We recently featured a company dealing in Battlefield Tours; scenes of untold carnage, thankfully concluded long in the past. But what if you could tour a scene of still unfolding disaster? The Wall Street Experience does just that: a tour of the most profound financial disaster in decades, right in the epicentre of Wall Street and Lower Manhattan.
Your tour guide will be Andrew Luan, a former Vice President of Deutsche Bank, who traded billions of structured credit bonds, specifically Credit Default Swaps and CDOs, the toxic asset securities blamed for destroying financial institutions. No one better, then, to give an inside perspective on the current financial crisis.
Incorporating, history, architecture and trivia (some gossip too, we imagine), this is definitely a preferable way to understand this complicated situation, and ask those burning questions that nobody seems to want to answer. This Andrew chap does seem like a nice guy though, so go easy on him…
Tours are $40 dollars per person (children go free), but Andrew is appreciative (no more so than now) that for some people that may be a little expensive, and that everyone deserves to be enlightened on this seemingly mystifying subject, and thus offers selected free tours. Sign us up!
Let’s face it. Battlefield tours can often conjure images of wet school field trips; heavy on visitation, light on appreciation of the battlefield’s place in history. It was for this reason that Paul Trickett and Phil Adams started Kimber Battle Tours: tours of major European battlefields featuring military expertise, personal stories directly related to the visitors to the tour, and, most importantly, passion for the subject matter.
We both love military history and had been on different organised tours before but they always felt slightly hollow, in fact, the only ones where we thought everything was covered were the impromptu ones Phil used to give to interested parties while on deployment.
The aspect of Paul and Phil’s tours that intrigues me most is that of the bespoke research that goes into making the tours as personal as possible for individuals who had relatives fight and die in these battles.
We’re a people orientated company which means that we make our tours as personalised as possible. We undertake free ancestral research for any of the group who has a relative who died or took part in the battle in question and then we integrate those personal stories into the main narrative of the tour, so we have tours within the tour so to speak.
This notion of intimate personal engagement in battles on epic scales extends even as far as the company’s name: Kimber. Paul named the touring company after his great uncle, Frederick Charles Kimber, a Flight Engineer in Bomber Command who served in Lancasters and Stirlings during the Second World War. Paul cites profound detail of his Great Uncle’s final mission, and the sacrifice that he and his flight crew gave, in a way that would make many of us embarrassed about quite how little we know of our own ancestors’ contributions in these conflicts.
Paul’s love of social history is clear, and his appreciation of the battle from the foot soldier to the era it defines. “We spend a lot of time walking across and exploring historical landscapes and actually touching the ground or buildings that were key points in history. Winston Churchill once said, ‘Battles are the punctuation marks of history’ and you really get a feel for what he meant.” A favorite location? “My favourite place we visit has to be Gibraltar. When you stand on the top of Gibraltar and survey the scene you are overcome with just how all encompassing the British Empire was and Gibraltar embodies this feeling; it is both British but so totally alien to Britain in many other ways.”
Any plans to expand into tours in a different location or of a different period? “We do have plans to extend into different locations and time periods but just right now the nine tours that we offer cover a lot of ground. I personally would like to undertake tours to India and the West Indies because one of my historical passions is that great business enigma, The East India Company. A modern day equivalent would be something like Microsoft armed with guns, tanks, warships and planes invading Britain, then imposing strict trading regulations throughout the country whilst sending back profits to the HQ in America…”
Kimber Battle Tours currently operates tours in Ardennes , Normandy , Arnhem, Verdun, Somme , Ypres, Waterloo, Gibraltar and Great Britain. To find out more and book, head to http://www.kimberbattlefieldtours.co.uk/.
Twitter has triumphed at Ooh of late. Not only have we deeply enjoyed the #blameoprah thing, but we chanced upon a a twitter feed from some people hard at work on the J&E Riggin, a schooner sailing yacht located in Rockland, Maine, USA.
Captain John Finger and his wife Captain Annie Mahle never thought they’d own a schooner, though Jon had entertained the fantasy. Annie ‘wasn’t even a little bit interested’. But, she informs ooh, ‘telling your spouse it’s not okay to live your dream is a terrible thing.’ Damn straight.
