The one to watch! Meet Kate Nash, your typical suburban teen female with a gutful of gripes about bad boyfriends and even worse girlfriends. Dickie Dirts Curiosity Shop hear that her lyrics are mostly set to electric keyboard, gently strummed guitar and primitive hip-hop beats. Nineteen year old Kate Nash from Harrow plays piano, […]

Mosiacs have fascinated us for centuries. The Romans took mosaics to a greater level of sophistication by transforming a functional technique into a highly artistic one. Intricate designs were created from numerous tiny pieces of pottery, stone or glass fragments and designs were tailored to fit into a particular room or area. Narrative panels were […]

The Jack Russell Terrier is a fox hunting breed developed in England in the 19th century and is the breed from which the modern or show Fox Terrier has evolved. The Jack Russell takes his name from the renowned hunting parson, the Reverend John (Jack) Russell, who from 1830 to 1870 bred with care, a […]

John (also known as Jack) Russell was born in Dartmouth in 1795. Following his university days in Oxford, he returned to the county to work as a churchman in North Devon taking with him his terrier Trump. As a youngster, he loved to hunt, and he became obsessed with the notion of finding a hard […]

The majority of sightings on the West Coast of Scotland in May 2007 were around the Mull and Iona coastline. Most sightings were of small groups but a larger group was reported in the Sound of Mull in amongst the sightings of smaller groups. This is often the case, as the core group (typically of […]

The oldest existing rock Lighthouse in the British Isles is the tower on the Bell Rock a long and treacherous reef lying in the North Sea, some 12 miles East of Dundee and in the fairway of vessels plying to and from the Firths of Tay and Forth. The erection of a permanent seamark on […]

Visit Glasgow and see The Hill House, Upper Colquhoun Street, Helensburgh, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Glasgow School of Art - also by Mackintosh. In London, visit The Victoria and Albert Museum and then look at the Art Nouveau tiles in the food hall in Harrods.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh is perhaps the most famous art nouveau architect and designer. His high backed chairs and iconic flower designs have spawned countless imitations. He was part of the ‘Glasgow School’. Alphonse Mucha was renowned for his posters while Aubrey Beardsley west best known for his book illustrations. Louis Comfort Tiffany was famous for […]

Art Nouveau is the first Modern style of the twentieth century and has a very distinctive style:
Organic, natural shapes. Stained glass. Graceful, elongated, curvy lines and vertical lines. Exaggerated height stylised flowers, leaves, roots, buds and seedpods. Stylised female form, especially with long, flowing hair. Exotic woods in different finishes shimmering glass, silver […]

The first European to spot Nevis island was Christopher Columbus, who sailed by Nevis island in 1493. The conical cloud-ringed shape of Nevis island - an extinct volcano complete with crater - reminded him so much of the snow-capped Pyrenees mountains that he dubbed it Nuestra Senora de Las Nieves, or “Our Lady of the […]