress of all I survey was not making me feel superior to the 9 to 5s battling both the cold weather and commuter time public transport. Instead I was feeling claustrophobic, the walls of my large office, or today cluttered sitting room, were closing in, baskets and green, blue and pink plastic boxes full of work waiting for my attention. I was not in the mood to work, instead I was envious of the 9 to 5s, at least they leave home to work and hopefully have other people around for motivation and inspiration.
Yesterday,
I yearned for company and inspiration. Despite my work-load I was
feeling uninspired and unproductive. Not even a large cup of espresso
strength coffee, and the breakfast banter on BBC Radio 5 live, Katie
price got married again, kindled the desire to work. Determined to
shake off this feeling, I took a deep breathe, and booted up my PC.
After two hours online – Twitter and the News of the World, I couldn’t
muster the motivation to get any work done. Two more coffees later, I
abandoned my PC, switched on the TV, and watched a marathon of Upstairs
Downstairs, Law and Order, and my afternoon favourite Diagnosis Murder.
Still nothing, this was not going to be a creative or productive day.
Perhaps being at home was stifling my creativity, so I decided to look for inspiration outside, Asda or Avatar? On this day of lack of motivation and inspiration, the decision was a hard one, so I left it to London transport, if the 226 bus came first it would be Asda, if the 487, then Avatar.
You’d be surprised how Asda, or any supermarket, can be a source of inspiration for stories and a reminder of things that need to be done. Asda is where I get my quick people fix via in-depth conversations with staff, e.g as I scan the baking aisle, not that I’ll be doing any baking. However, I wasn’t really feeling in need of an Asda day, what about the cinema to see Avatar. It was clear I was not going to get any work done today, I concluded travelling to the land of Avatars and marvelling at James Cameron’s creativity would serve to fuel my own.
I love working for myself and mostly love working from home, but sometimes it can be hard; lonely, too many distractions and most of all you have to motivate yourself. But don’t let me put you off, because when you do feel like this, do what I do and give yourself the day off. Go out and take advantage of the many discounts available, plus the lack of crowds, when visiting places before 6pm. Hopefully, the next day, when returning to your home office not only will you be motivated and productive, you’ll also be grateful you work from home
The global recession has given some of us many things to worry about, but I don't need to be a business sooth-sayer to know that adding to your art collection is not one of them.
A few days ago, I got a call from my friend, Naomi, asking if I would like to join her at the Affordable Art Fair taking place in Battersea Park. I had heard about the fair before but never attended, mainly because I didn't really believe that I would be able to afford any of the art on show. So, I jumped at the chance to see if I was wrong.
Everything is Art
I met Naomi at South Kensington, where we waited a little while for one of the many coaches and taxis the organisers had provided to get visitors to the venue. Our journey to the fair started with humour as Naomi and I
sat in boot seats of a people carrier facing the
road. Five minutes or so later we arrived at the fair.
While Naomi checked in
her coat and briefcase, a neat pile of bed linen caught my eye. It
comprised of linen that belonged to the artist's family over 100 years. My initial thought was "strange subject for art", but then like beauty art is in the eye of the beholder.
There were 120 galleries selling items from £50 to £3K, something really for everyone. We stopped often as we encountered interesting and often intriguing art captured our attention. Everything from a large dog made of miniature cuddly toys to ceramics from around the world.
The venue was buzzing with people, young and old, many nationalities and languages. I was surprised at how helpful most of the people on the gallery stands were, and we were often encouraged to touch and engage with the art. I confess I had thought they would ignore or treat my questions with disdain.
There was however, one memorable exception. At one stand, selling beautifully coloured irregularly shaped ceramic bottles, that we were very interested in buying, we were told off for touching, even though there was no 'do not touch sign'. Despite our interest, the man on this stand couldn't be bothered to talk with us, so we moved on.
My favourite
pieces were 'memories in a box' and photographs of African tribes; the the strangest were Robert Bradford's large standing dogs made from small cuddly toys and wire wool.
