1960’s – 2011 comparison (Pele)

There is no doubt that Brazilian striker Pele was the best player of the 1960’s. Pele and Maradona are the two players who are always mentioned when the common question is asked, ‘Who was the best player to have ever lived?’ Pele will often be the answer. So what was Pele like? Pele was a natural goal scorer, the Santos striker was incredibly athletic and his dribbling/balance combination was unstoppable for defenders. His ability to go past defenders at such speed and maintain such balance credited him with many goal scoring opportunities, which more likely than not Pele would score emphatically. Pele had technique, the passing ability of a central midfield maestro, the engine of a Marathon runner and the power of a steam train. His statistics are sensational, 1281 goals in 1363 games.

No one can live up to Pele’s name; Manchester United’s George Best in the 70’s was a similar type of player to Pele but was more a winger than a forward. In the modern era, few have been compared to Pele but none have lived up to the reputation that Brazilian Pele possessed. Alexandre Pato of AC Milan was tipped to be the Pele of this era, but he has to yet to show any phenomenal form to even label him the one of the best strikers today let alone ever lived. Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney is the closest of this decade that we have compared to Pele. Rooney possesses the same power and physique that Pele does, the same ability to pick out a 70 yard cross field ball and the same vision and technique. England striker Rooney just doesn’t have same amount of pace that Pele did which combines with the factor that Rooney doesn’t particularly go past players with skill and flair.

Wayne Rooney has scored goals that you wouldn’t think were possible with the stunning volley against Newcastle and the recent potential goal of the season overhead against rivals Manchester City. Pele scored stunning goals in the 60’s and 70’s for Santos and Brazil, one ‘nearly’ goal that would’ve been one of the greatest goals of all time. His dummy against Uruguay that left the keeper for dead when the ball went one way and Pele went around the other way, but his shot off balance and on a tight angle just went wide.

1970’s – 2011 comparison (Johann Cruyff)

Johann Cruyff was part of the Ajax side that inherited the ‘total football’ philosophy introduced by Dutch coach Rinul Michels. Former Barcelona and Ajax front man Johann Cruyff’s style of play was influenced by the total football approach he conducted to his game. His natural position was centre forward but because of the tactical way the Ajax side played the game, he roamed around and ended up playing on the wing and central midfield more often than not. The Holland striker spent half of the 1970’s at Barcelona for Rinus Michels, where he was crowned European Footballer of the Year at his time at Barcelona in consecutive years.

Cruyff was dubbed the ‘Pythagoras in boots’ because of his ability to pick out passes from angles that looked impossible. Not only did he have an eye for a pass but he had tremendous speed and his ability to accelerate away from defenders which was helped by the ‘Cruyff turn’ named after the Dutch maestro is still a turn associated with football 40 years later.

I don’t think any striker could grace Cruyff’s ability to play in multiple positions to maximum effect so I’ve chosen a playmaker and speed merchant who would grace Cruyff’s technical and physical attributes to his game, Ryan Giggs. Both players in their prime had the ability to go past players with flair and tremendous pace creating goal scoring opportunities. Giggs isn’t as prolific as Cruyff as a finisher but Giggs certainly lives up to the playmaking abilities that Cruyff possessed. Ryan Giggs in his prime was lightening over 5-10 yards and could maintain such frightening pace for 40-50 yards which he shared with Cruyff.

However as football has changed much over the years since Cruyff’s successful days at Ajax and Barcelona, the style of play has changed and there aren’t many similar type of players of Cruyff’s calibre that could play naturally upfront and drop back deeper and still be extremely effective.

1980’s – 2011 comparison (Diego Maradona)

Maradona or Messi? There is no doubt that of today’s game, Lionel Messi is the nearest if not potential candidate to surpass Maradona’s ability as a footballer. Former Barcelona striker Diego Maradona along with Pele is one of the best players to have ever graced this planet. He wasn’t as clinical as Pele but taking nothing away from Maradona he still had a very good goal scoring record for club and country. The style of play on the ball for Maradona and Messi is identical. They both dribble with extreme pace and a very low centre of gravity; they both possess extreme dribbling skills with the ability to have 5-10 touches in the space of seconds to make it impossible for defenders to tackle. Many have questioned whether Lionel Messi could do what Maradona did at Napoli. Maradona won what is now the Italian ‘serie A’ with Napoli with what was a very average squad, Maradona being the pivotal part of the Napoli side and no doubt wouldn’t have been title winners if Maradona wasn’t on their books. Could Messi do a similar fate at Blackburn of the English Premiership, Udinese of the Italian Serie A? Many doubt whether Messi could.

In contrast Messi has achieved a lot more than Maradona at this age having already won the Spanish La Liga 4 times and Champions League 2 times. Messi is only 23, Maradona at 23 won the treble with Barcelona in 1983 and an Argentine title with Boca Juniors in 1981 but that was it. So Messi so far has had a better career on silverware success but Maradona’s achievements at Napoli and on the international arena set him aside to Messi. Infamously, Maradona also has a World Cup to his name in 1986 which Maradona made his name.

There is no doubt that Barcelona winger Messi scores goals from all sorts of angles and all sorts of scintillating runs but Maradona’s second goal against England in the 1986 World Cup has been regarded as the goal of the century by many people. Maradona travelled with the ball 60 metres and took on six English players in the process, rounded England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and scored from a tight angle to beat England 2-1 in the quarter finals of the 1986 World Cup which they went on to win. The ex-Napoli striker also scored the very controversial ‘hand of god’ goal in the same game which has been spoken about ever since. Messi hasn’t really shined on the international stage and if he does, it might be what takes him past his boyhood hero’s status.

1990’s – 2011 comparison (Ronaldo)

He was a natural goal scorer of his era and by far the best striker in his generation for simply scoring goal after goal. Ronaldo played at the highest level through the 90’s and early 00’s, he represented PSV, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and AC Milan in an illustrious career that was disrupted by serious knee injuries.

Brazilian striker Ronaldo was a born goal scorer, he had the ability to go past players with his skill and power but defiantly his threat was in the box. He scored 62 goals in just under 100 appearances for Brazil and has been voted Brazil’s best ever striker since Pele by numerous judging panels. Former Real Madrid striker Ronaldo was indestructible, if he got in the box it was inevitable he was going to score.

As Ronaldo has still being playing till quite recent, there hasn’t been long for anyone to potentially replace Ronaldo’s prowess for being a known goal scorer. However, there a few players that this season in world Football has started to develop their reputation. Javier Hernandez of Manchester United is one striker that could have the potential to live up to Ronaldo’s abilities in front of goal. He already has 16 goals for Manchester United in his first season and is a predator in the box similarly to Ronaldo. It’s doubtful whether Mexican forward Hernandez will have the impact on world football that Ronaldo did, but the Mexican is a very similar striker to what Ronaldo was in his prime.

Barcelona’s David Villa is another striker who is known for his potential in the box. Spanish hit man David Villa has earned his trade at Valencia for several years and finally sealed a move to Barcelona where he already has 21 goals to his name. Villa has also lived up to Ronaldo’s international reputation, having already won the European Championships in 2008 and the World Cup in 2010 with Spain being a key member of the winning side in both tournaments with his contribution of goals.

2000’s – 2011 comparison (Zidane)

One of the most gifted players of this century was French midfielder and former Juventus/Bordeaux midfielder Zidane. One of the most natural players at playing the game, Zidane glided through the game in a nonchalant manner that saw him one of footballs most composed players ever to have graced the game. An out and out central midfielder, Zidane possessed a goal scoring ability from midfield and also the ability to craft out magic in midfield to launch attacks for his side.

Zidane joined Real Madrid from Juventus in 2001 for a world record fee at the time of around 50 million pounds. Zidane enjoyed success in Real Madrid, winning the Champions League and the Spanish La Liga in his 6 years at the club. Not to mention becoming a World cup winner with France in 1998 and a runner up in 2006. Zidane was a tall, strong midfielder at 6’1 he was no fool at defending and wasn’t afraid to challenge for an aerial battle but Zidane came alive in the attacking half and his deft touches on the ball and he seemed to have eyes in the back of his head at times with his awareness of space around him.

Not many footballers have composure as a skill to their game because of the extreme amounts of pressure footballers are put under and now with all the money at stake. However, Manchester United’s Dimitar Berbatov is one of very few footballers that possess superb composure on the ball which is a very gracious skill to have. Bulgarian striker Berbatov and French midfielder Zidane also share the same style of control and first touch, with Berbatov having one of the greatest techniques in the world today similarly to Zidane in his prime. Although ex-Tottenham striker Berbatov is an out and out forward and Zidane never played upfront, the abilities they both have are very similar. Even their mental approaches are very alike, both are very quiet and don’t particularly talk much when competing competitively. Both have tremendous control on the ball, both have the ability to go past players with the skill on the ball rather than speed or strength.

Great players are easy to come by; it’s the magical players that are hard to come by. Who’s going to replace Barcelona’s Messi’s or Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s of today’s game in a few years? Football has the ability to produce stars to show on the world stage which is what makes football such an amazing sport to watch.

Who does not know Lionel Messi? Miracles in the world of Argentine football this star could glint, though arguably somewhat dimmed in the period 2013-2014. The appearance of stars who often called Leo is somewhat decreased throughout 2013-204. He only packed 41 goals throughout the season, the lowest record since 2008-2009.

He even failed to deliver Argentina to the 2014 World Cup champions after the German bent 1-0. In order to improve performance on the ground, this footballer changes lifestyle and diet. With the help of his friend, fellow Argentine Martin Demichelis, Messi met with Italian nutritionist Giuliano Poser.

