Sixty at Sixty - Tintagel Castle, Cornwall, UK

Arthur staking out his claim?

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table - fact or fantasy? Even today no one really seems to know for certain. Some believe he may have been a mythological figure based on a military leader who helped stave off a Saxon invasion in the 5th-6th centuries, but given this was during the Dark Ages, a time for which there are few historical records compared to other eras, it is likely there will always be room for debate on the subject!

Likewise, with Camelot, the supposed court of King Arthur. There have been numerous claims over the years as to its whereabouts, the latest being in 2016 when a retired professor claimed that the site was outside of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. If that's true, sadly, Camelot is now buried under a motorway.

Historic Cities - Salisbury, England

Ask someone to name a few cities in the UK and the chances are Salisbury will not be one of them, but at one time this town in Wiltshire was the seventh largest in England. Originally called New Sarum, it came into existence when the Bishops of the cathedral at Old Sarum decided to build a new cathedral several miles away from the Iron-age Hill Fort. The foundation was laid in 1220 and the cathedral was consecrated in 1258. In the meantime a thriving community built up around it eventually leading to the abandonment of Old Sarum.

While the terms city and town tend to be used interchangeably, in the UK official city status is granted by a royal charter and was historically given to those towns with a cathedral. Salisbury was recognized as a city in 1227, long before many of the more well known cities of today!

Not surprisingly, the highlight of Salisbury is the cathedral.

Historic Sites - Old Sarum, Wiltshire, UK

When I travel I like to visit historic sites. The opportunity to get a glimpse of the history of a place or a building and imagine what it must have been like in its heyday is one I find hard to ignore whether it is fifty years old or centuries ago. On a recent trip to the UK I was fortunate enough to fit in several such visits, including one to Old Sarum in Wiltshire.

Berlin - Museums and Memorials Galore

With grey skies and cold temperatures, sightseeing in Berlin’s winter might not seem such a great attraction, but with a multitude of museums and memorials relating to both the city and the country’s turbulent history, there is plenty to see that will soon make you forget the less than pleasant climate.

One of my favorites, the German History Museum, offers a fascinating timeline of the region

Movie Review - Lee Daniels' The Butler

Lee Daniels’ The Butler is a powerful movie, based loosely on a true story, about an African-American man, Cecil Gaines, who rises from being a house-boy on a southern plantation to being a butler at the White House during the presidencies from Eisenhower to Reagan.