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Victoria Trott

@trottaround.bsky.social
360 followers 221 following 144 posts

Travel writer. Franco-phoney.

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Victoria Trott @trottaround.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I’m in The I today talking about guinguettes in the Loire valley inews.co.uk/inews-lifest...
inews.co.uk
The perfect, low-key way to enjoy the Loire like the French do
A riverside culinary tradition with a louche history has been transformed by creative chefs, DJs, and pétanque
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Victoria Trott @trottaround.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Oldest library on Iberian Peninsula found in a villa in Córdoba www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2026/07/t...
labrujulaverde.com
The Oldest Library in the Iberian Peninsula and the Westernmost in the Entire Empire Found in a Roman Villa in Córdoba
A team from the University of Granada has confirmed that a room in the Roman villa of Fuente Álamo, in the municipality of Puente Genil, functioned as a library, making it the oldest documented in the...
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Connie Chen 陳穎慈 @conniechiiiwa.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Ready for the SF Art Book Fair! 😅📚
Navy blue tote bag with white text reading “IF YOU GO HOME WITH SOMEBODY, & THEY DONT HAVE BOOKS, DONT FUCK ‘EM.” JOHN WATERS
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Katieboo @k8tshires.eurosky.social · 22/07/2026
France, heatwave excess deaths: "From June 17 to July 2, 2026, the public health institute reported 5,764 excess deaths from all causes in the 92 departments affected by the heatwave. This equates to a 36% excess mortality rate."
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Actual names @actualnames.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Fanny Fest England and Wales, Census, 1851
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Annie Bennett @anniebennett.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Tourists throng to Valencia’s spectacular Mercado Central, where they queue up for portions of paella that have to be eaten outside the market. A new strategy is needed to improve their experience as well as help stallholders and regular customers, writes @pacoalanaranja.es
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 13/05/2026
EU proposes end to ‘five tabs, three apps and a prayer’ for cross-border train bookings
theguardian.com
EU proposes end to ‘five tabs, three apps and a prayer’ for cross-border train bookings
New rules would enable single-ticket bookings across multiple rail operators throughout Europe Cross-border train journeys through several European countries are the stuff of many a holidaymaker’s dreams. But the reality of trying to buy the tickets, navigating multiple websites without knowing who can help if a connection is missed, can prove less than relaxing. As one MEP puts it, it can often require “five tabs, three apps and a prayer”. Continue reading...
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 04/05/2026
‘It’s a world heritage site, but it’s my home’: the last resident of Casa Milà on life in Gaudí’s masterwork
theguardian.com
‘It’s a world heritage site, but it’s my home’: the last resident of Casa Milà on life in Gaudí’s masterwork
Ana Viladomiu has been a ‘privileged’ resident of the once derided, now revered Barcelona apartment building for almost 40 years
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Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Traditional Friday reminder of my book #IntoTheGroove, a chronological travelogue through the pop and surrounding events of the 1980s, including just about every genre you can think of. These people enjoyed it! Maybe you will too! Reposts welcome.
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Emma Pearson @emmapearson.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
French politics is moving pretty fast at the moment, but this episode that we recorded 4 1/2 hours ago is still 99% accurate . .
pod.fo
Talking France: Tense French elections head for super Sunday climax and five French towns worth moving to
The Local’s Talking France podcast is attracting more and more listeners each week and we currently have over 12,000 monthly downloads on average. If your company would like to connect with our i...
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Emma Pearson @emmapearson.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Turns out the French health ministry has a tool that will create for you a weekly menu plan and, well, I think I might need to renegotiate my working hours in order to create the recommended entrée-plat-dessert lunch and dinner every day 🐟🥦🧀🍷
thelocal.fr
French menus: How to eat as the French government advises
Want to fully integrate and eat breakfast, lunch and dinner like a French person? The French government's health ministry will create for you a weekly menu of three-course meals - so we tried it out.
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Caroline Mills @carolinemills99.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
One of the last sunsets to see over #Paris from the Tour Montparnasse before the observation deck and 210m-high tower closes at the end of March. The tower will reopen in 2030 following a massive renovation programme.
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Tim Hannigan @timhannigan.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
One for the #TravelWriting scholars. Samia Ounoughi and I seem to have been working on this book forever, but it's out at last! It features a great range of contributions. If you have access to an academic library and an interest in travel writing scholarship, please request a copy!
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Mary Novakovich @marynovakovich.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
I've been invited by Intrepid Times to host another travel-writing workshop, which takes place this Sunday. I'll be showing how to find the right publication for your story, and how to make the most of your travels. Details below. @travwriters.bsky.social intrepidtimes.com/travel-writi...
intrepidtimes.com
Travel Writing Workshop - Mary Novakovich - March 2026 - Intrepid Times
Prolific travel writer Mary Novakovich shares hard-won, practical tips to help new travel writers target their pitches and get published
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Mary Novakovich @marynovakovich.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Marking World Book Day by being immensely chuffed that @itsjamesstewart.bsky.social included my Croatia travelogue My Family and Other Enemies in his Croatia feature in the new issue of National Geographic Traveller. Details here if you fancy buying it. linktr.ee/marynovakovich
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ChrisInParis @chrisinparis.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Brilliant work by @ledbydonkeys.org with this one. The Bored of Peace team is made up of the worst of the world.
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Vaucluse Dreamer @vauclusedreamer.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Just collected the paintings we were bidding for, on a wall, by an old fort, high above Nice on Tuesday morning ... We're even happier with them than we ever imagined ... The irises are stunning and if anyone recognises the town, we'd love to know where it is 😍
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Emma Pearson @emmapearson.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Too right French crisps are depraved! In the best possible way . . . If you are not already aware of the wonders of Brets, I urge you to remedy this immediately
theguardian.com
Forget all the artisanal cheese. French crisps are absolutely depraved | Emma Beddington
A trip to the supermarché this Christmas opened my eyes to crisps flavoured with Flemish stew, salted butter and other flagrant crimes, writes Emma Beddington
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Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
Just some of those we lost in 2025. The gaps are there for us to remember those close to us. Wishing us all a better 2026. x
RIP 2025

