I must admit, when I was asked if I’d like to go on a trip to Umbria to review a luxury adventure holiday, my first thought was: “Sure, I love luxury; I love adventure and I love the Lake District.”  A closer read revealed that I was in fact being invited to go to Italy. It took me about three seconds to say yes please.
And I was not disappointed. The luxury element of the trip began immediately with a relaxing breakfast in Gatwick’s No. 1 Lounge. I couldn’t quite bring myself to drink wine at 6 a.m. but the availability of it was very much appreciated. The trip was the perfect blend of action and relaxation activities with the theme of food and wine woven throughout, while being utterly spoiled in the most incredible villa in the picturesque historic town of San Gemini – truly my idea of heaven.

San Gemini is a charming historic town in Terni, just south of Todi. Almost untouched by tourism, a town of quaint alleyways, cobbled streets and cool churches. Where a hidden...

Orlando Bloom is noticeably affable and open throughout our chat today. In a simple dark T-shirt and jeans, his sallow warm complexion gives the impression of a Hollywood hunk half his 40 years. And his disarming, grounded nature belies his movie star credentials. Until the subject of ‘paddle-boarding’ comes into play. Bloom squirms in his seat. “Please, let’s not go down that road today, I’m just, yeah,” says the actor, visibly alarmed.
It’s not the specific sport that’s vexed the actor but rather his complete lack of clothing with then girlfriend, the popstar Katy Perry, which nearly broke the internet. Bloom is failing to see the funny side anymore and his publicist, circling our conversation, immediately steers our talk from such lewd topics and towards more savoury conversation, like his new movies, Unlocked, a low-budget terrorist thriller and Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge which sees Orlando resume his career-defining performance as dashing Will Turner in the Disne...

Ever watched a film and thought, that looks like a cool place to visit? Why don’t you? We took a look at five famous movie locations, and what makes them great holiday destinations:
London

London has been host to a wide variety of movies and TV shows in recent years. If you’re a fan of Jason Bourne, the city has a range of locations to visit, allowing you to follow in the steps of Matt Damon in the fifth instalment of the franchise. Woolwich station, for example, was transformed into Athens for the filming, with Bourne dramatically bursting out from a café – a good opportunity for recreating that scene if you’re a wannabe action hero.

Iconic London landmarks such as Buckingham Palace were also featured in The BFG, and if you’re a fan of Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective, there are many locations from Sherlock to explore too: 187 North Gower Street stood in for 221b Baker Street, while messages from Sherlock fans can be found at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, another shooting loc...

On the desk in front of me is a Playmobil® figure of Martin Luther. I don’t think it’s an exact replica, I mean, apart from anything else, he hasn’t got a nose. Anyway, the figure was released to mark ‘500 years of Reformation’.

Now, it’s not easy to get into the Playmobil® Hall of Fame. As far as I can find out, the only other historical characters they have ever done are Cleopatra, Caesar and the Butterfly Fairy. But amazingly, the Luther figurine became Playmobil®’s fastest-selling figure, ever, with some 34,000 of the tiny plastic toys selling out within 72 hours.

Not bad for a 500-year-old theologian.

So what is this all about? Well, the little brochure accompanying the figure explains that it commemorates Luther’s ninety-five theses nailed to the church door in Wittenberg.

This event has been called “the hammer blow that launched the Reformation”, and here’s the story as it’s commonly recounted. Catholic salesmen are making a killing selling indulgences – basically vo...

We spend the night on the frozen expanse of Lake Lesjavri. The Northern Lights build up in an arch above our tent and we watch for several hours how they magnify into rippling curtains on either side of the lake and finally flow in a curling and waving stream right above our heads and into the distance. The Inuit of Alaska believed that the lights were the spirits of the animals they hunted. Out on the lake, surrounded only by snow and mountains, we are far more susceptible to this legend than to any geophysical chart showing collisions between particles. Through most of the evening, commands of “Don’t move” and countdowns for exposure times echo across the lake as we try to capture the lights on camera.

Two days earlier my partner, Jamie, and I had packed our pulks and set out from Jotka Fjellstue to cross the Finnmarksvidda plateau north to south-east. The Finnmark region lies at the very top of northern Norway. The Finnmarksvidda is in the interior part of this county and covers ...

Dragons’ Den, car-crash TV for the more discerning BBC2 audience
I must have watched dozens of episodes of the popular BBC television series Dragons’ Den. I’m sure you have too, but just in case you have missed this visual feast, let me outline the premise.
Budding entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of four wealthy individuals, the titular Dragons. The applicants are asking for money; investment for their businesses. Typically, they are looking for something in the region of £30,000 to £70,000 in return for a stake in their idea, which, of course, they assure the Dragons, cannot fail.

What makes it unmissable viewing, though, is watching some of their ill-prepared, poorly thought-out and deeply unprofessional pitches being ripped to shreds by the Dragons. I must confess that despite wincing at the cringe-worthy attempts to impress there is, to my shame, more schadenfreude in me than I would care to admit. This is car-crash TV for the more discerning BBC2 audience....

Strength for today... bright hope for tomorrow
It’s 7.28 p.m. on a Wednesday evening; just two minutes to go until it starts. A few last minute browsers hurry from the bookshop to the main auditorium to join the crowd pushing through the doors to find their seats. As the lights start to dim and the ushers close the doors, all is set for the speakers to take the stage and the evening to begin.

Just a few minutes later, a man sprints up the stairs and bursts into the foyer. After only just finishing a busy day at work, he’s driven hurriedly across the city. He’s not at all sure how this evening will help him be a better dad, but he really loves his son and wants their relationship to improve. Right now, he feels spent, weary, frustrated and almost done.

An usher welcomes him with a smile and an enthusiastic, “Enjoy the event.” He musters a hasty reply, “At my wits’ end.” Not the best greeting, but it’s how he feels. Juggling a demanding job with family life has become more than challen...

Five years is a long time. It was for William. That’s at least as long as he was locked into a cycle of exploitation, moved from city to city across the UK.
Every day, ordinary people passed by the house where he was painting and plastering for no pay, at the hands of violent traffickers. He looked like a legitimate labourer. But the reality could not be further from the truth. The conditions William was made to eat and sleep in were subhuman; there were rooms full of others who were being similarly exploited. Body after body forced to live, eat and sleep in cramped conditions. William was a strong man. He felt ashamed that he had allowed himself to end up in this situation, but he also felt trapped.

After a few years he met Samuel. Samuel seemed like a kindred spirit. They would talk occasionally, when they found a moment out of earshot of the traffickers. It was during one such discussion that they agreed that together they would try to survive. They went on the run. They were fr...