The meeting agreed earlier this year, Messi routinely visited Poser and got a good nutrition recipe. «After the World Cup, something has changed for him, Messi knows what to change, he has the humility to make a change in his professional career since January, he looks stronger,» Poser said. Investigate a calibration, one of the causes of decreased appearance Messi due to his hobby eating pizza.

Barcelona attacker was also experiencing weight gain due to lifestyle and eating patterns that are less attention. In order to improve performance, Messi decided to reduce the consumption of animal-containing menu. Well, since following the direction of Poser, in a relatively fast time, proved his appearance changed drastically.

Physical rapidly changing his fitness fit throughout the game. «He changed his diet, did not eat processed foods and replaced them with foods rich in vitamins, minerals, fibre contained in grains, fruits, vegetables, fish and olive oil,» Poser said as quoted La Gazzetta Dello Sport. Apparently, not just Messi who became a client Poser.

Manchester City striker, Sergio Aguero, also adopted the diet advocated by Poser. «We (Aguero and Messi) are undergoing a normal nutritional examination to check the condition of the body, he recommends food to improve our physicality, I am happy because it is important to look at the body and know what I want,» Aguero said.

No one denied the fact that Lionel Messi is the best footballer at the moment. Behind the performance that good, FC Barcelona star has a good diet.

In order to perform well on the pitch, Messi runs a diet program. There are some foods that must be consumed every day, but some are forbidden.

Dietician Messi, Giuliano Poser, revealed that sugar became one of the strikers petty striker with the nickname La Pulga it.

«Sugar is the worst thing for muscles,» Poser told Mundo Deportivo.

According to Poser, sugar contains many calories that can damage the body’s metabolism and interfere with muscle development. The more Messi away from sugar, the better.

In the meantime, there are 4 mandatory meals on Messi’s diet menu list. Is that?

«Water, good quality olive oil, grains, and fresh fruits and vegetables that are not contaminated by pesticides, therefore can cause massive damage to the body,» Poser said.

«My method is unquestionable – everyone can see how Messi looks from week to week,» Pose said.

A healthy and balanced diet leads Messi to the top of his career. At the age of 28 years now, the captain of the Argentina national team has already bagged 7 La Liga titles, 4 Champions League and 5 Ballon d’Or trophy.

Only one event that has not been conquered Messi, namely the World Cup.

Adebayor is looking at a three match ban for shoving his studs down Dutchman Van Persie’s face during a match against Arsenal that saw him score in his fourth consecutive match. Though Manchester City won 4:2, the victory was marred by Van Persie’s accusation of Adebayor deliberately kicking him in the face. This three match ban means Adebayor, also a Togo international, will not to be able to play for Manchester City until October 19.

According to an FA statement, »Under the fast track disciplinary process, Adebayor has been charged with violent conduct following an incident with Robin van Persie, which resulted in the Arsenal player receiving facial injuries.» Referee Mark Clattenburg advised FA that though he wasn’t privy to the incident, had he been, he would’ve sent Adebayor off.

The stormy Togolese joined Manchester City on 18 July 2009 after signing a five year contract for a transfer fee somewhere in the region of £25 million. Adebayor scored during his debut against Blackburn Rovers, smashing a shot from 18 yards in the third minute! His second match saw him score the only goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers, giving his team a 1:0 win. He headed the ball into the goal during his third consecutive league match versus Portsmouth, which again saw Manchester City win by 1:0. And then came the fourth consecutive goal during the fateful match…

Prior to this, Emmanuel Adebayor was criticized for celebrating a goal by running the entire length of the pitch in front of Arsenal supporters, who almost invaded the pitch and threw objects towards him in anger. He was booked for this, but later apologized. Mark Hughes suggested that Adebayor did this in order to be loved by Manchester City fans.

Adebayor, who was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2008, also plays for his birth country Togo, though he was also eligible to play for Nigeria. He helped Togo to qualify for the 2006 African Cup of Nations, during which he scored 11 goals in the qualifiers! He also played a leading role in Togo’s 2006 World Cup qualification. Though Adebayor failed to score a single goal in the World Cup, and Togo was eliminated during the group stage, he was made team captain after the qualification.

This is not the first time that Adebayor has got into trouble for his impetuosity and temper. During the 2006 African Cup of Nations, he almost left the tournament after a fight with his coach and was once dropped from the team after a row over bonus payments! But Adebayor was brought back into the national Togo team in 2007. Adebayor wears soccer uniform number 25.

Five Manchester United players featured in the Northern Ireland starting line-up for six matches in the late 1970s: Tommy Jackson, David McCreery, Chris McGrathand, Sammy McIlroy, and Jimmy Nicholl. Former Manchester United favourites Trevor Anderson and George Best also featured.

Samuel McIlroy was born 2 August 1954 in the much troubled city of Belfast in Northern Ireland. Being brought up in the very heart of Protestant East Belfast, he was steeped from an early age in a marinade of politics and religion. Nonetheless, East Belfast has produced a great number of immensely talented Manchester United players up through the years including household names such as George Best, Eric McMordie, David McCreery, and Norman Whiteside. After being discovered by famous United scout Bob Bishop while still a schoolboy player, McIlroy was advised by his family to seek his footballing fortune in the calmer climes of Lancashire as Northern Ireland was tottering on the brink of Civil War.