A vivid and colourful aluminium
oil painting of the Beijing Summer Palace caught Naomi's eye and heart, and after much negotiation, especially considering a faint scratch, she bought it at £25
off the asking price.
Then more walking around, stopping and touching, when we spied a large salt
and pepper shaker set. Naomi collects unique salt
and pepper sets, and this set was definitely unique, based on the artists's travels of New England, USA. They were more art than function as you couldn't put anything in them and they were
very heavy. However, they were pleasing on the eye, their shape and simplicity
made them appealing to Naomi. So much so, that after a head versus heart argument with herself, Naomi happily bought them.
Naomi was not the only one whose heart ruled her purse. As I soon found and fell in love with two pieces of
pottery by Cornish potter Chris Beer.
They are elegant in design, shape and colour, their ethnic and earthy look and feel
called out to me. There was no heard over heart argument for me, I wanted them so much, that despite the effect the recession was having on me, I negotiated a £15 discount for both. I have no regrets, and even today I know I got a real bargain.
I was glad to correct my initial impression of the fair, it was truly affordable, it gave opportunities for emerging artists to sell their work, but most importantly I kicked off my art collection with unique pieces purchased at a bargain.
"He looks like a black Grant Mitchell", Sharon said, and she was right. But he also looked like a banker or like the estate agent he sang he could have been (while waiting for his microphone to be fixed).
The singer in question was London born, Nigeria raised, singer / songwriter,Ola Onabule.In front of a full house, he prepared for his first song, dressed in a red, white and blue stripped shirt with large cuffs, blue tie and pinstriped trousers, this was not the 'Soul Man' image I was expecting. But looks, as we know can be deceptive, and once Ola released the first long, haunting note, all thoughts of his wardrobe gave way to a familiarity as I responded to a caress from a long missed friend.
***
Ola was on stage at the Jazz Club Soho, a venue perfect for caressing. With it's intimate lighting, and tables so tightly packed there was hardly any room for the waiting staff to move around. This layout gave us Jazz devotee a good view of the stage, the luckily few who had bagged the tables at the front, were so close, they were practically the stage. I was not so lucky, but I wasn't complaining as I seated in direct view of the stage, on one of two tables I had booked for the group (16) of 'positive black women', I had joined three weeks ago viaMeetup.com.
Shortly after joining the group online, I invited them to join me at Pizza Express to see Ola Live, I knew very little about Ola, aside from hearing his songs now and again on Jazz FM. Two weeks ago, after playing one of Ola's tracks, the the JazzFM DJ announced Ola would be at Pizza Express from Jan 23rd. I found more information on the Pizza Express Live website, then headed toOla's websitewhere I heard the songs from his sixth album, The Devoured Man. I played the songs for the rest of that afternoon.
***
By a few minutes to eight, most of the group had turned up, and between pizza, cannelloni, garlic bread and chocolate fudge cake we got to know each other. Then at 9pm, the lights dimmed and Ola's band of Michael Mondesir on bass, Geoff Dunn on drums, Nial Tompkins on guitar and, Ugo Demirani on piano, warmed us up with a pulsating Latin - Afro fusion introduction. Now ready for the main act, Ola took to the stage around 9.10pm.
According to the musical press ...
"As a vocalist, Ola possesses a stunning voice of enormous range and emotional clout. His voice is beautifully clear and appealingly textured, almost classical. During his shows there are moments when he lets fly with a kind of yodelling ululation and a range and elasticity to match his rich tonal qualities. The influences of soul, jazz and African music come together in subtle and sophisticated melodies and time signatures, seamlessly documenting the issues of the day with the universal subjects of love and loss."
The press were not wrong! Ola treated us to a medley of songs from his current album,The Devoured Man, and songs from albums past. In between songs he entertained us with gentle humorous banter about love and life. After the intermission he returned looking more comfortable in a black t-shirt, obviously I was not the only one bothered by his wardrobe.
Through-out his playlist, Ola demonstrated his tonal dexterity, passionately and smoothly travelling from a soulful bass to a heart-wrenching tenor. I was unable to sit still, his songs were obviously meant for dancing, particularly my favourites, Truce (Album -The Devoured Man) and Heart of Lead (Album - In Emergency Break Silence).
***
Though deservedly, often compared to some of the soul greats, he reminded me of Frankie Beverly and Donny Hathaway, it was clear to me Ola's sound is his own. That's why he is popular with some of America's finest soul and jazz artists, having been a guest of Diane Reeves, Gladys Knight,Al Jarreau, Patti Labelle, Roberta Flack, and Natalie Cole. And judging from the sold out tables, I heard he was sold out the next day too, he has a keen UK following.
While Grant Mitchell types are not my cup of tea, Ola with his seductive cocktail of Jazz, Latin and Soul sprinkled with a pinch of Africa can devour me anytime. Why this very talented man, now on his sixth album is not a prominent name on the UK music scene is a mystery to me.
A unique mixture of old and new shops, including twenty creative pop-ups and new community-driven businesses have opened recently in the Brixton Village indoor market (aka Granville Arcade) run by theSpace Makers Agency.
On Saturday, January 16th, 2010, I joined members of the Space Makers Network and others in Brixton Market to to celebrate the market's revival, a day that promised plenty of tasty events and creativity. The perfect anecdote to a rainy day.
***
Strolling around the market I found creativity everywhere. My favourite shops were:
In the shop, that Saturday, Katherine May told me that the idea behind the project was to combine their 'make do attitudes' and produce designs that are both unique and affordable.
Unfortunately, this was the last week the shop would be here, according to Katherine, the group have enjoyed and benefited from the opportunity. From this experience they intend to projects to markets around London and then around the UK. country.
The shop displayed custom-made wall paper, knitted floor cushions (£250), greeting cards, custom-made chairs (small £150 and large £800) and hand-made badges. All their creations are made from reclaimed materials. In addition to the shop, the project runs darning and mending, and quilting and patchwork workshops.
***
The Wonderful World Of... - The paper lanterns caught my eye as I passed this shop. So, I popped in, and over a home-made cookie learnt more about the various lanterns from the designer and maker Sean Adrian. The inspiration behind Sean's designs come from his contemplation of the cultural and spiritual aspects of nature.
Sean has designed and made lanterns for various festivals around London, such as the Thames, Hackney and Latin American festivals. He turned to lantern-making after several years in film, TV and music.
There were many things in this shop I would've love to buy, however my limited funds could only stretch to one lamp. One with a travel theme, decorated with several maps of Africa and African women caught my eye (see picture left) and at a very reasonable sum of £8 was my find of the day.
***
Sweet Tooth, the market's newly-opened old-fashioned sweet shop is run by artist and accessories designer Georgina. This stylish sweet shop had shelves, floor to ceiling, of sweet jars of sunshine yellow pineapple cubes, reddish-brown cola cubes - 100g of each sold at £1.30 - chewy drumsticks, and
my favourite hard multi-coloured candy bracelets and necklaces from 25p each.
Although, Georgina had not never run a sweet shop, she jumped at the chance to do something different. The idea for Sweet Tooth, came to Georgina in a dream, the perfect replacement to replace Woolworth's pick and mix. Not surprisingly there was a constant stream of children of all ages, buying sweets and designing a cake for an under 11s competition, the winners won a jar of sweets.
Although it looks like Georgina is on to a winner, she has not given up being a designer. In a corner of the shop she displayed accessories from her evoke label - leather trimmed, 'loop' bags and badges made from and wrapped in West African material, I bought two of the latter.
***
I spent an enjoyable time chatting with the owners of the above shops that I didn't have any time left to visit a shop recommended by a Japanese tourist, I met in Sweet Tooth. After sharing our experiences of the day, she recommended I pay a visit to her friend's shop, Leftovers.
