Fantasy Holidays in a time of COVID

A ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ cross country trip yielded unexpected discoveries for Sasha Soreff, when she set off with two friends across the Southern United States in 1992. When she isn't on life-changing adventures, Sasha Soreff is a NYC-based transformational coach and facilitator, writer, choreographer, and dance teacher. Website: https://sashasoreffdance.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sashadancecreate/

I am Nathalie. An interior architect, artist, former project manager and all round dreamer. In November 2018, I left my London life, took the plunge, and moving my life to France. I now live in a Water Mill which dates back to pre1735. It sits on the banks of the River Cernon, in the region of Aveyron. Surrounded by nature on the edge of the village of Saint-Georges-de-Luzençon, close to the market town of Millau and 2km from the Norman Foster designed Millau Viaduct. I have been refurbishing the building - it was a working flour mill until as recently as 2000 – retained many of the original features, determined to keep as much of the buildings history as possible. As well as the new kitchen/dining area and the new salon reception room, there are now 4 new bedrooms, 3 new shower rooms and 4 new toilets added to the existing self -contained apartment that sleeps up to 4 people. A delightful meditation/chill out room has been created on the ground floor and the sun terrace has been refurbished and made usable. The conversion of the old 120 Mtre Sq piggery into a working ceramics/art studio has also been completed! I am a ceramic artist and will be splitting my time between creating my own works and hosting/facilitating retreats/workshops/collaborations and residencies. Covid has been a challenging time, but weirdly allowed me more time as due to travel restrictions etc, I have not been able to facilitate retreats or host many events, as per the paned programme. The Covid Situation (this is written/ recorded June 2021) has allowed me more time to be creative and it’s during this time that my Goddesses Sculptures Series has come into being. I am also writing a book, with the help and support of fellow writers at The London Writers Salon. I would have made no progress if it were not for these guys! This summer I have planned two Raku ceramic courses and in I will be hosting September Writers Retreats ( Email address is below if you would like further information on these or general stay enquires) I have also undertaken the somewhat daunting challenge of starting the process to become a micro hydroelectric power supplier of energy to the green grid. No small feat, especially with the world renowned challenges of French Administration! I am determined to make real change in a positive direction for the planet and future generations. This project will be financed by eco warriors far and wide and everyone who is interested in helping take the strain off Mother Nature’s precious natural resources. If you would like to be kept informed about all news from The Mill, please feel free to sign up for The Mill News Letter for information on events, ceramics, hydroelectric progress and all the shenanigans of a London Gal, swapping her life for one in the French Countryside! P.S. This summer I have planned two Raku ceramic courses and in I will be hosting September Writers Retreats ( Email address is below if you would like further information on these or general stay enquires) https://themillfrance.com/blog email: nathalie@themillfrance.com for more information https://www.nathalieedwards.com/ for my ceramics The Mill was featured in a short video sponsored by Bricomarche a French DIY store featuring interesting places to stay in France – You can see more of The Mill , and a very nervous me here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWiVPkf4ZDE instagram: themillfrance Facebook: The Mill France

Fara and her husband Bob are in their mid-40s. They have been traveling the world since 2017 meeting new friends along the way. Global Couple LIFE is their online community to connect couples worldwide to share their common interest in travel. www.globalcouplelife.com, https://www.facebook.com/groups/globalcouplelife, https://twitter.com/globalcoupleli1

Excerpts from a diary; kept during her first travels to India in the 90’s, a place revisited since that first adventure. A few moments of the six-week journey are shared, as we are taken around this vast beautiful country steeped in history. Stories that will stay with her forever, like brightly coloured photos imprinted in her heart & imagination. Tracy Bickley is a London based creative. She first traveled to India while living in New York in the early 90’s. The places travelled and lived retained little pieces of her heart; reappear in the fictional stories she writes. 

Imagine a teenager with an inchoate desire to test herself but no ability to foresee consequences who goes AWOL from a charter flight that stops to refuel in Greece, then hitchhikes her way alone through Europe and returns, spirits (and virginity) intact Robin takes us to the road from Athens to Patras along the Aegean on a starry summer night at the start of her adventure thumbing through Europe.  She’s since made her life in New York City where she’s worked in the field of Brand Engagement while raising a daughter from Jiangsu, China and is now pursuing an MFA from Bennington.   Her work has appeared in The New York Times Modern Love column, Mc Sweeney’s, The Missouri Review (Winter, 2022) and Off-Assignment. Sound Engineer - Nour Harakati  https://robinreif.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-reif-46133a/ https://www.facebook.com/robin.reif.96

The archipelago of St Kilda, in the Outer Hebrides, was evacuated in 1930 but its beauty and isolation still fascinates thousands of visitors who make the long journey each year to visit it. Leigh Chambers was one of them.