The last youth player to be signed by legendary Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby, Sammy McIlroy arrived in Manchester as a modest, fresh faced 14 year old in the summer of 1969. Finding the net on his United debut against fierce rivals Manchester City in November 1971, the gifted youngster quickly became a massive hit with the Old Trafford faithful. Eventually establishing himself in the Manchester United first team during the 1974-75 season, McIlroy proceeded to make a total of 391 appearances for the Reds. The young veteran also played an important part in United’s nothing but fantastic revival under Tommy Docherty in the mid 1970s, winning the Second Division title with the Reds in 1975 and the FA Cup two years later.

Finally deciding to leave Manchester United at the end of the 1981-82 season, Sammy McIlroy went on to appear for Stoke City, Manchester City, Bury, Preston North End, and Northwich Victoria. The hard working Ulsterman also had an extraordinary international career, gaining a total of 88 caps for his beloved Northern Ireland between 1972 and 1987.

«The Protestant people in Northern Ireland were used and abused by the British. How could you have working class people living in poverty voting Tory? You looked at two working class people shooting each other and you asked how was that possible. It was divide and conquer, the British trait from the year dot.»

Paddy Crerand quote.

The Reebok Stadium will celebrate Premier League match time, on Sunday, August 21, when Bolton host Manchester City in what promises to be an intriguing game between two teams who won their opening matches by an identical margin of 4-0.

In their opening game of the current Premiership campaign, Bolton visited Loftus Road to meet newly promoted Queens Park Rangers.

QPR gave a reasonable account of themselves and the match remained scoreless in the first 44 minutes. In fact, the home side were unlucky when Campbell’s early strike was disallowed. On the stroke of half-time, Bolton took the lead through Gary Cahill who put the ball in the top left corner of the net after feeding off a pass from Chris Eagles.

QPR went to pieces, literally, in the second half after Gabbidon deflected a shot by Eagles into his own goal, on 67 minutes. Three minutes later, Ivan Klasnic latched onto a deflected effort from Bradley Orr and drilled the ball home to make it 3-0. Fabrice Mumba completed the tally, with 10 minutes to go to regulation time.

The biggest plus for Bolton was Gary Cahill whose pace and timing would make him an asset to any team of the Premiership.

If before the game against Swansea, Mancini had meditated on life after Tevez, after the game, he would have forgotten his concerns, following a brilliant showing from his latest marquee signing Aguero. Aguero’s brace helped sweep Swansea aside, in a second half that witnessed the Premier League debutants blown off the pitch much as QPR were, against Bolton.

Dzeko put Mancini’s wards ahead on 57 minutes, after Silva had done the initial spade work running with the ball from deep inside his own half to the edge of Swansea’s box. Silva fed the ball out wide to Johnson whose shot was parried by Swansea keeper Vorm, and Dzeko was on hand to put the ball into the net, on reflex.

It was now that Mancini decided to unleash Aguero who soon latched onto a Micah Richards cross in a slide that pushed the ball into the Swansea net to make it 2-0 to City. Aguero followed it up with an assist that enabled Silva to spore City’s third goal of the game.

A stunning 30 yard strike, in injury time, was the icing on the cake for Aguero whose presence has excited the collective imagination among City’s supporters. With their defence as string as it is, Aguero lends City’s midfield the aggression that it lacked for the most part of the last season. Surely, on the strength of the evidence against Swansea, City must be considered serious challengers for the title.

Bolton will need all of their home supporters’ backing to contend with a forward line that could include both Aguero and Tevez, in what appears to be a mouth-watering prospect for football fans.

Thinking of moving out to Cheshire? Take a look at the village of Holmes Chapel which is a nice area within easy commuting distance of Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.

Holmes Chapel is a village in Cheshire. It’s quite small, the last census measured the population at under 6,000 and it retains an «old fashioned» feel (and I mean that in a positive way) compared to my previous experiences of living in cities and in other towns.

Geographically it is less than a mile from the M6 motorway which means you have easy access to the M6 and the M56 so it’s easy to get to Manchester, Warrington, Crewe, Stoke, Birmingham and obviously many places in between and all around. It’s also on the Crewe to Manchester train line so getting into Manchester is fairly easy as the journey takes approximately 40 minutes. Holmes Chapel station also has a book club and has won lots of awards. Compared to the grim faceless and vandalised train stations you find in most towns and cities, it’s great!

The village has two primary schools, Hermitage and Holmes Chapel Primary both of which have excellent Ofsted and DFES results so it’s a great place to move to find a better state education for your kids. It also has a secondary school and attached sixth form centre which again, is very highly rated by Ofsted and is particularly strong in Science. In other words, if you’re looking to move to somewhere outside of the city so your kids can go to good local schools all the way through then it’s an excellent choice.

