London is burning: A dispatch from inside the riots, looting and arson

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Improbably, London is burning.

I returned from a long celebratory weekend in Antwerp on Monday afternoon. It was a grand weekend, full of very good meals, great conversation, and retail discoveries. While away, I’d read about rioting in Tottenham on Saturday night in response to the shooting death of a man named Mark Duggan at the hands of a policeman on August 4. I’d sensed from some news reports and Twitter that things had escalated, though to be completely frank I hadn’t paid much attention.

Transferring from the Eurostar to the Tube at St. Pancras this afternoon, I encountered a sign that things were off-kilter in the form of an announcement that there were no trains to Brixton. Hmmm. Then, transferring from the Tube to a bus at Old Street, it became clear that the city had temporarily morphed into a different place. The air was charged. Pedestrians crossed streets carelessly. Sirens were ongoing. I overheard snippets of conversation about Tube closures and bus detours. Three police vans screeched past our bus towards Hackney. My phone started to pulse.

I received eight text messages in a row from my partner. There was rioting on Mare Street, just ten minutes from our flat, and he asked if I would quickly do some grocery shopping before the shops in the area boarded up. He biked home from work early.

The Turkish proprietors at the grocery store downstairs seemed shell-shocked. They’d pulled their metal gate part-way down so that they’d be able to shut quickly if needs demanded. Three helicopters hovered overhead. Two middle-aged women came into the store. “Peckham,” one said, looking fatigued. “It’s really bad in Peckham.” My sister and I snapped up groceries and sat inside, keeping one eye on the street. Sirens waxed and waned. The news channels proved to be a chaotic and depressing distraction, so we turned the television off and refreshed various news sites online at an obsessive pitch.

So to Twitter, where the breadth of the rioting–mostly, it appeared, looting, with liberal lashings of arson and violent clashes with police–became evident. The looting is widespread. Buildings and cars have been set on fire. The stories of carjackings and bicyclejackings came fast and furious. Thankfully, in the midst of this frenzy, nobody has been killed.Since Saturday night, there have been rioting or looting incidents in Hackney Central, Bethnal Green, Enfield, East Dulwich, Ponder’s End, Deptford, Brixton, Croydon, Peckham, Woolwich, Balham, Elephant & Castle, and Clapham Junction, among other places. Most upsetting of all was the news that rioting spread tonight to other cities in the UK, including Birmingham, Leeds, and Liverpool.

And as Monday night wore on there were reports of riots in ever more unlikely London neighborhoods: Chalk Farm, Angel, and Notting Hill–yes, the cuter-than-cute Notting Hill of the 1999 Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant movie. The Telegraph put together a frequently updated and very handy interactive map of the London riots thus far.

Meanwhile, London’s Mayor Boris Johnson and UK Prime Minister David Cameron, both on summer holidays, were missing in action during the most dramatic hours of the day; as the pitch of the day got more and more fevered, however, both men announced that they would be returning to London ahead of schedule. (Early this evening a spokesperson for the Prime Minister made it clear that he would be monitoring events from his holiday perch in Tuscany, but just after 9 pm he reversed course and announced that he would return to London on Tuesday morning; the Mayor made it clear several hours earlier that he would be cutting his Canadian vacation short.)

Why have these riots exploded now, and with such copycat force? Honestly, I have no idea. Everyone I’ve talked to today has been surprised by the events of the last 72 hours. Nina Power suggested in the Guardian today that heavy cuts in public spending, high levels of unemployment, and deep inequality have all played a hand. I have no doubt that she is right. But the force and the speed of the riots can’t be completely explained by Power’s argument.

Londoners have been taken aback. We’ll wake up on Tuesday with shot nerves, hoping for calm.

[Image: Flickr | StuartBannocks]

Family travel: chatting with Poshbrood’s Elizabeth Thorp

by McLean Robbins on

Childhood vacations have a way of becoming an adult’s fondest memories – stories re-hashed time and again at the dinner table, destinations revisited during adulthood to see if they’ve changed. Of course, these trips become slightly less magical when you, as an adult, manage the wrangling of the entire family onto a plane, train or automobile and attempt the feat of herding the family towards a vacation destination.

Of course, the planning begins long before the trip – between setting budgets and deciding on a location, limited information is often available about higher-end destinations that make a great escape for kids. Enter Poshbrood, a family travel website and blog that focuses on luxury family travel.

We stat down with founder Elizabeth Thorp to seek her advice. Check out the Q&A, below:

Why did you start Poshbrood?
I’m a mom of three young girls and a nationally-published writer. Along the way, I had amassed a ginormous folder of fantastic family hotels, resorts and villas. Some savvy girlfriends suggested corralling the family travel findings in one since a lot of the really good places are found through personal recommendations or by word of “mom.” So I put online password protected for a small group of friends. I kept getting requests so we decided to make it a public site. It’s a huge amount of work but I just adore it! My husband has to close my computer at night or I’d be editing reviews, contacting hotels, coordinating bloggers and uploading blog posts 24/7.

What makes Poshbrood different from other family travel sites?
I like to say that “Poshbrood puts out.” All of the properties in our curated catalog, our blog and other information on the site can be accessed for free. All of the Posh Picks are personally experienced and reviewed by myself or one of our Poshbrood parent bloggers. The reviews are in our bloggers’ real voices and capture the nuances of traveling with kids. If our kids are throwing up on the way to our destination or throw at tantrum in the lobby of the Peninsula, you’re going to read about it. We also don’t have any ads or pop ups, moms are busy enough and I wanted a very clean, chic site with no distractions.What has been your favorite part about getting to travel the world with your family?
I’ve loved meeting other families during our travels and we still keep in touch with some friends we’ve met at different spots. It’s always fun when the parents AND the kids of a family both connect. Also, I’ve been taking some shorter jaunts with one child at a time. It’s so nice to really be with just one child, so you can focus on them and get to know them better. Recently, I went to Beverly Hills with the four year old and took seven year old Lucy to London. It was a trip of a lifetime for her and she was so glad to have me all to herself. I’ll take our eight year old to the Hamptons in early August.

What’s the worst part about traveling with kids? Do you ever want to just get away without them?
The worst part is probably the extra planning, extra packing, anticipating needs of each child while en route. And God forbid you experience a plane cancellation or pile up on I-95 (it’s happened and it’s not pretty…there are only so many princess movies young girls can watch!) Yes, we do want to get away without them and we do.

One of the rare times I am able to “sleep in” on vacation! We also try to do close by adult weekend jaunts –we’ve stayed at The Inn at Little Washington, The Borgata (what, no baby gambling?) and The Mercer Hotel NYC.

Obviously – you’re “posh”. But what budget-friendly family planning tips would you suggest?

Posh doesn’t always have to mean five-star or expensive. For example, there is a Quality Inn in Chincoteague, VA in our catalog. I would have NEVER thought to stay there but a friend suggested it for these reasons: 1.) Adjoining rooms 2.) Free breakfast 3.) pool 4.) pet-friendly (we were bringing our dogs) 5.)Two doors from the famous Island Creamery Ice Cream Parlor and the kicker for us was 6.) An on site Chincoteague pony — our girls were BEYOND. The hotel was immaculate, the price was amazing and the rooms were cool wood paneling, Mad Men retro. We’d definitely go back! As far as tips to saving money, we prefer cottages, villas or suites with a kitchen or kitchenette.

You can save loads and loads of money by not having to each every meal in a hotel or resort restaurant. At upscale resorts, a lunch at the pool grill can set you back $100 or more for a family of four, so having the option to make your meals in your accommodations is a great way to save. We also tend to bring our own juice boxes, snacks, wine, etc. The hotel and minibar markup is extraordinary! Finally, seek out the off-season deals. We always go to Round Hill in May because after the busy Spring Break season, the rates are drastically reduced April 15th. This is typical of most tropical hotels. Try St. Barth’s in August when occupancy is low and the most amazing hotels in the world on the most “champagne dreams and caviar wishes” island are offering incredible deals.


Where are you dying to visit?
The GREEK Islands! I’ve got my eye on the Blue Palace Resort & Spa in Crete and Vedema Resort in Santorini. I would also love to rent a villa or farmhouse in the Dordogne region of France. I’m dying to see the prehistoric caves and brush up on my French.

Any family travel trends you think are important to note?
I do see an increase in boutique hotels and upscale hotels and resorts catering to families. For example, we stayed at The Goring and they were incredibly kid-friendly with kids’ menus, adjoining rooms, free breakfast, discounts to families who need a second room. Trump Hotels has an amazing Trump Kids program and The Peninsula’s Kids’ Academy program is very special. Who doesn’t want to learn how to make pastries with the Peninsula chef?
I also think that many families are now into exploratory travel, choosing destinations that have offer some culture and history to learn about while visiting instead of automatically choosing Disney.

What are your favorite places for family travel?

