Short articles for web sites
Fortnum and Mason
From the minute you pass through its elegant doors, you know this is no ordinary grocery store. By the time Charles Fortnum left the service of the mad King George in 1788 to join the family firm, the store was already established in London society. It provided foodstuffs for British expeditions, supplied Royalty with tea and even bought the first batch of tinned baked beans in 1886 – from Mr Heinz himself.
Nowadays you have to battle through hordes of Japanese tourists to even get in, who all giggle in delight over an entire four shelf display of different types of shortbread. The deep plush carpets and staff in tailcoats impose a gentile hush, and you can be heard as you sniff appreciatively at the fresh chocolates.
Prices here are not for the faint-hearted. The quintessential English afternoon tea (served between 3pm and 5.30pm) includes fresh cut sandwiches, scones, and pastries served with a Classic tea, and will set you back a whopping £22. Upgrade to champagne, and it’s an eye-watering £30.
The floors above are a delight of elegant goods. Buy a greeting card from the third floor; they are beautiful and reasonably priced, and you get it in a natty Fortnum’s bag. Result.
(200 words, written for www.gusto.com, a US travel web site. 90% of London tourist attraction reviews on Gusto are mine.)
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The Animals - House of the Rising Sun
British band The Animals released their LP in two different formats, one for the US market and one for the UK. The US version features their first two singles and two songs written by Fats Domino, 'I’ve Been Around' and 'I'm in Love Again'.
Of course the track that sticks in everyone’s head is 'The House of the Rising Sun', a haunting tale of a boy lost to the temptations of vice. The original blues song was first recorded in 1928, but it’s the croaking vocals of despair from Eric Burdon, “And God, I know, I’m one” that sealed its fate as an anthem for lost opportunity. British Prime Minister Tony Blair claimed it was the first tune he ever learned to play on guitar.
However, it’s the organ playing of Alan Price that sets the seal on the doomed boy’s fate, his Vox Continental giving a quasi-revivalist twist to the sad and sorry tale. Price’s roots in rhythm and blues gave his dramatic arrangement of the song added depth and pathos, ensuring it is his arrangement that most people recognise as the definitive version. Pity he moved on to the cheesy embarrassment of tracks such as 'Simon Smith And His Amazing Dancing Bear'.
(204 words, written for a US site selling musical kit used on famous album tracks. www.getthatsound.com)
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© Copyright Invaluable Resource and original clients. All rights reserved.
return to Sample Articles page
From the minute you pass through its elegant doors, you know this is no ordinary grocery store. By the time Charles Fortnum left the service of the mad King George in 1788 to join the family firm, the store was already established in London society. It provided foodstuffs for British expeditions, supplied Royalty with tea and even bought the first batch of tinned baked beans in 1886 – from Mr Heinz himself.
Nowadays you have to battle through hordes of Japanese tourists to even get in, who all giggle in delight over an entire four shelf display of different types of shortbread. The deep plush carpets and staff in tailcoats impose a gentile hush, and you can be heard as you sniff appreciatively at the fresh chocolates.
Prices here are not for the faint-hearted. The quintessential English afternoon tea (served between 3pm and 5.30pm) includes fresh cut sandwiches, scones, and pastries served with a Classic tea, and will set you back a whopping £22. Upgrade to champagne, and it’s an eye-watering £30.
The floors above are a delight of elegant goods. Buy a greeting card from the third floor; they are beautiful and reasonably priced, and you get it in a natty Fortnum’s bag. Result.
(200 words, written for www.gusto.com, a US travel web site. 90% of London tourist attraction reviews on Gusto are mine.)
------------------
The Animals - House of the Rising Sun
British band The Animals released their LP in two different formats, one for the US market and one for the UK. The US version features their first two singles and two songs written by Fats Domino, 'I’ve Been Around' and 'I'm in Love Again'.
Of course the track that sticks in everyone’s head is 'The House of the Rising Sun', a haunting tale of a boy lost to the temptations of vice. The original blues song was first recorded in 1928, but it’s the croaking vocals of despair from Eric Burdon, “And God, I know, I’m one” that sealed its fate as an anthem for lost opportunity. British Prime Minister Tony Blair claimed it was the first tune he ever learned to play on guitar.
However, it’s the organ playing of Alan Price that sets the seal on the doomed boy’s fate, his Vox Continental giving a quasi-revivalist twist to the sad and sorry tale. Price’s roots in rhythm and blues gave his dramatic arrangement of the song added depth and pathos, ensuring it is his arrangement that most people recognise as the definitive version. Pity he moved on to the cheesy embarrassment of tracks such as 'Simon Smith And His Amazing Dancing Bear'.
(204 words, written for a US site selling musical kit used on famous album tracks. www.getthatsound.com)
---------------------
© Copyright Invaluable Resource and original clients. All rights reserved.
return to Sample Articles page