Namewall of some noteworthy names who died in 2025. 

There was too much text for one ALT description, so Part 2 and 3 to follow.

Part 1: Jan - Apr 

JAN:  
A.D.O.R. / David Lodge / Wayne Osmond / 
The Vivienne / Brenton Wood / Barbara Clegg 
Laurie Holloway
Christopher Benjamin / Sam Moore 
Keith Dewhurst / Merle Louise / Joel Paley 
Tony Slattery / Gwen Watkins 
Paul Danan / Diane Langton / Linda Nolan 
David Lynch / Joan Plowright 
Jules Feiffer / Denis Law 
Geoff Nicholson / Claire van Kampen 
John Sykes / Garth Hudson 
Charlotte Raven 
Elisa Rae Shupe 
Christopher Hughes 
Marianne Faithfull 

FEB: Brian Murphy 
Dave Jerden / Mike Ratledge 
Dafydd Elis-Thomas / Tony Roberts 
Tom Robbins 
Tony Kinsey 
Nike Arrighi / Tommy Hunt / Simon Mawer 
Steve Hodson / Julian Holloway / Kim Sae-ron
Rick Buckler / Jamie Muir 
Gene Hackman 
Jerry Butler
Gwen McCrae 
Bill Fay 
Chris Jasper 
Roberta Flack / Robert John 
Henry Kelly 
Boris Spassky 

MAR: 
Bill Dare / Marged Esli / Joey Molland / Angie Stone 
Kathryn Apanowicz / Geraint Jarman
Roy Ayers 
Brian James / Troy Seals 
Richard Fortey / D’Wayne Wiggins
Bill Ashton / Athol Fugard 
Stedman Pearson 
Cocoa Tea
Sofia Gubaidulina
Eddie Jordan 
George Foreman 
Gillian Baxter / Andy Peebles
Jemini the Gifted One 
Richard Chamberlain 
Lee Montague 

APR
Val Kilmer / Johnny Tillotson
Clem Burke
Ted Kotcheff / Nino Tempo
Mike Berry / Max Romeo 
Roy Thomas Baker 
Jean Marsh / Mario Vargas Llosa 
Wink Martindale
Mac Gayden 
Colin Berry 
Clodagh Rodgers
Pope Francis
David Thomas
Virginia Giuffre / Philip Lowrie
Jane Gardam / Mike Peters
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Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
Looks like this is happening on Monday on 6Music then! How exciting. #IntoTheGroove
Details of Craig Charles’s 6Music show this Monday afternoon, 15 Dec, 1-4pm.

‘Author Justin Lewis joins Craig to talk about his new book, Into the Groove: The 1980s: The Ultimate Decade in Music History’.
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Margaret Brown @magstheobscure.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Little heads up for you @whenisbirths.bsky.social Into The Groove is in the Kindle Monthly Deal for 99p amzn.eu/d/9nO6k7Q
amzn.eu
Into the Groove: The 1980s: The Ultimate Decade in Music History - The perfect stocking filler for the pop aficionado in your life
Into the Groove: The 1980s: The Ultimate Decade in Music History - The perfect stocking filler for the pop aficionado in your life eBook : Lewis, Justin: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
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Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Finally got it to work. You can now transfer this to the streaming platform of your choice. #ChristmasInContext 1960-2020 www.tunemymusic.com/share/k1ji1C...
tunemymusic.com
Christmas in Context
justlewis70 shared this playlist with you. shared via @tunemymusic
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Jane Mayl🍷n 🍇 @janetrad.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
The World Championship of Pâté en Croute just announced first prize...and it looks delicious. Entries were genuinely from around the world, with some brilliant offerings from Japan, but the winner Thibault Gonzales comes from Thuir, in the Pyrenees Orientales, near me.
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Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
An honour to talk to @emmaandersonmusic.bsky.social for #FirstLastAnything. Includes a terrific playlist too.
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Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Four weeks to Christmas Day, and this is already being described by some as the ideal stocking filler! And I would agree. #IntoTheGroove
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Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Two years exactly since my previous book #DontStopTheMusic was published in the UK, coincidentally on the same day that the last single by the Beatles came out. Thanks to everyone for buying it and supporting it as it helped me to get #IntoTheGroove published. It’s still available too!
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Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
I think there are still tickets available for this: I will be talking to the great @quantick.bsky.social about my #IntoTheGroove book and 80s pop history at Waterstones Hastings, this Wednesday at 5pm. www.waterstones.com/events/justi...
Pics of me, David Quantick and the cover of my book 
Into The Groove: The 1980s: The Ultimate Decade in Music History.

Waterstones Hastings
Wed 22 Oct 2025 at 5pm
Tickets £3 in advance

Ticket redeemable against cost of the book. Purchase in store or email hastings@waterstones.com to reserve your spot.
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Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
This is a 300-track chronologically arranged (1980-1989) extended playlist for my new book, #IntoTheGroove, still not even half the stuff that’s featured within, but it gives you an idea. Enjoy! www.tunemymusic.com/share/kQHEUO...
tunemymusic.com
Into the Groove: Extended 300-Track Playlist Compiled by Justin Lewis
justlewis70 shared this playlist with you. shared via @tunemymusic
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Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
#IntoTheGroove in the Mail on Sunday!
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Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
My thanks to @bernardhughes.bsky.social for this marvellous review of #IntoTheGroove!
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Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
It's got everyone in it from Paul Young to Young Marble Giants, and from Salt-N-Pepa to Chas & Dave. #IntoTheGroove, my new book, the month-by-month story of 1980s pop, out on Thurs 2 Oct from @eandtbooks.bsky.social. Pre-order from everywhere and anywhere, eg: uk.bookshop.org/p/books/into...
Cover for my new book:
INTO THE GROOVE: THE 1980s: THE ULTIMATE DECADE IN MUSIC HISTORY by Justin Lewis

'Forensic, forthright and downright unputdownable' 
IAN WADE
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Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
A local launch event for #IntoTheGroove. If you’re in the Swansea area, please come. (Other event plans elsewhere in a pipeline).
Launch event for Justin Lewis’s INTO THE GROOVE: THE 1980s: THE ULTIMATE DECADE IN MUSIC HISTORY. 