Because of the good schools and the good commuting opportunities, Holmes Chapel is relatively expensive compared to some larger more industrialised towns. The cheapest houses I’ve seen in recent months come in at around £160,000 for a fairly small 2 bedroomed terraced house. For a three bedroomed semi or terraced you’d probably be looking ar £170-190k and for a 3 bedroom detached house, over £230k. There are also lots of large 4 bed detached houses in the village which currently sell for anything between £270k and £370k upwards depending on where they are and what they’re like. It is possible to rent as well though, and three bedroom houses seem to be available for around £700 a month upwards.

Holmes Chapel has a lot of older residents because a lot of the housing was built in the 70’s with more in the mid 1980’s and bought as new by people moving into the area to take advantage of the schools, commuting and the general niceness of the environment. Many of these people are now nearing retirement. This means that there is a nice relaxed feel to the place and a stroll to the shops will generally produce many polite smiles, nods and hellos from people you don’t actually know. Again, a very nice and old fashioned attitude that has been sadly lost in many places where people scurry about in fear of being attacked or assaulted.

There is a Youth Club and a Leisure Centre and two private sports and leisure clubs which also provide excellent sporting and social facilities throughout the year. Holmes Chapel also has a library, doctors surgery, a dentist and an opticians alongside a variety of excellent local shops and businesses.

All in all if you are looking for somewhere to commute to Manchester or Warrington from where you can find excellent local schools then Holmes Chapel is a good option and well worth a look.

The small Mediterranean island of Malta’s holiday industry was saved by the entry into the market of low fare aiirlines, turning a worsening position just five years ago to an island that has an active tourism sector today.

With higher fares than other islands in the Mediterranean the number of vacations to Malta had been declining for some years, but eventually the authorities gave in to the inevitable and allowed Dublin based Ryanair to start flights to Malta – and the island has benefitted from increased visitor numbers since.

Now, other airlines are now flying to the island’s Luqa Airport, including two from the UK, easyJet and bmi, from not just the main British airports such as Gatwick, but Bournemouth, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle – with good news for holidaymakers in the north of Ireland Ireland that easyJet are to start a Belfast service in 2011.

The welcome news for passenegrs of the skies opening up to the low cost carriers is a wider choice of Malta flights for holidaymakers, with more a choice of departure times and which airport to fly from, as well as lower fares.

And while the British market is the biggest for her holiday industry, more tourists are coming from elsewhere as the airlines have opened more routes from other European cities – diversifying the tourist mix, becoming less dependent on British visitors, and increasing the net number of people spending money in the hotels, stores and other vacation related businesses.

The new routes include Milan and Rome in Italy, Barcelona, Madrid, Marseille, Seville, Stockholm, Valencia and Venice – allowing the Spanish, French, Italian and Swedish to be more likely to consider Malta for a week or two.

All very good news for the vacation industry. But it’s not just the lower airfares that those taking a holiday are benefitting from, as Malta’s flag carrier is winning awards for excellence, while lowering their own fares to compete with the low cost carriers.

This summer a satisfaction survey of passengers by the influential magazine Which? resulted in Air Malta being voted as one of the best, alongside Swiss Air, while the budget airlines were a lot less successful, certainly for Swiss and Malta flights.

It’s quite a fait accompli for the island’s national airline. Given that it’s a small nation with a population of under 450,000 there were justifiable worries that the airline might go bust as the rival low cost carriers cut fares. But Air Malta has not just competed well on price but provided a service that other – much bigger – airlines cannot match on standards.

Along with the good hotels Malta has, the island is now attractive not just to those who are considering a two week holiday in the sun, but also for those holidaymakers who want to visit for a long weekend. Increasingly spa hotels are an attraction, and some of the hotels have been winning awards themselves for excellence this year, all adding to her reputation among tourists from Britain, Ireland and mainland Europe.

The capital city is Valletta, and the main towns where people take Malta holidays are St Paul’s Bay, St. Julians and Mellieha – Mellieha has the best sandy beach and quite a few people who take villas as opposed to staying in a hotel choose to stay there, with the Santa Maria Estate gaining a reputation for villa breaks.

Taking a flight can be stressful and set a poor tone for the rest of a trip, but if you want your holiday to start from the moment you leave your home country it might be worthwhile shortlisting Malta as a destination.

England is a kingdom dripping with tradition and pride. The is a brief intro to this royal kingdom and some places you may find worthwhile.

Yeah, you can find the typical Brit snobs, but you will find that most of the people are friendly, down-to-earth, and steadfast, if at times somewhat enjoyably quirky. In fact, although more reserved than Americans, many Americans find friends in Britain with little difficulty, especially when camping or doing something else together with the British, such as hiking, biking, or other activities. Our common language is a huge advantage in Britain and enables you to speak to anyone.

The land is so enchantingly beautiful it is awe-inspiring. Great Britain truly is one of the most beautiful islands in the world. England is a green, pleasant, and graceful land with rustic, orderly villages and towns and vibrant cities all with centuries-old architecture that capture the quintessential essence of England. It is like visiting an enchanted land.