Chris takes us to Lesotho, a high-altitude, landlocked kingdom encircled by South Africa, is crisscrossed by a network of rivers and mountain ranges.  Not your every day holiday destination.

"There’s lots to tell you about Rio and our stay. These podcasts are taken from my blog www.sukisuzy.WordPress.com  where you can find lots of photos too.” Thanks very much Sue x

Patti takes us into the beautiful remote village of Napongayit in South Sudan and introduces us to the lives of the Larim people and her life-changing visit in 1979. Patti has always been fascinated by different ways of living, which led her to study social anthropology at Oxford, living in Sri Lanka and South Sudan. Then she became an award-winning BBC producer of documentaries looking at social and ecological issues facing people in Africa and Asia. These days she’s a Research Associate of the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, and her photos, research notes and music from South Sudan can all be found on the Pitt Rivers Museum’s website.

During the early 1970’s times were hard for Brian and Susie Bannigan.   They'd previously left Ireland to come to England in the early 60's.   Now with a gaggle of ten boys Brian was working at the Corby Steelworks.  He was also driving taxis and coaches in between shifts, some nights and on days off.  Thinking that life overseas might bring more opportunities, he contemplated a life in Australia like so many others at the time; but naturally sad at the thought he might never again see his homeland again he wrote a poem to capture his thoughts. Eamonn, his son recorded him reading this poem around 12 years ago purely to capture his voice.  It was never intended for a public audience and hasn't been professionally recorded. Today is his birthday and ten years since his passing.  Today we celebrate his voice, his love of storytelling and to share his poem.  We think he would have loved it.  Enjoy and be sure to capture all those special memories and voices while you can x

In 2005, before starting university, Gina completed a 14-day Outward Bound kayaking trip in the Kenai Fjords of Alaska. Regina is an American writer living in Bristol. She specializes in poetry and essays related to the arts, culture, travel, wellness and the unique people and places in those spheres. She is most at home pedaling her bicycle or on her yoga mat.  Read more of Regina’s writing and listen to her podcast at reginagbeach.com http://reginagbeach.com/ http://instagram.com/reginagbeach https://www.facebook.com/ginabeach https://twitter.com/reginagbeach

Angkor, Cambodia The current COVID travel restrictions trigger memory of a visit to a deserted national park, now an extremely popular tourist destination. The reasons for the solitude are not what you think.  Christine DePedro is an American currently living in Chicago, Illinois. She has lived in London, UK and Sydney, Australia as well as Phnom Penh. After a 30+ career in publishing and journalism, she is exploring her love of food and cooking, producing a book and videos of Swedish home cooking. https://www.patreon.com/greenpeppercornpublishing. She intends to explore Khmer home cooking next. She can be reached on Twitter @streetsmart_chi and Instagram @green_peppercorn_pub Christine DePedro control@ticktick-boom.com

Travelling through Myanmar I was struck by, and fascinated with, the musical timbre of the Burmese language. Many of my recordings were of public announcements in train stations, airports and the Taunggyi Fire Balloon Festival. This short podcast opens with ambient sounds of Bagan waking up. Then to a Yangon train station announcer and after: a MC at the Taunggyi Fire Balloon Festival before ending with a young guide, Jonny, who burst into song while we rested in a hamlet on trek above the old hill station town of Kalaw.  David Harden started travelling aged sixteen when he hitch-hiked to Greece from London during a school summer holiday. After leaving school he set out from the UK to travel overland to Australia, but only made it as far as Afghanistan. After working in the corporate world (for fifteen long years) he has returned to what drives him forward the most: recording sounds, taking photographs and travel. His website: travelwornsatchel.com has a collection of sounds and photographs from his travels. Instagram & Twitter - davidharden123 and his Travel Worn Satchel Podcast is available to download via most podcast players. Blog / website: travelwornsatchel.comInstagram: davidharden123

Jodi Hausen is a Bozeman, Montana-based freelance writer, photographer and bon vivant whose late-in-life discovery that she has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder prompted her to primarily focus her work on disability issues. An innate curiosity (most likely prompted by an ADDled brain) led her to work in myriad fields from theatrical costume and set design to teaching skiing and becoming a Registered Maine Guide – the latter being the genesis for this story set in Baxter State Park in the wilds of northern Maine.  Website: jodihausen.com  Blog: The ADDled Brain  Twitter: @JodiHausen  Facebook: JodiHausenCreative  LinkedIn: Jodi Hausen  Background music: Kodama Night Town by Alejandro Magaña (A. M.) from mixkit.co.

