In the last week or so both Cumbria and Dubai have been hit by disasters of different sorts. As you will all know, Cumbria has been hit by some of the worst floods in memory and Dubai by a financial crisis which few thought would ever happen. Both are heavily dependent on tourism and both have been quick to say that both are open for business.

Two recent surveys, one by Visit England and the other by the foreign exchange bureaux company, First Rate both claim to be able to reveal what visitors to our shores want to see. Unfortunately the two say different things. the findings from Visit England are based on visitor entry numbers and since places like Trafalgar Square and Tower Bridge are free to walk around (unless you want to go into Tower Bridge), visits aren’t counted.

742 years ago, the local lord of the manor drove a cart through Egremont in Cumbria. It was laden with crab apples and he offered them to the poor. Was this an insult or a gift? Unless you make crab apple jelly with them they are pretty sour as I can testify from the tree that hangs over my garden from the neighbouring churchyard.

This is National Parks Week. Not only that but it is 60 years since the first one was opened. Unfortunately the weather hasn’t been kind to them this week. I was going to write about this yesterday but it was raining so I thought, wait a day, things might improve. It hasn’t. It’s raining [...]