There are several large cities in England, such as Liverpool and Manchester, but the most important city politically and culturally is London.

London

In some ways, London captures the spirit of England and it is its very center in many ways except geographically. Besides a healthy and ever-changing clubbing scene, London also has a major place to see live theatre in the English-speaking world; and this is located in the West End districts of Soho and Covent Garden. Interesting places to see in the daytime include The Eye, which is a giant Ferris wheel with large enclosed cabins that travel slowly around and provide surprisingly good vistas of London. A cruise tour of the Thames River travels through the center of London, but you may also visit the Tower of London that houses the Crown jewels, the London Aquarium, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, Westminster Abbey, and The London Zoo, to name a few. For those interested, London has a number of major world-renowned museums including the National Gallery, the Natural History Museum, and the Museum of Victoria and Albert. If you need to do some shopping for yourself or for gifts or just for fun, visit some neighborhood flea markets and antique shops on the weekend.

But London is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Get Out of London

Many American visitors remain in London for their entire vacation, and that is a dogfish shame. If you are backpacking or have the gumption to strike out and travel the roads and byways away from the big city, then for goodness sake after you see some of London, get out of London and roam through the rest of England.

The English countryside has been the topic of rhyme and verse, ballad and song for over a thousand years. Simply put, it is awe-inspiring in its forested grandeur, and a welcome refuge from the hectic city. In deepest England you will free yourself from (most) freeways and except for festivals, mobs of people and find the quiet villages and towns that are the prototypical Olde England. Of course, in the summer months, many Britons have the same idea, so the larger tourist towns may not be as quiet as one may wish.

But there are other delights. In the summer months festivals are everywhere and you will be able to attend folk music festivals, rock festivals, and all other kinds of festivals all across Britain. Visit a government tourist office for festivals in the areas you plan to visit.

In addition, there is an abundance of magnificent medieval cathedral cities such as Lincoln, York, Salisbury, Durham and Winchester, fascinating ruined castles and majestic country manor houses that dot the countryside that are open to the public, an abundance of peaceful gardens, National Trails footpaths hundreds of miles long, and picturesque villages each with its own unique eccentricities, literally all over England.

Research and plan ahead of your trip and plan where you would like to go and what you would like to see and experience.

The following are some districts, towns, and places you might like to visit.

Bath

Some consider Bath the most idyllic of English towns. Bath is west of London and in the beautiful English countryside, Bath is an especially beautiful town. This is the location of the famous Roman Baths, which became popular because of natural hot springs in the area. The remains of the Roman baths are open to the public.

Oxford & Cambridge

These are separate towns but one cannot be discussed without the other, as the history of England is intertwined with the ancient universities of both of these towns. In fact, the two towns are sometimes referred to as «Oxbridge.» Oxford and Cambridge are incredibly beautiful towns that are so profoundly English and upper class that their importance and prestige would border on myth were it not fact.

Oxford is the older of the two towns and Oxford University is the oldest in Britain. Oxford University has 36 colleges and over 14,000 students. Oxford is a very small town that is also one of the major tourist destinations in Britain. This means it is often very crowded, so we do not consider driving a car in Oxford as a viable option. If you are arriving by car, there is a Park and Ride service with buses into the city centre that we recommend you use. Or bring bikes and bike around Oxford. Incidentally, if you attempt to rent a punt (boat) to go punting on the river, we recommend you do so only if you are a strong swimmer as learning to control a punt is incredibly difficult, but as all such things- it looks so easy.

Cambridge is a very pleasant town not far from Oxford. There are many things to see and do in Cambridge, but because it is a smaller in size, Cambridge is the best choice to visit during the school year, but if classes are out Oxford is boss.

Stonehenge & Avebury

Stonehenge is a famous prehistoric ritual site made up of a circular formation of enormous boulders. There are various theories on the origins of Stonehenge, but it is acknowledged that it served as an astronomical observatory and it had major religious significance. Visitors have come in increasing numbers over the years so to protect the site, it can only be observed at a distance, so don’t expect to be able to walk around the boulders.

Avebury is not far away and it is also a magnificent prehistoric site. Unlike Stonehenge, Avebury is still fully accessible to visitors. It is certainly worth a visit.

Cotswolds

The farm fields and gentle rolling hills of the Cotswolds are an gorgeous area west of Oxford, east of Gloucester, and running north up to an area south of Birmingham, in southwest England. The Government has designated it as an ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ (AONB). It is best to visit this unusually picturesque area off season. Should you visit during the warm months avoid the larger towns and you will not in any way lesson your experience. There is a National Trail called ‘The Cotswold Way’ which is a hiking footpath that runs for 102 miles (164 km) along the dramatic escarpment of the Cotswold Hills from Bath north and then parallel to Gloucester and then north through the countryside to the west of Cheltenham and then north to Chipping Campden. Several prehistoric sites are close to the trail and are worth visiting.

