Sometimes known as ‘the quiet Beatle’, George Harrison would have been 77 years young today. The Liverpool-born musician, singer-songwriter, music and film producer and, oh yeah, lead guitarist of the Beatles passed away in November 2001 of lung cancer at the very young age of 58. While most Beatles fans will immediately identify with songs written […]
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As your head hit the pillow Thursday evening, Tellyspotting had begun the annual nine hour trek to London followed by a two and a half hour train journey to Liverpool for BBC Showcase 2020. Overall, a pretty nondescript flight, which is a good thing. The highlight, oddly, was when the pilot again pointed out that we […]
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Unfortunately, I’m not sure the owners of the Oakley Court Luxury Hotel in Bray, England can guarantee there is anything on the slab to see (if you come up to the lab, that is) or that you’ll learn to do the Time Warp but you can now stay in the old English manor where a number […]
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Strawberry Field, the Salvation Army children’s home in Liverpool that inspired John Lennon to write the Beatles classic “Strawberry Fields Forever,” has reopened its doors to tourists for the first time in decades. In addition to it being a worldwide tourist destination, the Salvation Army has turned the location into a hub to help young adults with learning disabilities, the Steps To Work program.
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While it was, admittedly, hard to leave the ice cream of Sidmouth and then also having to wave goodbye to Lady Grey of the DeVere Tortworth Court Hotel, the idea of walking the grounds of Hampton Court Palace as part of the next leg of the To the Manor Born KERA Tour of England tour somehow made everything more than tolerable.
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As we made our way back towards London from Cornwall, the To the Manor Born KERA Tour of England stopped briefly to grab an ice cream and see the red cliffs of the Jurassic Coast in Sidmouth, a seaside town with a rich royal history. It was December 1819 when the Duke and Duchess of Kent […]
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Day 3 of the To the Manor Born KERA Tour of England begins with the Roman Baths in our rearview mirror as Jim points the motor coach west and heads to Cricket St. Thomas in Somerset, England. While the name may not be immediately familiar, I’m guessing that the staircase might give it away as the home of Audrey fforbes-Hamilton, then Richard DeVere then Audrey fforbes-Hamilton AND Richard DeVere in To the Manor Born.
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The To the Manor Born KERA Tour of England got off to a brilliant start on Monday with a chamber of commerce/postcard perfect day in Windsor touring Windsor Castle. After a whirlwind beginning in Windsor, we boarded the motorcoach with Jim at the helm carefully navigating his way to Highclere Castle (a.k.a. Downton Abbey). The folks with […]
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Beginning Monday and continuing over the course of the next week, 30 intrepid British drama and comedy enthusiasts will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see first hand the locations used in the filming of such series favorites as Victoria, Poldark, Downton Abbey, Doc Martin and To the Manor Born, in addition to such iconic places as Hampton Court Palace and The Greenway Estate, the home of author Agatha Christie.
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With Andrew Davies’ brilliant adaptation of Les Misérables coming to a close this Sunday on PBS’ Masterpiece series, have you ever wondered just how a series of this magnitude is made in the 21st century and at the same time seamlessly transport you back to 19th century France?
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