Leftovers is a vintage and antique clothes shop run by Margot Waggoner. Margot sells French antique costumes and a selection of unique vintage fashion items and accessories. All items are from the 1850s to the 1950s, including vintage aprons and kitchenware.
***
Inside the market, soaking in the creativity and aspiration of the shop owners, I forgot about the awful weather outside. I look forward to attending more of these events. Fortunately, there'll be something new happening every Saturday at Brixton Village to find out what visit Space Makersand / or you join the market's Facebook Fan Page for updates about future events.
Naked Cruising - sounds a bit dodgy doesn't it? Paints a picture of dirty old men lurking aamongst
the bushes in parks and commons. In fact, naked cruising is a holiday on a cruise ship where the holidaymakers are legally nude. I bring this up, as according to to a travel trends report
by ABTA (the travel association), those of us who are feeling adventurous and looking to
banish pesky tan lines, will be on a 'naked cruise' this year.
I don't know about you, but the idea of being fully naked on a cruise ship, sends shivers up my spine. I break out in cold sweats at the thought of donning a bikini to hit the beach, so the idea of parading with my 'bits'on display for follow cruisers to see - cringing! Whilst I imagine being naked must feel free and perhaps liberating, I think I'll keep the whole 'walking around naked thing' confined to the safety of my living room!
Holidays with that extra 'X Factor'
The ABTA 2010 travel trends report also predicts that this year we will be looking for that 'added wow factor' in our holiday choices; that once-in-a-lifetime experience that will stay with us forever. ABTA believes that South Africa will see a rise in tourism, this summer, when hundreds of thousands of footie fans will descend on cities such as Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban to support their national teams.
Picture: South African cities that are world cup venues. Source: Fifa.com
Take a road trip
The report has also highlighted interest in another popular holiday choice this year - the road trip such as Jamie's American Road Trip. Apparently holidaymakers are keen to follow in the footsteps of Jamie Oliver. Jamie travelled to US states such as Wyoming, Louisiana, New York and Georgia for his recent Channel 4 TV show. This definitely appeals to me, however, I loved the idea of doing an American Road Trip long before Mr Oliver's TV show, thank you very much!
I have a soft spot for America. New York is my favourite city in the world (sorry Toronto!), and nothing beats Miami for hot tropical, latin, party action. That said, the idea of a trip on the open roads of America attracts me most; the opportunity to visit and explore the 'less obvious' US states and cities, even the thought of sleeping at motels and eating at highway diners sounds thrilling to me, like something out of a Hollywood movie.
An old work colleague of mine is off to Memphis, Mississippi, Louisiana & Texas in March. To say I'm jealous would be a slight understatement.If it wasn't for the fear of the 'dreaded holiday partner dilemma', I think I would have invited myself along for the ride.
Picture: Take a road trip and stay in a motel 6. Source: motel 6.com
Will you be going on a naked cruise this year? Or will your holiday include an 'added wow factor' in 2010? Please share.
Yay! The first working week of 2010 is over. We've gone back to work and back to reality. This is the time of year where the only thing motivating is dreaming of travel plans. Cue trawling travel websites when we should be working, "ahem!"
Decisions decisions decisions!
My first dilemma is deciding where to go. Should I experience new sights and thrills and be adventurous? Or revisit past loves, where I'd be guaranteed a fabulous time? Or is it city or beach? Adventure packed or chilled out relaxation?Or, if, like me you are single, perhaps the most important question is who do I go with or do I go alone?
Daring to go alone
I like to travel more than my friends do. Either they don't want to spend the money or they have kids, hubbies, partners whilst I'm the one who is footloose and fancy free. My solution - Canada.
Toronto is a bit of a cop-out for me as that's where my dad, brother, sister and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins live. I've spent heaps of time there over the past 20 years including six months from 1998-1999, and I now have a solid group of friends there too. Therefore, when traveling alone to Canada, I travel safe in the knowledge that once I arrive, I'll be surrounded by loved ones.