Around 12 years ago, Jon was strolling idly along the docks in Maine when he came across Captain Dave Allen at the end of a long season’s sailing, changing the oil in the yawl boat. ‘He looked cross, with motor oil dripping down his elbow. He grouched to Jon, “Wanna buy a schooner?”’ From the sounds of things, Jon didn’t need much persuasion.
With a crew of six including two captains, the 90ft schooner, built in 1927, has 24 berths including 9 double cabins. Annie tells us that J&E Riggin started life as an oyster dredger down in Delaware Bay: ‘For a time she was fitted with an engine and eventually did some ground fishing. In 1977, after an abbreviated rebuild, she began life in her current form as a Maine windjammer taking guests out for 3, 4 and 6 day sailing adventures.’
Trips on J&E Riggin can include activities like photography or cookery courses. Guests are encouraged to help sail her. ‘For most people, the more they’re involved, the more fun they have. It can be as participatory or as unengaged an experience as a person chooses,’ Annie tells us.
Jon is primarily in charge of the sailing, putting years of accumulated nautical know-how to good use and Annie, a published cook, with 25 years experience, is in charge of cooking. ‘All of the meals on board become part of our daily “events.” They’re prepared by me using only the most local and freshest ingredients, mostly from our own garden.’
With the oily troubles of Captain Allen in mind, we wanted to know if owning an 80 year old boat was as troublesome as we imagined. ‘Well the politic answer is that it’s a labor of love,’ Annie explains, ‘and we do love her. We consider ourselves stewards of her and even though our names are on the mortgage, she’s really a part of our collective American history as a National Historic Landmark…’
Annie doesn’t mince words, going on: ‘…working in the snow, painting around driving spring rains, and dealing with continual repairs related to weather and wear sometimes makes a person wonder what they were thinking when they decided on an antique wooden vessel.’
To be honest though, the ooh team is pretty sold on this idea already. Just to be sure we asked Annie to tell us what makes an experience on the J&E Riggin so special.
‘A week on board is a gift to yourself, letting go of all of the multitasking and 100’s of tasks one manages every day. It’s nourishing to the body and spirit, exhilarating without being an extreme adventure, and unusual for people looking for something different.’
So if, like me, you’re now wondering how you sign up for one of these trips, it’s right here. Alternatively you can email Annie with any questions you may have.
If you’re reading this and you own a similar business offering something really special, we’re always keen to write about it, so drop us an email here.
Stumbling across Letizia Mattiacci first on Twitter (@MadonnaDP), then moving on to her blog and website, made me very happy (and hungry). I wanted to find people running cookery courses in inspirational and beautiful places, and Letizia does just this.
A cookery course taught by a passionate Italian cook in a restored farmhouse in the Umbrian countryside i n Italy – do cookery courses get any better?
Even the name of the farmhouse is alluring: ‘Alla Madonna del Piatto’. Letizia tells me that the cookery classes offer an informal, friendly blend of modern and traditional Italian cooking techniques. So what will guests cook? As Letizia started to speak, I could feel my mouth start to water, ‘We use whatever is fresh and in season. As an example, we love to cook ravioli with pears and balsamic vinegar, fried zucchini and artichokes, followed by honeyed ricotta mousse.’
Lessons start in nearby Assisi, visiting a local food shop to sample and buy a variety of traditional local cheeses and cured meats for an appetizer. Guests then use these and other ingredients picked up locally or from the farmhouse herb garden to prepare their authentic Italian meal. Oh, and did I mention that lessons take place in a professional kitchen overlooking the gardens and beyond to the Umbrian hills and Assisi? Surely cooking heaven?
I asked Letizia what drives her and keeps her cooking all year round, ‘The ingredients in the area we live in are sensational and cooking is my life. What could be a better job than preparing delicious food and sharing it with other people who also feel passionately about food?’
The cookery lessons sound fantastic, but to be honest, I’d go for the views from the farmhouse to the hills alone.
For more information about cookery lessons and staying at Santa Maria degli Angelli, visit www.incampagna.com.
I’d challenge anyone who says a great cocktail-shaking, bottle spinning, ice-smashing, crowd-wooing bar tender isn’t one of the coolest things on two legs. And now us cocktail drinking mortals can enter the world of the mixology masters.
