This is the third part of a series looking at Gurdwaras in the UK. London has a sizeable Sikh population, rivalling the Midlands as a centre of both Panjabi culture and the Sikh faith in the UK. Areas like Southall, Hounslow and Ilford all have large Sikh communities, and these towns have several Gurdwaras each. Outside of London, both Slough and Gravesend are well known within Panjabi circles for their Sikh communities. In this article, I explore 5 Gurdwaras in London and the South-East.

You can read part 1 of my series on UK Gurdwaras here (Midlands).
You can read part 2 of my series on UK Gurdwaras here (more Midlands).

There are over 300 Gurdwaras in the UK, but a sizeable proportion of them are in the West Midlands. This second article in the series explores a few more of the larger and well established Gurdwaras in the area. You can read part 1 of the list here.

If 2020 was weird and different, 2021 has been depressingly familiar. A never ending pandemic that continues to bring hardship to millions around the world either directly or indirectly. As always, I end the year with a look back at the previous year, the 6th time I've done this.

You can read my end of year review for 2020 here.
​You can read my end of year review for 2019 here.
You can read my end of year review for 2018 here.
You can read my end of year review for 2017 here.
You can read my end of year review for 2016 here.

This was the first time since I started this blog that I didn't make a single trip out of the country, for obvious reasons, but I opened my Travel Shop. The furthest I went was the Jurassic Coast. I spent most of my time in the Midlands visiting the West Midlands Safari Park, Bridgnorth, different Gurdwaras in the area, and the Black Country. I also finally waved goodbye to London after almost 7 years in the city, and covered my favourite London Museums. The summer of 2021 brought us the delayed Euro 2020 and I wrote about my experiences of attending the final between England and Italy. 

As always, you can click any of the blue links to read in depth reviews of each location

Popular culture in the UK seems to distinguish between the 'north' and London, with scarcely a mention of the land in between. However, the Midlands is culturally, historically and economically one of the most important regions in the country. After all, the Midlands is where the Industrial Revolution took birth, the middle-earth of Tolkien, it's the place that gave us league football and the sport of rugby, it's the birthplace of William Shakespeare and is home to the UK's second largest city. This article focuses on the (West) Midlands and I look at 10 reasons why you really should visit it.

If there's one thing London does better than anywhere else in the world, it's museums. There are a lot of them (around 200), and almost all of them are free of charge.

That shouldn't be a surprise, the British Empire spent two centuries sailing around the world collecting priceless treasures and artefacts. Yep, as beautiful as these museums are, they're also controversial, and I'll explore some of the controversy in this list.

A few years ago I wrote a list on my favourite museums in New York (which you can read here), so it's about time I did something similar for London - so here are my 10 favourite museums in London.

What a strange year 2020 has been, but no matter how weird things have gotten, the one bit of stability that I am keeping is my annual look back at the trips I've taken and articles I have written, as I do every year.

​You can read my end of year review for 2019 here.
You can read my end of year review for 2018 here.
You can read my end of year review for 2017 here.
You can read my end of year review for 2016 here.

For obvious reasons, trips abroad this year were limited, although I did make it out to Nigeria, Kenya, Serbia and France earlier this year when the virus was limited largely in China. When lockdown was lifted, it was a chance to explore my own backyard, so I took trips to the different Royal Parks in London, as well as a first visit to the White Cliffs of Dover. I spent a considerable bit longer around the Midlands, doing a charity climb to Snowden, as well as exploring Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon.

As always, you can click any of the blue links to read in depth reviews of each location.

5 years ago, the thought of visiting a quiet village in a region where brown people are a rarity wasn't something that I'd have wanted to do. But, as I get older, the moments away from packed beaches and big cities are actually quite nice. 

I've written a post on Brittany (which you can read here), and a detailed post on Ploumanac'h, the most beautiful village in the region (which you can read here). I've tried to take the best of both articles and cover my favourite things in this article. I haven't included Mont Saint-Michel (because technically it's in Normandy) but you can read about it in my detailed Brittany article linked to above. Here are 5 things I loved about Brittany.

The pandemic has allowed me to explore places closer to home. It's easy to forget that I live in a city that ranks the second most popular in the world for international visitors and so I've spent this spring and summer walking around and exploring new parts of the city.

From my travels around the world, I've realised that London is a relatively 'green' city and that's largely thanks to the eight Royal Parks of London, as well as some of the non-royal ones (a Royal Park is one originally owned by the monarchy and is now preserved as an open access public park). In this article I review each park in order of size, from smallest to largest - with a ranking of my favourites at the end.

It's one of the greenest capital cities I've ever visited, with incredible food, friendly people and a lot to see and do during the day and at night. If you can get past the traffic, you have a city with a lot going for it.

I've tried to whittle down the list to the five things I loved most about Nairobi which isn't an easy thing to do. To read my in-depth review of Nairobi, follow this link, otherwise, read on for the five things I loved about Nairobi.