Lighting display at the CN Tower. Copyright: http://uscw.canada.travel
However, the past few years I've gotten more adventurous, I've looked past Toronto and tried out new places - Montreal, Marrakech, Cuba, Alicante, Barcelona, Barbados and most recently Amsterdam. I've done the solo travel thing to Montreal and Amsterdam, went away with family to Alicante and even taken chances by hooking up with 'acquaintances' to go away with. N.B: 'friends' are people I know extremely well vs. 'acquaintances' who are people I've met a few times but don't know well enough to call a 'friend'. Boy, have I had a few nightmares!
Nightmare holiday partners
One particular acquaintance, who I went away with, hardly ever had an appetite, not a big deal you say? Well, I'm someone who loves food; in fact, I would go as far as to say that I'm extremely passionate about food - even more so when I'm on holiday. It got to the point where I was the only one eating dessert, I felt like such a lard ass. Also, when you spend your birthday in Cuba, having dinner at a table for one because your holiday partner 'isn't hungry', tends to make things a little 'tense'.
Me on holiday, eating as always.
Another holiday partner became a raging aggressive lunatic whenever she drunk alcohol. She argued with other tourists, created enemies out of the lovely ladies selling fish and jerk chicken near our favourite hot spot, and she slapped and pushed her 'holiday fling' when she saw him smile at one of the 'jerk chicken ladies'. Oh dear.
On second thoughts, maybe I am better off traveling alone?
Share your new year travel plans, nightmare 'travelling with others' stories' and / or tips on 'how to get along' when travelling with others. Click here to read tales of solo travel on Diverse Traveller.
Despite being queen of to-do lists, I'm not a fan of making general resolutions, such as losing weight. Instead I make my resolutions desirable i.e travel related.
2009 resolved
Last year, my only resolution was to travel comfortably to new places while on a budget i.e Stylishly Cheap Travel. This was one resolution I was happy to achieve, so in ...
March - I spent many a Spring day walking around Den Haag, Leiden and Amsterdam, cities in northern Netherlands. Saved money by staying with with my brother.
Picture: Miniature version of Amsterdam's Red Light District. Source: DiverseTraveller.com
Picture: Forging a new friendship in Croatia. Source: Diverse Traveller
Summer - travelled to the USA (Annapolis, Katy a suburb of Houston, Baltimore and New York), saved money by staying with friends; plus an exhausting eight days in eastern Canada, staying in B&Bs and travelling by coach and sharing the experience and cost with my friend Ronke.
Picture: Getting familiar with the locals. Source: DiverseTraveller.com
Resolutions for 2010
This year, on the back of the success of last year, I've boldly made five travel resolutions:
1.
MoreStylishly Cheap Travelwith new friends. Although I enjoy travelling on my own, I do like company from time to time. So this month I've joined
a number of travel and women's groups on meet-up.com.
2.
Get fit outdoors. Rather than spend money I don't have on a gym memberships I won't use, I prefer to exercises outdoors.
My exercise plans have been on hold while it has been snowing. Now the snow and ice are things of the pass (fingers crossed), I shall be wrapped up warm, and out and about enjoying London's parks and trails.
In Brent, where I live, I am fortunate to be near a part of the Grand Union Canal (Harlesden to Paddington) and near award winning Roundwood park.
Pictures: Left-The Grand Union and right - Roundwood park. Source: DiverseTraveller.com
3.
Learn to speak a new language. A few years ago I had tourist french and
Spanish, today I hardly remember a word, I have already added
introduction French and Spanish to my Ipod and signed up for
conversation classes.
4.
Revisit enjoyable experiences. Last year I
took many day trips around England courtesy of advanced train ticket booking. This year, weather permitting, I plan to visit as much
of the UK as I can either on day or weekend trips.
Picture: Floral public art in Birmingham City centre. Source: DiverseTraveller.com
5. Write, write, write! This year I plan to devote time to writing about my own
travels. I spend so much of my time working on DiverseTraveller and a little
blogging. Don't get me wrong I love doing this, but it leaves me little time to improve the many drafts of stories I have started and conveniently forgotten. So, to keep myself motivated and writing regularly, I'm planning a Diverse Traveller Writing group, which will include guest speakers who are published authors and / or work in travel media. Currently checking out suitable venues.
