Author: Ms. R.

When visiting Salem, the most common attractions are those related to the witch trials of 1692. Multiple museums, numerous cemeteries, historic streets, and local markets cement the lore and legend of the city. However, not everything in Salem is related to the infamous trials and the Stephen Phillips House is a great example. The story of the Phillips house begins with Elias Hasket Derby, a sea merchant and the owner of a fleet of privateers. At one point he was……

Read More

Often referred to as a figure representing the likeness of a toby-jug, the “Provost of Ceres” is reportedly the depiction of Thomas Buchanan, Minister of Ceres. A Provost is another term meaning mayor, and Buchanan served as the last official Provost of Ceres during the reign of King James VI. He was also nephew to George Buchanan, a Scottish historian during the period of the Scottish Reformation. This squat, grinning little figure situated in a niche of sandstone has……

Read More

This garden was a gift to the city of Mishawaka from its sister city, Shiojiri (Nagano Prefecture, Japan). The designer was Shoji Kanaoka, the same man who planned the Japanese gardens at the Epcot Center in Florida. It features a multitude of trees and flowers, including a grove of cherry trees. There are also two snow lanterns, four bridges, and a teahouse pavilion built in the traditional Japanese style. As typical of Japanese style, every feature of the garden……

Read More

The Star Pyramid, also known as Salem Rock is a massive sandstone, ashlar pyramid dominating the area below Stirling Castle beside the Old Town Cemetery. The pyramid is enclosed by wrought iron railings and stands on a stone-stepped base upon a shaped grassy mound. The pyramid is on a raised plinth of four steps and has a set of steps to the south leading to it. These are flanked by two stone globes, which at one time would have been……

Read More

Adrian Patrut and his team flew in from three different continents to study the “Big Tree” at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, and for good reason. The Big Tree is a colossal structure, soaring over 80 feet in the air, around 75 feet in circumference, with bulky branches, many stems that make up its trunk, and a wide, gaping hole at its core. The Big Tree is thought to be one of the largest and oldest African baobab trees in……

Read More

There are many of these Tchorek plaques spread across the city of Warsaw, they can be found in various locations where battles or executions took place during the German occupation of Poland during World War II. These plaques all have the same design, so once you’ve found one, it’s easy to spot others. In 1948, a nationwide competition was announced to design a memorial plaque to commemorate the Polish struggle under German occupation. An original design by the sculptor Karol Tchorek……

Read More

Most people today, if they noticed them at all would be puzzled by the rock-lined mounds located in the corner of a city park near the bank of Melbourne‘s Yarra River. The Speakers’ Corner is set among the shade of oak trees in Yarra River Park and was a significant part of social life and debate, particularly during times of unrest such as World War I, the Great Depression, and the 1940s, when leftist politics were beginning to feel……

Read More

The woodlands that surround Pluckley, allegedly the most haunted village in England, have been the subject of much local folklore about ghosts for centuries. Amongst other apparitions, the ghost of a local highwayman robber who was captured, lynched, and decapitated by angry villagers in the 18th century is said to wander the woodlands and is often claimed to have been seen by visitors.  However, the most terrifying stories about this woodland are undoubtedly the modern ones and do not involve……

Read More

On the corner of Wellington Street and Vere Street in the Collingwood district of Melbourne, lies a large public housing block. These were constructed as part of the social housing movement across Melbourne in the 1960s and there are many similar tower blocks that still tower over different inner suburbs of the city.  In 2018, local artist Matt Adnate, who is known for using his work to promote conversation and public discourse, was commissioned by a street art collective……

Read More

A farm is said to have stood on this site in northern Iceland since the late ninth century—in other words, about as long as the island has been settled. Now, rather than a working farm, the Glaumbær Farm and Museum is home to beautifully-preserved Icelandic turf houses that offer a glimpse of life in the 18th and 19th centuries. Built out of stone, wood, and of course, turf, the buildings are a style that was common in the region in the……

Read More