Shaker Bar Schools offer courses in London, Birmingham, Cape Town and Johannesburg. A one day course teaches methods of cocktail preparation, from building a drink, stirring, shaking, layering, muddling, straining, smashing…and of course drinking. You’ll learn to make a range of classic and contemporary drinks, including Collins, Sours, Mojitos and Martinis.
Once you’ve mastered the basics you’ll probably want to move on to Shaker’s popular Molecular Mixology Course, the UK’s first course of its type. Master the techniques used in cutting edge luxury cocktails and make flavoured caviar, light and heavy foams and jellies. And if you want to spin and throw bottles like a pro, the Introduction to Flair Bartending will ensure you’re top of everyone’s party invite list.
If you’re looking for a career change or want to travel the world and advance your cocktail knowledge, Shaker also offers professional career courses.
We spoke to Josh at Shaker to ask why cocktail courses are becoming such big business. ‘Cocktails are becoming more than just a drink, they’re an art form. It’s not simply a question of throwing lots of spirits into a glass, adding a splash of juice, and necking it! In the same way that Gordon Ramsey is passionate about the food he prepares, this passion has now spread behind the bar – and it’s affecting the customer as well. Our courses will show you that even by doing simple things like adding a little sugar or using a better quality spirit, you can make some great cocktails at home.’
Learning to make an impressive repertoire of great cocktails and shake them up with style is definitely on our ‘to do’ list. We’ll be at a Shaker Bar School soon. See you there.
There are few hills in Holland and consequently few mountain bikers because, being fairly relaxed by nature, mountain bikers prefer it when gravity assists in their work. There are some crazy BMX riders though, because they’ll ride on almost anything.
Never ones to let mere physics, or, say, national topography get in their way, Red Bull teamed up with BMX pro Rob Van Den Wildenberg and broke into a disused 11 storey towerblock a little while back so they could all enjoy a day of hurtling downstairs at breakneck speed – thus Redbull Downstairs was born.
Rob is one of the top BMX riders in the world, nabbing an impressive fifth place at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. We caught up with him to find out what the hell they we’re playing at.
‘As a little boy I started riding BMX in the late 80’s. Since 2005 I’ve been a professional BMX racer. My 5th place finish at the Bejing Olympics has been the highlight of my career so far!’
Ooh wanted to know, because it’s quite hard to imagine, what was going through Rob’s head at the start line of his first race in Beijing.
‘Heartbeat of 200 beats per minute I guess!! Worked my butt off for so many years to make it to the Olympics and then finally it’s getting started: awesome feeling!’
So how did the whole Downstairs thing get started? ‘Red Bull came up with the Downstairs idea…I was immediately interested to participate in the race, no question about that! They also asked if I could arrange 8 world class bikers. I asked around some friends; they didn’t need to much time to think about it either – they all were very excited about it.’
Best bit? ‘Working together with Red Bull is just great, such a bunch of cool people! Riding downstairs in a building, that idea is sick! And making that idea a reality was so exciting.’
Because they share an enthusiasm for insanely dangerous activity, we asked Rob what he thought of the diver who became famous recently for grappling with a shark for two hours. He speared it 6 times in the head, tried to drown it, then knifed it.
‘Crazy guy! If it was necessary, I would swim for two hours as fast as I could to get rid of the shark, instead of fighting it. I saw the Jaws movies…’
Looking at the photos of Rob in action, we got the impression he’d be a useful person to ask for BMX tips, so here are his top five:
1. Hours and hours in the gym!
2. Even more hours in the gym.
3. Then find some more hours, use them for riding your bike.
4. Dont’ forget to rest from time to time.
5. Have a lot of fun doing all this! That’s most important – improvement will come automatically.
We’ve had a quick look around the internets and found a couple of places where you can give BMX a go. If you’re in the UK, try the Milton Keynes BMX Track where the manager is currently having a full time BMX coach trained specifically to provide coaching to enthusiasts like these ones:
We also like the look of the Monster BMX track in Sydney, where these riders are leaning how to bust the all important start gates:
Ever wanted to be involved in a plane crash, but concerned about discomfort and standards of accommodation? Look no further than to Costa Rica, and your own 727 hotel suite; a 1965 Boeing 727 airframe, which in its prior life shuttled globetrotters on South Africa Air and Avianca Airlines. Renovated to a luxury standard with two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, dining area, and one-of-a-kind terrace perched atop the right wing, the views across the ocean and jungle are pretty spectacular.
