circus Archives - Helen Walsh

In Defence of Bread and Circuses

By Helen WalshPosted on January 29, 2024Posted in LetterboxTagged circus, florida, helen walsh, travel

Anna Maria Island. Ever heard of Anna Maria Island? I hadn’t either until my friend Susan let me in on this secret ‘old Florida’ gem that flies mostly under the radar screen. That is bound to change with magazines like Travel + Leisure naming it to the 2024 Must-Visit lists, although fingers crossed local council seems determined to preserve its essential unspoiled nature. AMI is the most northern of a string of barrier islands near Sarasota that run down […]

Matera – Arrival, Departure, Arrival (or why leadership matters).

By Helen WalshPosted on January 5, 2024Posted in LetterboxTagged circus, florida, helen walsh, travel, writing life

The stunning opening scenes of the 2021 James Bond film, No Time to Die, were shot in Matera, which I recently visited. Matera is located in the Italian province of Basilicata, a smidge over the border from Puglia (but formerly part of it). It’s either the third oldest city in the world, after Aleppo and Jericho and/or the oldest continually habituated city in the world, depending on who’s telling the story. Either way, it’s no spring chicken, […]