The Mass Games in North Korea is one of the biggest shows on Earth with 100,000 performers. These photos give you a rare glimpse of what it’s like inside.
The rejuvenation of the crown
Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee It wasn’t so long ago, I recall, that the Royal Family was a bit of a joke. An entire generation of them seemed unable to keep their private lives out of the tabloids with their adulterous, gaffe-prone, toe-sucking scandals. And the response to it all from the top left the […]
That’s dam big!
The Itaipu Dam in Paraguay is one of the seven Engineering Wonders of the World. It was also the largest of its kind in the world until recently.
Grease 3: The Texas Fair
Fair food at Dallas, Texas Just when you thought pizza couldn’t get any unhealthier, they gone deep-fried it. Not that it seems out of place at the Texas State Fair in Dallas. Deep-frying the food is pretty much mandatory at the food stalls, which could give you a coronary from just reading the menu. Deep-fried […]
Is the sun setting on America?
Sunset at Washington DC On a visit to Washington DC, I was reminded of that old phrase, “the sun never sets on the British Empire”. Walking down the National Mall, the sun was setting behind the Lincoln Memorial, casting an orange glow before darkness fell over America’s seat of government. It may seem a little […]
JFK – before he was an airport
JFK Presidential Library, Boston There’s a moment on a tour of the JFK Presidential Library that brings on tears. Around me, as I stood there, some people sobbed. I could even feel that slight sting in the eyes myself. The moment comes right at the end of the exhibits in the room dedicated to that […]
It’s time to grow up, America
The Boston Freedom Trail It’s in Boston, the city sometimes described as ‘the cradle of America’, that we pick up this story of ‘America, the resentful adolescent’. You see, to stick with this metaphor, the USA has been a rather spoilt child over the years. It was born into privilege with rights it feels are […]
Occupy Wall St
Not far from the New York Stock Exchange, which now has more barriers around it than a fortnight ago, protesters are still occupying a park as part of their campaign to… to… well, to do whatever they’re trying to do. The hundreds (and, at times, thousands) of people who have been gathering are committed to […]
Life in North Korea
Life in North Korea is hard to imagine and hard to get information about. But this look inside the rogue state gives you some idea of what it would be like.