Fancy doing something different in the New Year? How about working in South America?
Volunteering
There are many ways to find work abroad or gain experience to put you on the right track for a new career path, far too many to include in a single post. Idealist.org and South American Explorers are two volunteer organisations I think are worth a look if you're thinking about making a real change in your life.
1. Idealist.org are a top-notch organisation that work in Buenos Aires. They're based in the Microcentro, very close to the fab and famous Obelisco, acting as a kind of forum for interesting people who are interested in volunteering in Argentina.
Idealist work primarily with volunteers and organisations to create exciting and worthwhile opportunities for an exceptionally cool clientele. Clientele who all want to give a little love back to the many Argentine communities through projects that need help the most.
2. South American Explorershave a number of contacts for would-be volunteers or interns and also offer work placements within their own organisation. A true learning experience, coming from one who knows firsthand, as I write for them quite a bit.
At US$60, becoming an SAE member is not only very useful, but very cheap too, considering you'll also be a member of their other three South American offices in Quito, Ecuador and both Lima and Cusco in Peru.
2010 - time for action!
So get off of the sofa, get online and get involved! Visit the websites of idealist.org and / or South American Explorers, or even better make contact with many of the other organisations that do similar work.
Visit and enjoy Tracey Chandler's blog full of first-hand and insider knowledge of Buenos Aires, where she has been a working resident since April 2009.
Ola's World has been a labour of love this year. Mainly because I am not a prolific blogger.
I do have a lot to contribute on all things travel, but I haven't always been in the writing frame of mind. Thus my posts have been irregular and not as varied as I would like.
With that in mind, I thank you so much for bearing with me on this blogging journey.
Next year, I promise to do better, learning from my experience and feedback this year, and post more regularly. And it won't be a case of quantity over quality.
Thankfully, I haven't had to keep Ola's World going on my own. A few months ago, Tracey and Nadine joined as guest authors.
I would love to feature more guest author, male and female - sense of humour a must. If you're interested please get in touch.
Many women, from all over the world, have joined Diverse Traveller this year, contributing their unique travel stories and sharing their travel experiences and tips.
The future
Like many small niche websites, I plan to grow Diverse Traveller, particularly the number of new contributors. If you haven't already, I hope you will Join us in supporting, promoting and celebrating new women travel writers by:
Finally, on behalf of Diverse Travellers worldwide, I wish you a Merry Christmas, safe and inspiring journeys throughout this
holiday season, and a very happy New Year.
Please drop by Ola's World and Diverse Traveller soon.
With the collapse of yet another airline, Scotland’s Flyglobespan.com, over 3,000 Flyglobespan customers may have an additional worry – how to get home. This is because they booked their flights direct with the airline, rather than a travel agent, thus leaving them uncovered by the ATOL Protection scheme.
Why is this important?
In summary the ATOL protection scheme protects you from losing your money or being stranded abroad if your airline or travel agent goes bust.
This means, if you book your holiday as a package i.e flight and hotel, from a single travel company, your entire holiday is protected by the ATOL scheme, which entitles you to help to get home.
If, like me, you book your flight direct with an airline, or buy your holiday in bits i.e flight and hotel separately, the ATOL scheme does not cover you. This means should you be stranded you may have to make your own way home; making that cheap tickets not such good value.
ATOL advice
So what should you do, if like me you will continue to book your travel direct?
ATOL advises us to
… take out travel insurance making sure it covers airline insolvency and any possible indirect loss as a consequence. Be careful though because many policies don’t give this cover, while those that do limit the amount you can claim or have exclusions, so read the small print.
You should also consider paying by credit card, since you should be covered under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Be careful though, you have to pay more than £100 and you won't be covered for any indirect loss as a consequence.
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