United Kingdom
Irene is freelance lifestyle writer focusing travel, arts & culture, food & wine and a regular features contributor to Luxury Lifestyle Magazine, where Irene has an author page, Travel Begins At 40 and London Begins At 40 www.hashtagtravelling.com.
It is over 45 years since Shirley Conran coined the term "Life is too short to stuff a mushroom" ( Superwoman, 1975). While convenience foods undoubtedly free up our time, today, commercial food production processes are increasingly coming under scrutiny.
The Crown and Garter pub and restaurant in the village of Inkpen in West Berkshire is surrounded by open countryside. The rural setting is perfect for a cosy short break any time of the year. Think long walks, an aperitif beside an open fire on chilly days and a home-cooked meal before tottering up the garden path to your room for a quiet night's sleep.
In the absence of new exhibitions this month London Begins at 40's art columnist Irene Caswell roundups the 'last chance to see' fabulous summer shows to ensure you don't miss out. Now that galleries and museums are able to throw open wide their doors they need our support after months of postponement for many.
Irene Caswell takes the short trip to West Sussex to discover the health benefits of forest bathing and discovers there is much more to the practice than tree hugging. Over the past 18 months or so there has been a lot written about immersion in nature as an antidote to stress and to boost immunity.
In the second of her regular arts columns, Irene Caswell takes a look at the new July art exhibitions in London, as well as one coming to a close. Summer exhibitions are well underway with a diverse offering of displays designed to amaze, delight and entertain.
Continuing our London Voices series where we ask Londoners what makes them love London, Irene Caswell speaks to florist designer Simon Lycett. Simon Lycett moved to the capital city at the age of 20 with the aim of working at a florist's for six months to develop some "sophisticated London ways", before returning to his home town of Warwick to set up a flower business.
The garden at Buckingham Palace is an oasis in the centre of London. Following the pathways past the lake and through the woodlands beneath the mature sentinel trees is tantamount to time travel, an escape into another dimension. A new book, Buckingham Palace A Royal Garden, documents a year in the historic garden.
Irene Caswell looks forward to a world where we can travel internationally once more and explores the delights of traditional food in Slovenia. Slovenia is less than a tenth of the size of Great Britain yet there are 24 different gastronomic regions as well as three wine regions.
It is well known that the French take their wine and their food very seriously indeed. I travelled in a small group, courtesy of the Conseil Interprofessionel des Vins du Languedoc (CIVL), to the South of France to discover how the locals live the Mediterranean life.
Italian adventurer Casanova was a fan of oysters and it's said that he ate 50 for breakfast. Sounds a little over the top and yet oysters are a natural food source, responsibly and sustainably grown and harvested. Both wild and farmed oysters are rich in rare amino acids and zinc.