With its deep water harbour and a population of a bit over 5,200, the town of Kinsale in County Cork has been an important sea port for more than 1,500 years. St Multose founded a monastery here in the 6th century, and the early Celtic settlement that grew up around the estuary was later supplanted by a Viking trading post. The Normans…

When the car’s front tyre burst, I thought events could get no worse.

Things had looked ominous as our plane landed at Alice Springs, and we were handed umbrellas for the short walk to the terminal building. We had arrived at the driest part of the continent and it was pouring with rain. The problem was that three tropical…