Glastonbury & Its Festival

Of interest to those with of a spiritual, New Age, NeoPagan, Traditional Craft, or Transitional Community orientation, Glastonbury, in Somerset, southwest England, is of special significance. If you are of like mind, you will find this small town an interesting place to visit. For some, it is a place of pilgrimage to experience its special energy-matrix, similar to that of Sedona, Arizona, with the convergence of energy lines, or lay lines, close to the town. Glastonbury also has its share of myths as it is thought by some as the possible location of King Arthur’s Isle of Avalon. In any event, it is certainly a unique place with interesting people.

Since the 1970’s, Glastonbury has been famous for its open-air performing arts festival, which actually takes place in the small town of Pilton, near Glastonbury. The Glastonbury Festival is a music festival that has drawn some of the leading pop and rock musicians, but there is also live theatre, comedy, and dance productions, a circus, a cabaret, and other arts. The Festival usually takes place in the latter part of June, but did not occur in 2012 due to the 2012 London Olympics. In 2011, tickets sold out within four hours of going on sale. You have to plan well ahead if you want to attend.

Cornwall’s Eden Project

Although Cornwall is itself an interesting county, of special interest is an astonishing place called the Eden Project. It consists of two incredibly enormous domes with secondary supporting domes that make up the world’s largest greenhouse. This is a green-conscious facility that is huge in size. If you arrive by foot, bike, or by public transportation, you will qualify for the «Green Discount» of £19.50 for admission. Although expensive, it is well-worth it.

Inside the first dome is a tropical rainforest environment and the second has a Mediterranean environment. Thousands upon thousands of plants and trees are carefully tended. You are able to follow a path through these domed environments. It is a pleasant and beautiful experience. It is located in the countryside 1¼ miles (2 km) from the town of St. Blazey and 3 miles (5 km) from St. Austell.

The Lake District

Another especially beautiful area are the mountains and serene lakes of The Lake District, also called ‘The Lakes’, in northwest England, that essentially is the national park of the same name. The pastoral mountain scenery of The Lakes is breathtaking with stunning views comparable with any you will find in Switzerland. The mountains with its natural lakes and beautiful rustic villages was the inspiration for some of England’s leading romantic poets of the 19th century including Wordsworth and Coleridge.

Manchester

Manchester is an impressive city in the north of England that has transformed itself into a modern metropolis that has fully embraced the 21st century like few others in Europe. Many consider Manchester as the most dynamic city in England if not in Europe, and after London the most important city in England.

Manchester is a lively city with a very active nightlife, a lively fine arts scene, the place of a ‘musical revolution’, and has a considerable amount of modern architecture. It is clearly the city of the future and it is the only English city to carefully plan for orderly and planned residential expansion. It has been compared to Barcelona in its uniqueness and modernity. It is a wonderful place for a vacation, and it is cheaper, friendlier, and more pleasant than London– but that is a personal opinion. Manchester has five universities and a very active night scene.

Thomas Russell ‘s name is synonymous with the Lancashire watch making industry and he is an icon for watch purists and enthusiasts around the world. But how he came to become a watchmaker and why Lancashire played such an important role in the watchmaking industry is a fascinating story.

In the 17th century farmers and agricultural workers who needed to supplement their income during the winter months undertook much of the work of watchmaking. In and around Lancashire this was particularly important and the proximity of metalworking, the availability of fine metal tools and the port of Liverpool aided the growth of the industry. By the 18th century watch parts were being sub-contracted to small farms and cottages throughout the region.

Another factor in the growth of this cottage industry were the significant lower overheads that the farmers enjoyed as part-time workers in their own homes. Elsewhere wages were the largest contributor to the total cost of watch manufacturing with the cost of raw materials, apart from gold and silver used in the making of expensive cases, relatively small.

One commentator notes that, «From Prescott to Liverpool, eight miles as the crow flies, the countryside was dotted with the cottages of spring makers, wheel cutters, chain makers, case makers, dial makers – every speciality that went into the making of a watch.» By the end of the 18th century between 150,000 and 200,000 watches a year were being produced by this system, satisfying the national need for accurate timekeeping as the industrial revolution took hold.

The Lancashire sub-contracting system allowed the production of watch movements at such low prices that by the end of the 18th century, the Lancashire manufacturers were supplying most of the great watch firms in London, Coventry and Liverpool. All that these firms needed to do was to make or source their own case and dial, and then assemble the watch.

Thomas Russell joined this hive of activity in 1848 when he moved his business as a watch manufacturer to Slater Street in Liverpool. The city was a major seafaring port and the manufacture of ships’ clocks and chronometers became an important revenue stream for the business.

Thomas Russell’s father, also named Thomas Russell (1780-1830), the founder of this watchmaking dynasty, was born in Eskdale a small village in Cumberland. He served his time in watchmaking in New St. Broughton-in-Furness Lancashire under William Bellman, he then served his journeyman time with William Wakefield in Market St Lancaster where he later started a business of his own in the same street.

