The current global uproar over the brutal slaughter of Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe brought back vivid memories of my visit to a Namibia taxidermist several years ago. Cecil's killing is far from an isolated case... 



The last thing one expects to see…

Irish coffee – that delicious hot drink combining coffee, good whiskey and cream – has become such a classic nowadays, that it hardly raises an eyebrow anymore. In fact, one might say that it has fallen out of fashion even. But once you try it, especially on a wet and cold evening, you will quickly become a fan! Why am I mentioning it here…

With my penchant for museums, I was enchanted to visit the Hunt Museum in Limerick. Has nothing to do with hunting but everything with one of the greatest private collections of art and antiques in Ireland, right up to the the 20th century.



John and Gertrude Hunt were antique dealers and art…

Grand houses always also tell grand stories. In this case, it is a story of physical pain and a way to overcome it: The 2nd Earl of Dunraven, a man full of energy and used to spending a lot of time enjoying the chase of the hunt, was laid low with severe gout. Adare Manor had been built in the early years of the 19th century, but when the earl was diagnosed an illness…