A Brief History of Tourism

The tourism business is at least 2,000 years old. It began when wealthy citizens of ancient Rome, deciding they would rather spend their summers away from the city, took trips to the countryside and the coast.

A tourist industry soon sprang up to cater for the Romans’ travel and accommodation needs, and for a while it thrived. But Roman tourism ended with its empire, and for hundreds of years the turbulent economic, social and military situation in Europe made frequent, safe travel out of the question.

The English Garden

by Margaret Watson

This week we have had the Royal Chelsea Garden Show, one of the best and most famous in the world. Gardeners come from as far away as Japan to show their blooms and skills at Chelsea. Although I lived in central London for a number of years I’ve never been. For one thing it is too crowded and for another the crowds are only allowed to view the gardens from the edge. For me it is all about handling the plants, brushing against them, smelling as well as seeing the roses, the freesias and more exotic blooms. I prefer to watch this one on the television with my feet up and a cup of tea. I can listen to the interviews with the growers and designers and see the plants close up. It isn’t as good as real life, but it will do. The one time I would like to be at Chelsea is at closing time on the last day – that’s when they sell off the plants for charity. I’d need more than a taxi to get home that day.

July's Travel Article

You can learn and enjoy so much with a walk in the park. No, not your local park but the Peak District National Park.

The Peak District was Britain's first national park, established in 1951 and can be found mainly in the county of Derbyshire and also parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire and Yorkshire.

It covers 1,438 square kilometres – but enough of the facts and figures, what's the place actually like?

How to practise your English when travelling

Photo by Lynne Hand

by Christine Muir

When you go to another country with the intention of practicing your English speaking skills, there are some things you need to consider to get the most out of your stay. The following 5 tips should help you.

A Quick Guide to Coping with Culture Shock

by Heather Pears

One sunny afternoon my cousin and I were seated on the small patio of a restaurant in the Hungarian countryside. The beautiful scenery was lost on us because we were busy staring blankly at the menu in front of us. Slowly the feeling of panic grew, nothing made sense! What was “galuska”, was it something I wanted to try? Suddenly a waitress set a big bowl of food in front of us, saying something that sounded like “Is good!” With that she was gone.

Fast forward ten years. I found myself standing in an underground subway having an emotional meltdown. I was paralyzed by confusion and anxiety. There were 6 sets of stairs radiating upward to street level and I had no idea which way to go. I couldn’t understand the signs and, even if I could find someone who spoke English, the people rushing past me looked too busy to answer my questions.

The link between green IT and business is awkward. Computers are not eco-friendly, yet many companies cannot run without an IT system. At the same time, businesses have a duty to the environment, and green issues matter to their customers. So, if a company ignores green IT, it risks damaging its name and its profits.

Green IT therefore appears on the business agenda, but development progress is slow. So what’s the problem?