UK Politics: ‘Scottish Independence – Could Britain Break Up?’ (Video)

The union between the nations of the United Kingdom is looking increasingly fragile, thanks to Brexit. If Scotland were to break away from Britain it would face an uncertain future—as would the rest of the union.

Views: ‘Fischer’s Lovebirds’ At Lake Eyasi, Northern Tanzania In Africa (Video)

“Sunday Morning” takes us to the far-away shores of Lake Eyasi in northern Tanzania, home to the aptly-named Fischer’s Lovebirds. Videographer: Lee McEachern.

Fischer’s lovebird is a small parrot species of the genus Agapornis. They were originally discovered in the late 19th century, and were first bred in the United States in 1926. They are named after German explorer Gustav Fischer.

Lake Eyasi is a seasonal shallow endorheic salt lake on the floor of the Great Rift Valley at the base of the Serengeti Plateau, just south of the Serengeti National Park and immediately southwest of the Ngorongoro Crater in the Crater Highlands of Tanzania.

Winter Views: ‘Lake Baikal – Siberia, Russia’ (2K Video)

Winter Baikal – is an amazing place for aerial shooting. Endless ice fields, rough rocks and beautiful sunrises and sunsets make every moment great.

Lake Baikal is an ancient, massive lake in the mountainous Russian region of Siberia, north of the Mongolian border. Considered the deepest lake in the world, it’s circled by a network of hiking paths called the Great Baikal Trail. The village of Listvyanka, on its western shoreline, is a popular starting point for summertime wildlife-spotting tours, plus wintertime ice-skating and dog sledding.

Walks: ‘Marbella – Old Town, Southern Spain’

Marbella is a city and resort area on southern Spain’s Costa del Sol, part of the Andalusia region. The Sierra Blanca Mountains are the backdrop to 27 km of sandy Mediterranean beaches, villas, hotels, and golf courses. West of Marbella town, the Golden Mile of prestigious nightclubs and coastal estates leads to Puerto Banús marina, filled with luxury yachts, and surrounded by upmarket boutiques and bars.

Sunday Morning Podcast: Latest News From Zurich, Tokyo, London & Reykjavik

Tyler Brûlé, Andrew Tuck, Chandra Kurt and Florian Egli cover the biggest stories this weekend, with a look at what’s making headlines in London, Tokyo and Reykjavik.

Walking Tour: ‘Palais-Royal – Paris, France’ (4K)

The Palais-Royal is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of ParisFrance. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal Richelieu from about 1633 to 1639 by the architect Jacques Lemercier. Richelieu bequeathed it to Louis XIII, and Louis XIV gave it to his younger brother, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans. Philippe and the succeeding dukes of Orléans made such extensive alterations over the years, almost nothing remains of Lemercier’s original design.

The Palais-Royal now serves as the seat of the Ministry of Culture, the Conseil d’État and the Constitutional Council. The central Palais-Royal Garden (Jardin du Palais-Royal) serves as a public park, and the arcade houses shops.

Aerial Views: ‘Java Island – Western Indonesia’ (Video)

Java, lying between Sumatra and Bali, is a volcano-dotted island that’s at the geographic and economic center of Indonesia, and home to more than half its people. Java’s largest city is modern, sprawling Jakarta, the nation’s capital. It’s home to the expansive National Museum, an old town (Kota Tua) with Dutch colonial buildings, as well as upscale hotels and shopping malls.

Culinary: Why Wagyu And Nobu Sushi Costs So Much

Would you pay hundreds of dollars for the best cut of steak? What about a cup of coffee or a bottle of wine? From steak to caviar, CNBC Make It breaks down whether luxury foods are worth their high prices.

00:00​ — Intro

01:01​ — Wagyu Steak – This is the best Kobe steak ever imported to the United States. It costs $450 for 13 ounces and if it was sold in a restaurant it would cost $900. That’s about $90 a bite. That’s because It’s an A5 Kobe steak with a BMS of 12. In the Japanese beef rating system BMS stands for Beef Marble Score. The BMS scale ranges from 3 to 12, with 3 being a normal amount marbling, think what in the butcher shop at your high-end grocery store. The highest rating is 12. Steaks that reach that level are almost white with fat. Very, very few cuts of meat reach a BMS of 12. Over the last 10 years, just five BMS 12 beef loin sets have been imported into the U.S.

05:27​ — Nobu Sushi – The omakase menu option at chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s namesake sushi restaurants runs nearly $200 per head. With locations in Beverly Hills, Aspen, and NYC, his restaurants count celebs like Justin Bieber and the Kardashian-Jenner clan. That’s expensive, but it’s by no means the most expensive sushi in the world, let alone New York. We set out to answer whether Nobu is worth the price and how does the quality of Chef Nobu’s menu compare to an average New York City sushi restaurant?

11:59​ — Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream – It seems like pricy artisanal ice cream is everywhere these days. Once limited to brands like Ben & Jerry’s and Haagen-Dazs, the premium ice cream freezer at the grocery store is crowded with ice cream that’s handmade and includes top dollar ingredients. While brands like Halo Top, Ample Hills, and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams are for sale in a larger number of stores, the price can result in sticker shock. A pint of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream retails for $12 a pint. Here’s why pints have sky-rocked in price.

17:48​ — Coffee – Personal finance experts like Ramit Sethi and Suze Orman are split on whether buying coffee is a waste of money, but what about paying $100 for a cup? Elida Geisha Natural 1029 is currently the most expensive coffee in the world at $1,029 per pound. Is it worth the money?

26:12​ — White Truffles – There is something undeniably intoxicating about the smell of truffles. In fact, that potent smell is a major part of why truffles are so expensive. In 2019, someone paid over $130,000 for just over two pounds of white truffles. Interestingly enough, there’s a scientific explanation behind the intense reactions to the scent.

Poetic Views: London’s ‘Maida Vale’ Inspired Lord Byron & Robert Browning

The new crop of Italianate villas, iced white with stucco like giant cakes, and the rows of brick terraces and mansion blocks that followed them soon became home to publishers (Charles Ollier), artists (Sir John Tenniel) and poets: Robert Browning lived at 19, Warwick Crescent for more than 20 years and the pool where the Grand Union and Regent’s canals meet is now called after him.

Watercolor Paintings by Liam O’Farrell

Although Browning has been credited with naming the canal area Little Venice, it was Byron that first (facetiously) compared the basin to the Italian lagoon.

Carla Passino – April 16, 2021

Story has it that the poet used to walk along the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal with his publisher, John Murray — helpfully pointing to the bridge where another publisher had once drowned himself — and was inspired to write that ‘there would be nothing to make the canal of Venice more poetical than that of Paddington, were it not for its artificial adjuncts’; a fair point, considering that, at the time, the London canals were lined with warehouses and wrapped in soot.

Even today, however, the elegant terraces halfway up Randolph Avenue, with their tripartite arched windows, are far more reminiscent of the Italian city than Little Venice itself, where the serene buildings and tree-lined banks have a rather more bucolic feel.

Read more at Country Life UK

Liam O’Farrell website

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious