Writing

Essays on place, culture and the spaces in between.

It’s Class, That!
Culture Joel Beighton Culture Joel Beighton

It’s Class, That!

Travelling has a funny way of sharpening your view of home. After months spent moving between countries, I found myself noticing how strangely we talk about class in Britain, often reducing something deeply nuanced into a handful of lazy stereotypes.

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Look At The Plates
Food Joel Beighton Food Joel Beighton

Look At The Plates

When travelling, there’s a long list of advice people give about how to find a good place to eat. But I’ve never seen anyone say what I am about to reveal…

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Pizza, Oh Dear
Food Joel Beighton Food Joel Beighton

Pizza, Oh Dear

I interrupt my usual travel writing (no, this is not a travel blog) with something closer to home. Pizza.

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A Change of Pace
Place Joel Beighton Place Joel Beighton

A Change of Pace

I am now in Koh Kood and shifting here has been a change of pace. After the bustle of Bangkok, and the constant movement of travelling through Australia, it’s been quietly comforting to spend a couple of weeks in one spot. To wake up without needing to think too far ahead. To let the days arrive as they are.

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Unfamiliar Kitchens
Food Joel Beighton Food Joel Beighton

Unfamiliar Kitchens

Eating out is one of the great joys of travel. I love food and I love trying as broad a range of things as possible while away, ideally local and ideally seasonal. We spend a lot of time planning what and where to eat on our trips to make sure we experience the best and most authentic food a place has to offer.

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Trattoria Aldo
Food Joel Beighton Food Joel Beighton

Trattoria Aldo

We take a left from the busy streets of the market. Catania is as edgy as I recall - the dark grey buildings, narrow streets and looming Mount Etna giving it a totally different feel to the baroque hillside towns of the Val Di Noto, where we have just come from.

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