Round Hill, Jamaica: Round Hill is one flight away from most major airports. No one wants a layover with the littles. The resort is a quick 25-minute drive from the Montego Bay Airport. The beach is shallow, soft white sand and turquoise blue Caribbean water, perfect for families. The accommodations, designed by Ralph Lauren, are tropical chic but not so upscale and fancy that you’re nervous that the brood might break something.

Snowmass, CO:
Snowmass is just a 15-minute drive from Aspen airport and 25 from Aspen’s town. It is a lower-key atmosphere and a better mountain for families and kids. Snowmass Mountain boasts a two-story 25,000 square foot Treehouse Kids’ Adventure Center located at the base of Fanny Hill.The Treehouse is the hub of ski school and summer camp programs and features a family-friendly climbing gym, teen activities, kids’ retail and a host of themed rooms for ages eight weeks and older. Our poshkids have all done the ski school and cried when we came to pick them up at the end of the afternoon.

The Tides Inn, Irvington, VA
We’ve recently fallen in love with this Leading Hotel of the World. It’s three hours max from our home in Washington DC and feels a world away. The resort is charming but not too fancy or stiff — and feels like you’re staying in a wealthy family friend’s compound. It is an excellent value for the location and amenities offered. The property is enclosed and very navigable for younger children. We love that once you’re there, all activities are free.

Southern California
Traveling with kids got a whole lot easier for us with Virgin America. The whole culture of the airline is family friendly from the competitive fare, pre-boarding for small children, kids meals and inseat entertainment and games. Our girls sometimes don’t leave their seats for five hours. I can even take a nap or watch a chick flick. In Los Angeles, we like to stay at Montage Beverly Hills. You can walk to everything, there is a park (green space) next door and a playground a short drive away. Once you’re in Southern California, there are so many wonderful family attractions including: Santa Monica Pier, (I got engaged on top of the ferris wheel!) Knott’s Berry Farm (much more manageable than Disney), The Long Beach Aquarium, and Legoland. The Resort at Pelican Hill and the St. Regis Monarch Beach are two Orange county resorts who offer amazing family amenities and experiences for the perfect SoCal beach vacation for parents and the kids.

London, England
London is a great family destination. Why? No language barrier, ease of access and finding a deal on flights is easy because of how many airports and carriers service the London area. Also, there are so many parks and green spaces (no cost, obviously) in London. We spent hours at St. James Park feeding the ducks, playing at the playground and doing cartwheels on the expansive lawns. Same at the Princess Diana playground at Hyde’s Park. Also, there are so many attractions perfect for families with kids of all ages including: Changing of Guard (again, no cost), Double Decker Bus Tour, Thames Cruise, The London Eye, The Tower of London (our favorite), The Wobbly Bridge (Millennium Bridge), The Shakespeare Theatre tour, The Royal Mews (seeing the Royal horses and “princess carriages” was a dream come true for a seven year old girl), The British Museum among others. It’s also very easy to find inexpensive family food at local pubs and tucked away in cobblestone mews.

We stayed at The Goring Hotel, the family-owned luxury hotel where Kate Middleton stayed before her wedding to Prince William. It is a beautiful, intimate hotel but very family friendly offering adjoining rooms at a discount and often children eat free. The hotel is centrally located right across from Buckingham Palace and 100 yards from the Victoria tube station.

Auction of Hitler family portraits raises questions about Nazi memorabilia

by Sean McLachlan on

Family portraits of Hitler’s parents are going up for auction.

Craig Gottlieb Militaria, a leading auction house in California, will be auctioning off paintings of Alois and Klara Hitler via Gottlieb’s website from September 1 to 17. Gottlieb is also selling Hitler’s desk set. The shop is open to prospective buyers by appointment.

The subject of Hitler and Nazi memorabilia comes up regularly here on Gadling. An article about a Hitler tour around Germany started a flame war, and my discussion about the other meanings of the swastika got some interesting and somewhat more level-headed responses. More than sixty years after the fall of the Third Reich, these symbols still elicit strong reactions.

This raises all sorts of questions about how we portray the past, and what should and shouldn’t be included. In Germany and Austria, for example, it’s illegal to display the swastika expect in specific historical contexts. My article on swastikas probably couldn’t get published in a German magazine because it skirts the edge of the law. Other countries display these items freely. At the Imperial War Museum in London you can see a variety of Nazi items. An Orthodox Jewish friend commented that such a context is OK. It makes her wince to see it, but it’s part of history and needs to be discussed.