Mumbles Tabernacle, Swansea, Wed 15 Oct at 7pm
Tickets £7.50 through Cover to Cover Bookshop, Mumbles, Swansea.
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Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
It is happening. Do come if you can! Wed 22 Oct at 5pm. #IntoTheGroove #Hastings
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Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
NEW! For ep 27 of my music textcast #FirstLastAnything, broadcaster and writer @benbaker.bsky.social tells me how pop coalesced for his teenage self in the mid-90s, about silliness in music, and his work for internet station @noiseboxradio.com. firstlastanything.co.uk/2025/08/17/f...
firstlastanything.co.uk
FLA 27: Ben Baker (17/08/2025)
I began as a fan of Ben Baker’s work, before I became a friend. I’m still a fan – should clarify that. For nearly twenty years now, I’ve been listening to and enjoying his various podcasts, which l…
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Victoria Trott @trottaround.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
Malibu? No, Swansea Bay this morning
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Justin Lewis @whenisbirths.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
Back next Sunday. #FirstLastAnything
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Freelancing for Journalists @freelancingfor.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Just 7 days left to secure a place on this remote journalism work experience scheme! Register before March 17 to ensure you get a spot. Full details here: www.tickettailor.com/events/freel...?
tickettailor.com
Buy tickets – Journalism Work Experience and Mentorship Scheme – Zoom
Are you struggling to find work experience as a journalism student, graduate or aspiring journalist? Would you like the opportu...
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Emma Pearson @emmapearson.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
Incredibly dishonest polling and reporting, implying that most people in France are against abortion. In fact well over 80% *support* the right to abortion. Pollsters asked things like - is it better to avoid abortion if possible? Abortion is no-one's Plan A, but having it as a Plan B is vital
lejdd.fr
SONDAGE - IVG : 81 % des Français favorables à une politique de prévention
EXCLUSIF. Un an après l’inscription de l’IVG dans la Constitution, un sondage Ifop pour Alliance Vita révèle l’opinion des Français sur l’avortement.
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ChrisInParis @chrisinparis.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Fro those making summer plans, keep in mind that Airbnb is part of the problem in many ways, including one of the co-founders who has joined the DC madness. No need to give your money to these assholes who support the orange guy and his world vision. www.reuters.com/world/us/air...
reuters.com
Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia to join Musk’s DOGE, NYT says
Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia is joining the Department of Government Efficiency along with Elon Musk, the New York Times said on Thursday, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.
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Victoria Trott @trottaround.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
The cheap, flight-free city break that’s a low-key alternative to Bruges - I give you Mechelen in The I Paper inews.co.uk/inews-lifest...
inews.co.uk
The cheap, flight-free city break that's a low-key alternative to Bruges
Mechelen, a multi-cultural city of 89,000 inhabitants, has an illustrious history
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Victoria Trott @trottaround.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Hello from Mechelen, the arty beer-loving Belgian city you’ve probably never heard of
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Esme Fox @esmefox.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
I've just sent out my #Barcelona newsletter The 'B' Word all about the city's Chinese connection ahead of Chinese New Year. Next edition I will be moving over to Substack, please subscribe if you're interested in reading topics about the city every other week. thebarcelonaword.substack.com #Spain
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Annie Bennett @anniebennett.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
Deep joy: Wales embraces ‘hwyl’ in tourism campaign to rival Danish ‘hygge’ www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
theguardian.com
Deep joy: Wales embraces ‘hwyl’ in tourism campaign to rival Danish ‘hygge’
‘Hwyl can raise the heartbeat or relax the body; it’s your own particular form of happiness,’ says Welsh psychologist
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Annie Bennett @anniebennett.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Go into the first bar you come across. Order a beer or a glass of wine. Have another. Eat a few slices of jamón, a few prawns, a wedge of tortilla. Costa de la Luz, Letur, Navarra, Guadalajara, Soria...my picks for 2025 ⁦ www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/desti...
telegraph.co.uk
Five overlooked corners of Spain to visit in 2025
Skip the crowds this year by heading to the country’s lesser-known destinations
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Victoria Trott @trottaround.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
“She’ll come back as fire and burn all the liars; leave a blanket of ash on the ground”
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Victoria Trott @trottaround.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
You've been kidnapped. The characters from the last TV show you watched are trying to rescue you. Who is coming to save you?"
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Charlie Connelly @charlieconnelly.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
Looks like Radio 4 Extra are re-running the 'Attention All Shipping' Book of the Week this week. This is exactly what Lord Reith had in mind when he broke out the Latin for 'inform, educate, entertain', or something. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio 4 Extra - Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast, 1. North Utsire, South Utsire, Cromarty
Charlie Connelly's voyage in search of the Shipping Forecast starts from a Norwegian isle.
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Laura Helmuth @laurahelmuth.bsky.social · 29/12/2024
Woody Guthrie wrote a song after FDR's death with a refrain that works for Jimmy Carter as well: "This world was lucky to see him born" www.woodyguthrie.org/Lyrics/Dear_...
woodyguthrie.org
"Dear Mrs. Roosevelt" ~ Woody Guthrie
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Kim Willsher @kimwillsher.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
Gisèle Pelicot has made a statement leaving the court: Her voice did break at a couple of moments but she was clear and composed. Showing exactly the same dignity as she has throughout. Apologies for clumsy translation:
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Agnes C. Poirier @agnescpoirier.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
En route to #Avignon to hear the verdict in the #Pélicot trial tomorrow morning. I would like to salute the work of @kimwillsher.bsky.com and Angelique Chrisafis who have attended almost daily since September and whose reporting has been incomparable. And to #GisèlePélicot our profound admiration.
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