Travel
Ellie has written about travel for a number of publications. Some examples are below.
For every region of Italy that's well known to travellers from Britain, there's another quieter and less-explored option.
The Telegraph
26 May 2007
Everybody loves Italy: according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, between four and five million Britons choose to take their holidays there each year. It’s hardly surprising, then, that there exist parts of Italy that are more firmly lodged in the British national consciousness than many corners of our own country (it’s not for nothing that one of the most enduringly popular areas of Tuscany has become known as “Chiantishire”). Such places draw their visitor numbers for a good reason; but there remain countless parts of Italy that are less familiar but equally rewarding. Here’s our pick of them. Read more...
With new venues, a packed arts calendar and its forthcoming turn as European Capital of Culture, Liverpool is enjoying a Renaissance - and the Merseyside coast has its own attractions.
The Telegraph
21 April 2007
For many people, say the words heritage and Liverpool in the same sentence and they’ll come up with the two words that make Liverpudlians both extremely proud but also rather irritated — The Beatles. For although there is much to be proud of when it comes to the Fab Four, there’s a lot more to the city’s cultural heritage than people first assume, as being awarded European Capital of Culture 2008 shows. That will merely be the icing on the cake however, as pride at the city’s 800th anniversary of its first city charter granted by King John has already led to a distinct burst of energy in the city. John Lennon may once have proclaimed his group more popular than Jesus, and many of the visitors to the city may only have one thing on their mind; but the biggest thing on the city’s skyline is in fact Jesus, or rather the city’s two cathedrals. Read more...
Dance floored
Flamenco is about clicking your heels and wearing flowers in your hair, right? Ellie Levenson is put through her paces at one of Spain's most famous dancing schools
Guardian Unlimited
4 August 2004
A few months ago I saw a fantastic performance of flamenco in London. One of the best-received dancers was an old fat lady. It struck me that flamenco is one of the only kinds of dancing that you can do regardless of age and size. All it required was passion, and, it seemed, the ability to scowl while on stage, something I'm certainly capable of. Flamenco, I thought, was the kind of dance for me. To dance flamenco you have to be able to do several things. You need to be able to count, listen, move, watch, stamp your feet and twiddle your hands all at the same time. I am good at some of these things by themselves - I like to think I stamp my feet particularly well. However, all at the same time is rather difficult. Read more...
Point break
When Ellie Levenson volunteered to help on a kids' activity holiday she didn't expect to have fun - not least when covered in mud and swinging from trees
Guardian Unlimited
23 December 2003
I had two reasons for signing up as a volunteer on a children's activity holida in Devon. The first was that I had a lot of annual leave left but no money to g anywhere. The second was that, well, it was a terribly worthy thing to do. I wor in politics and frequently work on projects that talk about child poverty or quality o life but I wasn't doing anything on a practical level. A holiday as a volunteer, thought, would give me kudos in the office - there would be an air about me o someone who doesn't just think about these issues, but who acts on them. I didn' really think that I might enjoy it. Country Holidays for Inner City Kids (Chicks) is a charity that takes disadvantaged children on activity holidays. Chicks has two bases, Milton Abbot in Devon and St Austell in Cornwall. I stayed at the Devon base, about half a mile from the Cornwall border. As soon as the Chicks van picked me up from Exeter I knew it was going to be a good week - on the hour long drive from Exeter to the edge of Dartmoor there were lollipops aplenty. Read more...
For every region of Italy that's well known to travellers from Britain, there's another quieter and less-explored option.
The Telegraph
26 May 2007
Everybody loves Italy: according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, between four and five million Britons choose to take their holidays there each year. It’s hardly surprising, then, that there exist parts of Italy that are more firmly lodged in the British national consciousness than many corners of our own country (it’s not for nothing that one of the most enduringly popular areas of Tuscany has become known as “Chiantishire”). Such places draw their visitor numbers for a good reason; but there remain countless parts of Italy that are less familiar but equally rewarding. Here’s our pick of them. Read more...
With new venues, a packed arts calendar and its forthcoming turn as European Capital of Culture, Liverpool is enjoying a Renaissance - and the Merseyside coast has its own attractions.
The Telegraph
21 April 2007
For many people, say the words heritage and Liverpool in the same sentence and they’ll come up with the two words that make Liverpudlians both extremely proud but also rather irritated — The Beatles. For although there is much to be proud of when it comes to the Fab Four, there’s a lot more to the city’s cultural heritage than people first assume, as being awarded European Capital of Culture 2008 shows. That will merely be the icing on the cake however, as pride at the city’s 800th anniversary of its first city charter granted by King John has already led to a distinct burst of energy in the city. John Lennon may once have proclaimed his group more popular than Jesus, and many of the visitors to the city may only have one thing on their mind; but the biggest thing on the city’s skyline is in fact Jesus, or rather the city’s two cathedrals. Read more...
Dance floored
Flamenco is about clicking your heels and wearing flowers in your hair, right? Ellie Levenson is put through her paces at one of Spain's most famous dancing schools
Guardian Unlimited
4 August 2004
A few months ago I saw a fantastic performance of flamenco in London. One of the best-received dancers was an old fat lady. It struck me that flamenco is one of the only kinds of dancing that you can do regardless of age and size. All it required was passion, and, it seemed, the ability to scowl while on stage, something I'm certainly capable of. Flamenco, I thought, was the kind of dance for me. To dance flamenco you have to be able to do several things. You need to be able to count, listen, move, watch, stamp your feet and twiddle your hands all at the same time. I am good at some of these things by themselves - I like to think I stamp my feet particularly well. However, all at the same time is rather difficult. Read more...
Point break
When Ellie Levenson volunteered to help on a kids' activity holiday she didn't expect to have fun - not least when covered in mud and swinging from trees
Guardian Unlimited
23 December 2003
I had two reasons for signing up as a volunteer on a children's activity holida in Devon. The first was that I had a lot of annual leave left but no money to g anywhere. The second was that, well, it was a terribly worthy thing to do. I wor in politics and frequently work on projects that talk about child poverty or quality o life but I wasn't doing anything on a practical level. A holiday as a volunteer, thought, would give me kudos in the office - there would be an air about me o someone who doesn't just think about these issues, but who acts on them. I didn' really think that I might enjoy it. Country Holidays for Inner City Kids (Chicks) is a charity that takes disadvantaged children on activity holidays. Chicks has two bases, Milton Abbot in Devon and St Austell in Cornwall. I stayed at the Devon base, about half a mile from the Cornwall border. As soon as the Chicks van picked me up from Exeter I knew it was going to be a good week - on the hour long drive from Exeter to the edge of Dartmoor there were lollipops aplenty. Read more...