On the spectrum of what’s acceptable and what’s not, museum displays are on pretty safe ground, although it took many years before a Hitler exhibition was allowed in Germany. But what about selling Nazi memorabilia? Gottlieb’s store is full of SS items. He’s even written a book on SS Totenkopf (“Death’s Head”) rings and currently has 44 such rings up for auction. Some countries ban selling Nazi memorabilia, as does eBay, yet an article in Forbes estimates the sale of these items to be in the hundreds of millions.

%Gallery-129938%I’m a military historian and collector myself. I’m also a struggling writer with a kid to feed, so my collection is pretty small. We collectors buy these things because they give us an immediate connection to history. Yet the thrill I feel when reading a postcard from the Western Front or holding a Civil War bullet is far different than what I feel when I see a swastika flag covering a coffee table. Yes, that’s an example taken from experience. I don’t have any Nazi items in my collection and I’m not interested in buying any.

London is my favorite place to shop for militaria. Provincial Booksellers Fairs take place all over England and offer up lots of rare books on military and other subjects. Shops in places like Grays Antique Markets and Camden Passage Islington offer a huge variety of medals, weapons, and uniforms. One thing I’ve noticed is that there are two types of shops: those that sell Nazi memorabilia and those that don’t. Those that do often have a lot of it. In one shop I saw an entire set of instruments from an SS marching band.

I asked a shopkeeper who didn’t stock Nazi items why he made that decision.

“Because I don’t having those people in here,” he said.

“Perhaps they’re just interested in history?” I offered.

He shook his head and replied, “That’s not why they buy it.”

While I won’t go as far as to suspect anyone fascinated with the Third Reich as being a closet Nazi, I do have to wonder what they get from it, and shake my head in amazement at how much power Hitler and his goons still have over our emotions sixty years on.

Attached is a gallery of the kind of Nazi memorabilia prized by some collectors. What do you feel when you see them? Do you think they should be for sale? Would you accept one as a gift? Is it OK to have them in museums? Tell us what you think in the comments section!

[Photo of Klara Hitler courtesy Wikimedia Commons]

The Great British Beer Festival has more than 700 ways to quench your thirst

by Melanie Renzulli on

Finding a delicious brew in London is never hard, thanks to its thriving pub culture. But if you’re in London this week between August 2 and 6, you may want to head over to Earls Court for the Great British Beer Festival, which bills itself as the largest beer festival in Britain.

Organized by the Campaign for Real Ale, a lobbying group that “promotes the brewing, selling, and drinking of real ales,” the GBBF is set to have more than 700 varieties of real ales, ciders, and perries. The international section of the festival, cheekily called Bières San Frontières, features the best beers from Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Tempering all these brews is a pukka selection of pub foods, including fish and chips, Cornish pasties, sausages, crisps, and curries.

As for activities, planners of the Great British Beer Festival thought of almost everything. In addition to the usual festivities, such as beer judging contests and musical guests, the GBBF will have a Games Zone to “satisfy the urge to chuck or roll something.” GBBF also provides a family room, the “Half Pints Club,” where parents can accompany bored or overactive kids in between imbibing. God bless Britain for having a culture that allows a beer festival to be a family-friendly event.

If you’re not able to make it to the Great British Beer Festival this year, don’t worry. The 84-page GBBF program, which doubles as a handy reference to hundreds of beers, is available online. You can also follow the Great British Beer Festival on Twitter @gbbf and Facebook.

[Photo credit: Flickr user bods]

Traveler Q & A: Pavia Rosati

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Pavia Rosati is the founder of Fathom, a recently debuted travel website. Fathom is smart and beautifully designed. It’s full of exciting short briefs about various destinations across the globe.

Rosati, as you’ll see from her answers below, is an experienced editor and an avid traveler. Her enthusiasm for Fathom’s subject matter is palpable and infectious. We love Fathom and can’t wait to see how it’s going to develop.

Q: Good day, Pavia Rosati, and welcome. How would you describe your occupation?

A: I am the founder and CEO of Fathom, a new travel website. It’s my job to help connect you to places and experiences you didn’t know you were going to love.

Q: Tell us about Fathom.

A: Fathom cuts through the clutter of the online travel space with stories and destination guides that are as practical as they are inspiring. People typically go to a travel website for one of two reasons: They know they’re going to London, and they need to know where to stay and what to do. Or they think, “I have two weeks off…I like nature…Where should I go?” Fathom addresses both needs through two main sections: Guides and Postcards. Guides have quick information about the basics: hotels, sites, restaurants, and itineraries. Postcards are inspiring travel stories organized around the passion points of travel with a “I Travel for the …” theme: I Travel for the Food, I Travel for the Thrill, I Travel for the Kids. We aren’t motivated by what’s expensive or what’s trendy. We’re interested in what’s special and what’s awesome. Sometimes that’s a three-Michelin star lunch at Le Meurice; sometimes it’s a five-euro falafel at L’As du Fallafel.