He had two sons; one named Thomas was married to Mary in 1831. They also had two sons, Thomas Robert (1833-1894) born in Lancaster and Alfred Holgate Russell (1840-1893). In about 1840 the family moved to Halifax setting up a watchmaking business in Lord St. It was here that Alfred was born.

By 1848 the family had moved once more and records show that Thomas Russell was a watch manufacturer with premises at 20 or 22 Slater Street, Liverpool and later at number 32 in the same street. It was here that Thomas Russell became arguably Liverpool ‘s finest watchmaker and the business produced quality watches and clocks, including the celebrated Russell Hunter pocket watch. Thomas Senior and his oldest son Thomas Robert were granted a Royal Warrant by Queen Victoria indicating their rapid progress in watch manufacturing.

Around 1859, Thomas handed over control of the business to his sons Thomas Robert and Alfred Holgate and the company changed its name to Thomas Russell & Son. Following Thomas Russell’s death in 1867 the business was divided into two; the trade side continued under the same name and was run by Alfred and Thomas ran Russells Limited. The retail business became importers of Swiss watches and music boxes.

By 1877 the company had moved the business once more, this time to Cathedral Works, 12 Church Street, Liverpool, with additional offices at Piccadilly in London and Toronto, Canada. It was now known as the Russell Watch and Chronometer Manufactory and was listed in 1880 as «watch and chronometer manufacturers and machine made keyless lever and jewellery merchants» and additionally, «by Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen and HRM the Duke of Edinburgh and the Admiralty».

After Queen Victoria’s death, Thomas Russell still signed their watches «Makers to Queen Victoria» even though officially the warrant had ceased with the Queens death. This was tolerated for a time before they removed this from their watches.

Following the deaths of Thomas Robert and Alfred Holgate, Alfred’s son Bernard Holgate Russell and his cousin Thos Townsend Russell took over the company and the name of the business was changed in 1894 to Russells Limited. From this date it appears that they continued as retail jewellers with several branches in Liverpool and, by the early 1900’s, Manchester and Llandudno as well.

Bernard married and had a son Thomas Graham (1906-1999). In 1915 Bernard and Thos Townsend Russell invited Joseph Wright to become a fellow director of Thos Russell & Son. Joseph had extensive trade knowledge, travelled extensively and had business contacts in Switzerland and working experience with the famous American Illinois Watch Case Co.

The sons of these directors all seemed to have worked in and run the business in later years. During WW2 Joseph Wright kept the firm going despite wartime shortages of materials and men until the sons returned from the war. In about 1994 both the retail Liverpool Russells Ltd and the workshops and offices at 12 Church Street closed their doors for the last time.

If you thought that Liverpool was just about football and the Beatles, then it may surprise you to learn that there is a thriving international airport in the city.

Here are 10 things you didn’t know about Liverpool Airport

1. Liverpool Airport was established in 1928, and the first flight took off in 1933. The airport celebrated its 75th birthday in July 2008.

2. This airport is one of the fastest growing UK airports, and is a viable alternative to Manchester and the London airports for a lot of passengers.

3. Liverpool John Lennon airport had over 5.5 million passengers in 2007, and this figure is set to increase dramatically with the success of Liverpool as the 2008 European Capital of Culture.

4. Over 60 domestic and European destinations can be reached from the airport in Liverpool. These are served by some of the leading low cost airlines, to make travel worldwide accessible to as many people as possible.

5. Over the last 8 years, more than £100m has been spent to improve the terminal building, runways, and hangars. Liverpool John Lennon Airport has increased its capacity, increased the number of passengers and increased the number of airlines flying from this airport.

6. The airport was rebranded in 2002 as Liverpool John Lennon Airport, with Yoko Ono unveiling a 7ft statue of her late husband. The city is forever linked with the Beatles and John Lennon, and their music is well known worldwide. It is fitting then, that the line «above us only sky» from John Lennon’s song Imagine, is part of the logo and branding for the airport.

7. The new terminal building at Liverpool Airport was officially opened by the queen in July 2002. This new building has improved facilities for passengers, including more restaurants, and retail outlets so that passengers can buy last minute essentials before they travel. In addition, there are internet ready computers, and wi-fi access is available to those with suitable devices.

8. Unusually for an airport there is a prayer room. This area gives passengers the time and space they need for their own private prayers and thoughts. There is also a dedicated garden area where passengers can spend time.

9. In keeping with a city famed for its culture, art collections are exhibited around the airport. These are for the benefit of passengers, and also for the artists themselves. Currently, the artwork is Beatles themed, and there is also an exhibition of fossils from southern Germany.

10. Liverpool Airport was proud to win the 2007 UK Airport of the year. This award was in recognition of the redevelopment and increase in passenger numbers, as well as other factors.

Now you know more about the airport and city, isn’t it time your next flight began, or ended at Liverpool John Lennon Airport?