Joanna shares her trip to visit an Altai indigenous family living in the Karakol Valley, Ongudai Raiyon, Altai Republic (southernmost Siberia), where she lived and worked as a translator representing the indigenous people.  Joanna is a Russian to English translator and interpreter based on the North Norfolk Coast. She is currently writing a work of creative non-fiction based on her experiences of the Altai Republic and the Altai indigenous culture. She delves into themes of archaeology, homeland, visual arts and eco-translation. Instagram @altaipilgrim and for more Information on the book about Altai and my events www.altaipilgrim.com Image copyright J Dobson Joanna is a member of LWS

Follow Katie’s romantic path down Seville streets in the height of Spring. Jasmine fragrance fills the air, Flowers bloom, Blackbirds sing, and we’ll look for Flamenco dancers before our drink in Citroen Bar to end a perfect afternoon. Katie is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Independent and Psychologies. Follow Katie on Twitter at@katie_monk or on her blog, www.whatkatiedidnow.com. Social media: Twitter @katie_monk Blog:www.whatkatiedidnow.com Website:www.katiemonk.com

A Trek down the Nile (in 1983) - William Keeling William pays homage to the late Geoff Crowther (1944-2021), author of the travel guide ‘Africa on a Shoestring’, by recalling his own teenage holiday to war torn Sudan and Uganda in 1983. The 18 year-old William travelled from Cairo in Egypt to Khartoum in Sudan, before trekking from Nairobi in Kenya to visit the Kabalega Falls on The Nile in Uganda, and the Gorillas in the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda. William Keeling was foreign correspondent for the Financial Times and exposed a multi-billion dollar corruption scandal in Nigeria in 1992. Having tired of reality, he turned to fiction. He is the author of The Gay Street Chronicles, a series of satirical novels of which the first - Belle Nash & the Bath Soufflé - is to be published in October, 2021. https://linktr.ee/thegaystreetchronicles

A moorhen chirps outside your porthole, geese honk hello as they pass by, and now and again a kingfisher flies close in a flash of blue And if you're lucky, you’ll wake early enough to catch the dawn chorus as it bursts into life in the quiet morning air. This, this is boatlife on the Grand Union Canal, London. Welcome aboard.  Ruth Stokes is author of The Armchair Activist’s Handbook (Silvertail Books) and a content designer in the charity sector. In a former life, she was a journalist for the likes of the Guardian, The Ecologist and New Internationalist.

Havana Cuba – Chauffeured to downtown Havana in a 1950’s Chevrolet Bel Air, the smell of freshly baked bread hits your taste buds, you admire the old architecture until the singing of 'Guantanamera' beckons you down a side street bar to enjoy a traditional Cuban highball Mojito, close to the blaring music, whilst breathing the aroma of Havana cigars. Do yourself a favour, step back in time and visit Cuba, you won’t be disappointed. Dr Emadch Beck MacNee, originally from Palau, was raised in New York. She studied marine biology at James Cook University in 2002, and now lives in Australia with her husband, two children, and two dachshunds. She and her husband enjoy cooking exotic meals and travelling the globe with their children.

Joanna Akoumianaki grew up in Greece and now lives in Perthshire, Scotland with her two children and husband. Water inspires every aspect of her life. She is a water scientist, a coastal hiker, a diver, a gardener, a maritime-fiction lover, and a writer of stories about travelling on water. You can find her on twitter @Joanna_Akoum and Facebook ioanna.akoumianaki. Acknowledgements for the production of this podcast: Steve Addison, Kostis Avissinos (Lousakiano Krasi, Nostos, https://open.spotify.com/album/7p4esO1vSlLIUZpw5x8pTf) and Couleur Locale (Lousakies)

What could possibly go wrong travelling with the family on on a Coach Trip to the South of France? 

Let's go dancing on the beach at Sunset Bar.    Come on don't be shy.   Just dance like no-one is watching.  