Q: What are you trying to do with Fathom that hasn’t been done by other travel sites?

A: I wanted to create the one-stop travel website that I could never find. You know how the best travel guide is the email you get from a friend who lives there, detailing what you need to do and know? That’s the spirit that motivates us. I used to spend 80 hours researching dozens of sites to boil my findings down to an essential nugget of information. Fathom aims to deliver that nugget. I don’t want to wade through a list of 200 shops in Buenos Aires; I want 20 that are amazing. I want to know what locals know. I want pre-edited links to the best articles, websites, and online resources. Perhaps most importantly, Fathom recommendations are not driven by a mega travel agency’s vast and impersonal database; our recommendations are personal and special.

Q: How do you anticipate Fathom developing? For example, will the city guides grow in number?

A: Absolutely. It’s a big world, and we want to get everywhere. Postcards are updated continually, and we will launch several new guides every month. Reader feedback will be critical: We’ve had a lot of requests for Amsterdam since launching, so look for that soon. We want more Postcards from Fathom readers, a community we call the travel-proud. This fall, we’ll launch Boutique, with our favorite travel products; Traveler Profiles, based on the popular Fathom Questionnaires; and My Itineraries, so readers can save the places they want to go.

Q: How did your decade at Daily Candy prepare you for this endeavor?

A: First and foremost, it’s where I met my partner, Jeralyn Gerba, Fathom’s editorial director. We had one priority at DailyCandy: We had to delight our readers every day. To achieve this, we had to be trustworthy, we had to recommend quality places, and we had to deliver information readers wanted in a way they wanted it. And it helped if we had a great time doing it. These are excellent editorial priorities. By the way, before DailyCandy, I spent four years running the Entertainment Channel at AOL. That taught me a thing or two about building and serving a big audience.Q: Enough shop talk. When you’re not traveling, you split your time between New York and London. Care to share a secret hometown place or activity in either metropolis?

A: My life tends to revolve around what’s in front of me at the dinner table. In New York City, the bar at Tocqueville feels like a hidden escape, and breakfast at Balthazar feels like homeroom. At the end of the day, I always want to eat everything on the menu at L’Artusi. In London, I love Del Parc in Tufnell Park (of all places!), where two men cook and serve delicious Spanish/North African small plates from a closet-sized kitchen in the middle of the tiny dining room. And I love Moro, but who doesn’t?

Q: What are your favorite places to travel?

A: Sometimes I travel to feel familiar in a foreign setting. I could spend every weekend at Lo Scoglio on the Amalfi Coast and never tire of it. Similarly, I lived in Paris in college, and going back is like visiting an old friend. Other times, I travel for the difference and the discovery. Recent revelations include desolate and dramatic Salta, in northwest Argentina, and Sri Lanka, where I spent an incredible day on Taprobane Island. I loved Syria, and I hope it can recover from its political tumult and be the great country it should be.

Q: Where are you planning to travel next? And where are you dying to go?

A: Oh, the never-ending list. The wish list for the next few months includes Lake Austin Spa, Bighorn Revelstoke, Cartagena, and Portugal’s Douro Valley. I was married last year and am hoping for an eventual honeymoon in Chile. It’s my great embarrassment that I’ve never been to Southeast Asia — Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia. Zambia. Shanghai and Hong Kong. I’m obsessed with the Canadian Maritime Provinces. And in case my husband reads this, yes, honey, I’m dying to go to Tokyo, too.

Q: Where do you have no interest in ever visiting?

A: Cuba. I think I missed it. Though if an opportunity presented itself, of course I’d go. I’m curious about everything.

Q: Give us a travel tip or secret. Or five.

A: 1. Never eat airplane food. 2. You won’t use 50 percent of the stuff you’re packing, so leave it at home. 3. Find a local market to get a real flavor for a place. 4. It’s easier to go away than you think it is. And it’s always worth it. 5. I watch the sunrise on the last morning of every trip I take. I’m not suggesting that you do this; I am suggesting that you invent a travel ritual that you can share with yourself everywhere you go.

Q: What’s next for Pavia Rosati?

A: More sunrises in new places, and sharing them on Fathom.

Did you enjoy this Q&A? Check out previous Gadling Q&As with travelers like Jodi Ettenberg, Zora O’Neill, and Philippe Sibelly.

[Image: Jimmy Gilroy]