When they were younger, ‘oh so much younger than today’, the Fab Four made a series of films designed to capitalise on the Beatlemania that, in the 1960s, was steadily sweeping the world. Fervent adoration of a European musical figure or group had not reached such frenzied levels since the Lisztomania fad of the 1840s … Read more
The Portuguese coastline stretching out from Lison has long been nicknamed Costa dos Reis — the Coast of Kings) and for good reason. Fernando II of Portugal built his summer castle retreat, Pena Palace, in the mountains above Sintra, a short drive from the coast, turning the area (now part of the Sintra Cascais National … Read more
One hazy evening in July 1963, music lovers who had attended the Juan-Les-Pins jazz festival were surprised and delighted at an impromptu performance by Ella Fitzgerald from a balcony of the Hotel Le Provençal. Ella Fitzgerald singing at the 5th international Festival of Jazz of Antibes-Juan-les-Pins in 1964. (Image credit: Getty Images) Now, 62 summers … Read more
Is the summer officially over? Technically speaking that depends on whether you ask a meteorologist or an astronomer: the former will tell you autumn began on September 1, while the latter will tell you that it doesn’t kick off until Monday, 22 Septemeber 2025 at 7:19 pm BST. There’s a better way of figuring it out, … Read more