As you know, we spend our time trying to track down the best things to do all over the world. It’s a pretty time-consuming business. That is until we came across a great travel site that has done much of the trawling, checking and clever stuff for us. Three of the top names in travel writing and the travel business have set up www.101holidays.co.uk, from where they bring us their personal top 101 destinations in the world.
Getting two esteemed travel writers to edit the world down to a list of 101 holiday recommendations isn’t a good idea, it’s a great one. It doesn’t quite make us redundant at Ooh.com, but it’s certainly saved us some legwork and gives us time to put the kettle on.
Launched in January 2009, the site was named as one of The Times’ Hot Websites of the Year. We’re going to join the growing fan club.
I was dead set in the summer of 2006 to visit Lebanon – a country that once sat at the top table of international tourist destinations during the sixties and seventies, and had, in the recent years preceding my planned trip, managed to drag itself back to within the shadow of its former glory. Then, inconveniently, the Israelis leveled Beruit, killed scores of civilians, and, notably, my travel plans. I swapped Beruit for Bosnia, which was a good deal quieter. Looking back, I’m glad I did; it would have been extremely difficult to find any respectable accommodation with windows.
Here’s a small selection of destinations you should certainly avoid at the moment.
1. Somalia
Somalia simply must be the least desirable yachting destination on Earth right now. The war torn country is the world capital of naval piracy, with 293 incidents of piracy last year, up 11% over 2007, according to the International Maritime Bureau. In that year alone, forty-nine ships were hijacked and 889 crewmen were taken hostage. Eleven sailors were killed, 32 were injured and 21 are missing and presumed dead. In a country where the average family lives on under $1 a day, piracy is the country’s most successful and arguably best organized industry, with satellite phones, RPGs, publicists and spokespeople to field media enquiries, and profits of $125 million last year.
2. Iraq
As troops move out, amazingly, tourists move in. Whilst many indicators point towards improvement in the security situation, Iraq is still one of the most dangerous countries to visit. Only last week, The Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella organisation representing militant Islamic groups in the country (including al-Qaeda) claimed responsibility for a bombing that resulted in the deaths of 5 US troops: the most deadly attack on troops in more than a year. Coalition troops and Iraqi national army units are still under serious threat from suicide bombers and roadside IEDs. Imagine being in a similar position, except with no helmet, body armour, or gun. But you do have a camera, map, hand fan, bum bag to keep your money safe, and what amounts to a great big sign saying “Infidel” over your head.
3. Afghanistan
Afghanistan is another active warzone where tourism appears to be creeping in from Westerners. Whilst the effective territory that the Taliban controls has been dramatically reduced, there seems no shortage of troops or weapons from neighbouring Pakistan, and a determined and hardened enemy has resulted in a death toll for British forces in Afghanistan approaching that for operations in Iraq. Attracted to the “Hippie Trail”, a once famous tourist destination in the country, people are slowly coming back.
4. Democratic Republic of the Congo
The central-African country has been embroiled in its current civil war (the Second Congo War) since 1998, costing an unimaginable 5.4 million deaths in that time, the second highest death toll for a conflict after WWII. Especially prevalent in the East of the country is widespread rape and sexual violence – considered the worst in the world. If you were to visit the country for a month, as of 2009, around 45,000 people would die during your stay.
5. Sudan
Nearby Sudan is another African state in a grave humanitarian situation. Prone to warring with its neighbours, and effectively split along ethnic lines. Whilst every region has a particular crisis, the Western area of Darfur is probably best known for government-sponsored mass killings, rape, and displacement. Figures are difficult to approximate, and have been largely unavailable since around 2004. At the time, the UN suggested around 2.5 million people had been made homeless and between 200,000 and 400,000 had died.
6. Zimbabwe
Surprisingly, Zimbabwe is ranked 33 among the world’s most attractive tourist destinations. It ranks, however at number 117 in terms of actual tourist visits. The reason for this disparity? Perhaps the infamous activities of Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party, involving mass land grabs, murder, torture and intimidation intended to maintain control of the country. In the process of course, Zimbabwe has gone from the Breadbasket of Africa, to 6% recorded employment and having to dump its local currency after hitting a rate of 231 million percent inflation. For your $300 travelers cheque you could get a 1 trillion Zimbabwean Dollar note. That’s until they ran out of paper.