Carole Stone travels to her holiday home in Caprese Michelangelo, a picturesque village and commune located in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy, and the birthplace of Renaissance artist Michelangelo. Carole, a British author and freelance radio and television broadcaster spent 27 years at the BBC beginning as a newsroom secretary and went on to become the producer of Radio 4‘s flagship discussion programme Any Questions? She established her own 'think tank', YouGovStone Ltd, a joint venture with YouGov, the opinion polling agency in 2007. Her late husband, the broadcaster Richard Lindley MBE, worked on BBC Panorama for fifteen years, and was the first western television journalist to interview Saddam Hussein. He also featured on ITV news. Carole is a member of LWS. Other Podcast links 1st link below to my YouTube videos – I posted 11,  two a week from first anniversary of Richard’s death 8th November 2020 to firsts anniversary of his funeral 11th December 2020 Around 4 minutes each with the last one nearer 18 minutes as it had the sermon from Revd Dr Sam Wells at St Martin-in-the-Fields and the podcast of Richard talking to me that I used in the piece for you from his Richard & Friends podcasts. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM6lmkn_dWU7RYH3D6WsVBw 2nd link below to my Carole Stone Grief, taking life in your stride podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/grief-and-taking-life-in-your-stride/id1540111185 3rd link to’ Richard and Friends’ podcast below, has photos but they can be ignored https://audioboom.com/channels/4997122he He recorded just three about 8 minutes each, the one I used his conversation with me, plus one with political speech writer David Rogers about the last General Election and another about music he enjoyed with pianist Tom Wakelely. 4th link Richard and Friends podcasts https://audioboom.com/channels/4997122 - Richard and Friends without photos Singer on the Fantasy Holiday podcast is:   Alice Callari Girl on the Ukulele:  Flora Naughtie

Memories and fantasies of Hong Kong travel the narrator takes us from touchdown to ferry, through street fairs and beyond; on this retelling of a very special Hong Kong journey. My Instagram which I will use for cross promotion is: @rickyrrrr22 I also maintain presence on Airtime, as host of 1 hour live streams in the form of Tarot State of Mind, The Exhale, Multilingual Mingle, and RjtheRandonaut. Most likely I will be promoting this in Multilingual Mingle at a minimum.

An early morning narrative from a hotel balcony in Karimabad, the capital of the Hunza District in Northern Pakistan. Dawn breaks, revealing the snow capped peak of Rakaposhi towering 7,788 metres above the roaring glacier fed Hunza River. Early Friday morning prayers in the city of Skardu in Northern Pakistan, considered the gateway to Concordia - the 8000 metre mountains of Pakistan's Karakoram range. David Harden started travelling at the age of sixteen when he hitch-hiked to Greece from London during a school summer holiday. After leaving school he set out from the UK to travel overland to Australia, but only made it as far as Afghanistan. After working in the corporate world (for fifteen long years) he's returned to what drives him forward the most: recording sounds, taking photographs and travel. His website: travelwornsatchel.com has a collection of sounds and photographs from his travels. Instagram & Twitter - davidharden123 and his Travel Worn Satchel Podcast is available to download via most podcast players.

HMS Thistlegorm has lain at the bottom of the Red Sea since sunk by German bombers in 1941. Now considered the planet’s most impressive wreck we are taken on 3 scuba dives amongst Crocodile fish, Batfish, Orange fish and aircraft guns that still point skyward in preparation for an attack. Diane Webb is a primary school teacher with a love of writing, travelling and diving. A member of LWS.

Suffering in a cold Swedish winter, a journey to Cape Town is remembered, touring Table Mountain and Devil’s Peak, admiring Candyfloss pink houses. Watching Penguins and Ostrich in awe. Hungry for the mouth-watering taste of Cape Malay dishes.  Kat Trigarszky, originally from Britain now lives in Stockholm, Sweden. A freelance writer, editor and translator she was trying to break into travel writing when the pandemic hit and late last year decided to write a novel.  Kat also jointly hosts the ‘Swede-ish’ Podcast. A member of LWS.

Scapa Flow, a body of water in the Orkney Islands, is best known for the post-war scuttling of the German Fleet in 1919. A lesser-known historical event took place in October 1939 when a German submarine U47 torpedoed HMS Royal Oak in that same water. Travelling to Orkney to research this event for her new novel led to the more intriguing story of the beautiful Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm, built by Italian prisoners of war using scavenged materials. Leigh Chambers produces and presents a radio programme with a mix of music and conversation about books and writing www.cambridge105.co.uk/bookmark. She is writing a novel set on the island of St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides about a religious cult that took hold there in the seventeenth century. Leigh also chairs literary events. A member of LWS.

Revisiting a childhood holiday destination for a weekend away Julia finds little has changed in this beautiful old uncluttered seaside resort. The sea, air and tranquillity only disturbed as a seagull stole their ice cream cornet. Julia Thorley is a professional editor of non-fiction books and publications, as well as being a writer of non-fiction books and articles. www.juliathorley.com..

