Kevin Oliver via Flickr

Christmas is just over a month away and even Her Majesty Queen Elizbeth is getting ready for “the most wonderful time of the year”.

All the way from Coburg, Germany, The Queen’s Christmas tree that will be displayed at Windsor Castle was delivered by a Mercedes CharterWay.

The 449 horsepower (330 kilowatts) Mercedes Actros 1845 LS BigSpace L semi-truck brought in the 39-foot (12 meters) tree straight from Callenberg Forest. C… (View original article)

If Casa Loma, the Edwardian castle perched above the modern city of Toronto, had been built in United States, no one would have batted an eye. At five acres, it wouldn’t compete with the American odes to excess built by the Hearsts and the Vanderbilts. But for reserved Canadians who distrust grandiosity, there lies a fairy tale chateau near the corner of Davenport and Spadina that is sometimes referred to as “Pellatt’s Folly.”

Think Thomas Edison – Ontario businessman Henry Pellatt… (View original article)

The following is from the office of Essex County

Essex County Executive  invites the public to take a Holiday Candlelight Tour of Essex County Kip’s Castle to view the stained glass Tiffany windows and learn the history of this hidden gem.

Admission is $8 and includes coffee, hot chocolate and cookies. Registration is required and can be done by calling 973-433-7469. Space is limited and is on a first come, first served basis. Visitors should meet at the front door of the Ca… (View original article)

SCARBOROUGH is known for its occasional rough seas, when the waters of the North Sea smash against the town’s marine defences and erupt into the air.

But how spectacular is this wave (top), towering above the onlookers gathered at the waterfront to watch.

The photograph would have been taken, we think, some time in the 1920s. How do we know? Because it’s a postcard – and on the back is the date when it was posted: July 29, 1929, at 2pm in the afternoon.

The… (View original article)

Published:
19:02 EST, 12 November 2016
|
Updated:
19:02 EST, 12 November 2016

A stone fortress in the middle of rural Ireland is not perhaps the home you’d expect for a Chinese fashion designer. But Anna Lin is married to Patrick, Lord Oxmantown, whose ancestral home is Birr Castle in County Offaly. 

She and Patrick moved to Birr in 2010 to help run the castle and its 1,200-acre estate, and in becoming part of this illustrious Anglo-Irish aristocratic family, renowne… (View original article)

EDINBURGH, Scotland – Rain is pelting the black bulk of Edinburgh Castle brooding over the city, but inside Fingers Piano Bar on Frederick Street, it’s warm and dry as I dance with a throng of cheerful Scots, all of us lustily belting out the chorus of “Sweet Caroline.”

“Hands, touching hands,” roar the dancers, waving their arms about and casually slapping complete strangers on the back as the piano man valiantly covers Neil Diamond.Which is when it occurs to me that this city’s rep… (View original article)

For 50 summers, music lovers have flocked to Lake Geneva for the Montreux Jazz Festival. Drawing more than 250,000 visitors over its annual two-week run, the festival dominates the Swiss town’s landscape and culture.

But Montreux has another claim to musical fame: It was where Freddie Mercury — legendary lead singer-songwriter of Queen — came to find peace.

Like many well-known rock bands and musicians — including David Bowie, Deep Purple and Iggy Pop — Queen was… (View original article)

In the midst of the unforgiving cold desert of Ladakh, I was wondering why this place has remained unknown to the rest of the world. The place – now officially called Kargil, was in ancient times known as Purik. A question knocked the door of my conscience why, this land that used to be a hub of activities for centuries has now suddenly been taken for granted. Haji Sadiq Ali Sadiq Sahib, a Balti Writer and a renowned historian of Ladakh is famous for his oral technique of storytelling. … (View original article)

Joyce Forsyth’s knitwear shop is nestled in a knobbly stone building in Edinburgh’s Old Town. Colourful jumpers hang in the tiny window, but it’s the scraping sound that draws me in. I find Forsyth working away at a knitting machine.

It’s a picture-perfect image of traditional Scottish crafts, but Forsyth is thinking about something distinctly modern – access to the European single market. She voted against Scottish independence in 2014 and to remain in the European Union in June… (View original article)