This Archipelago of some 340 coral and volcanic islands lies in an isolated location of the South Pacific, 400 miles North of New Guinea and, reputed to be THE top scuba diving spot in the world, is encircled by a huge barrier reef system. Sam Beck, graduate of Wesleyan University, a young New Yorker and Palauan has spent many childhood holidays on the island. Here he takes us along on his dream holiday, swimming in a clear blue lake alongside friendly jellyfish.

Holidays at home are so easy when you are a child living just a few yards from the beach on a sunny island. Every day is a vacation. Jersey, a small island of 120 km2 attracts super sunshine. Sue du Feu was that child.

The capital City of Italy has been a major human settlement for almost three millennia, as layers upon layers of buildings bury history, and surprisingly Persian Dynasties deep beneath a church. Such an overpowering experience. Chris Hawton is one half of the All-New “Doctor Who Book Club podcast". He can be can found at @caravanawesome on Twitter, @the_hoppy_hopster on Instagram.

Sue takes us on a nostalgic trip with her brother from Jersey to...........  Stockport. ‘If you live on an island paradise, where do you go on holiday? Why, a gritty, damp northern town of course! Come back and experience it with me now ...’ Sue is an actor, writer and currently runs a Gite in France. A member of LWS.

An impromptu nighttime road trip in the Mexican state of Chiapas ends with a diversion that changes the direction of the writer’s life. Susannah Rigg is a freelance writer based in Mexico City. Her writing has been published by BBC Travel, CNN, Condé Nast Traveler and the Independent among others. She can be found on Instagram @susannahrigg or at her website www.susannahrigg.com

Disneyland has to be a child’s most exciting adventure. The pure joy of searching for Mickey and Minnie, Donald and Daisy, then Cinderella’s cream pink and purple Castle. Cara Watson takes us to the Happiest Place on Earth never forgetting the hypnotic tune ‘It’s a small World’ that sticks in our heads. Cara, an ambitious writer, has applied to do her Master’s. A member of LWS.

Whatever sounds you hear from your home or the park, nothing resonates like the early morning or evening animal noises in an African game park. Join Barrie Tankel as a companion on his game drive to find the wild animals of Zambia. Content warning - (E) explicit language used.

It’s not easy to holiday in a wheelchair, especially when flying overseas to Mexico. Difficulties must be overcome when flying, with hotel inadequate accommodation and accessing a gondola. Sarah Leader has been wheelchair bound for the past 8 years, she continues to support her husband on his soccer tours.

Buckden Palace – Inhale the smell of sweet pink roses before enjoying a peaceful day in the 15th century Grade 1 listed buildings once home to Queen Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII. With Kezzabelle Ambler.

Take a walking tour the City of York, visit Roman walls, York station and meet the people as you follow the paths and finally enjoy tea with six dinner Sid. Anna Rose James writer, reader, actor, co-author of 'UNKNOWN' (Stairwell Books 2021) and co-founder of Sonnet Sisters and Six Lips Theatre. You may know her voice from Tin Can and The Podvangelist. You can find her on Twitter @annaonscreen. A member of LWS.

A spiritual seeker takes a journey to the East visiting the Tantric Ashram of Osho. Ailon Freedman has explored a diverse range of yoga styles over the last 25 years. He began studying yoga at University, before studying intensively in India.

Stepping carefully up a wobbly plank in the port of Santorini, a passenger boards the boat sailing through the Greek Islands to Mykonos. Suchandrika Chakrabarti is a London-based journalist and trainer. She has reported and edited for national newspapers and international news agencies, trained journalists and non-journalists in essential digital storytelling skills, launched podcasts as the idea-pitcher / presenter, and now also as the producer / editor. A member of LWS.

Recalling her search for an old lady 'Hagia Sofia' a beautiful antique place of Worship. Anne-Charlotte Gerbaud invites us on her journey to finally meet a special old lady in person, the travels described in her beautiful French accent. A member of LWS.

A 16-year-old girl travels alone on an adventure to this summer playground. Kezzabelle Ambler - Performance poet, author of 'Permission To Speak', Weaving Words Facilitator, voice over artist, actor & creative coach. She is passionate about encouraging the arts to be expressed by others, hoping the pen will become a tool for life. www.kezzabelle.co.uk

A mix of childhood and adult memories on that special beach

I've conjured memories of Majorca from before that time I was jailed by COVID 19, the new Secret Police Force. ‘If you leave home without a mask...