Excited to be part of new copy agency set up by journalist Rowena Carr-Allinson. After spotting a gap in the market for a professional team of writers located all over the world to join forces, Rowena set up The International Copy Agency - and invited me to join the team. 

Although we specialise in travel, we are proud to be able to turn our hand to just about any type of copy quite brilliantly. We take on all kinds of projects, across platforms, ranging from SEO-friendly copy to newsletters, guidebooks, features, blog posts or good old-fashioned brochures. 

So, if you need sparkling copy for a magazine, blog or business, check us out and get in touch...

The city renowned for its glitz is shining brighter than ever this week, as more than 30 installations light up well-known buildings in the heart of the city for the inaugural Dubai Festival of Lights.

Dubai has teamed up with the French city of Lyon, whose own Festival of Lights takes place every year in December and attracts millions, to stage the event from March 20-29 in the Downtown area around the famous Burj Khalifa.

And the best bit? All the installations have been created with energy efficient lights. Here is a selection of Glen's photos of the festival...

Supercars are a dime a dozen in Dubai, but it's not every day you see a chrome Rolls Royce... bring on the bling!

Sydney’s gobsmackingly gorgeous harbour needs no introduction. While the harbour hums with activity, its eight idyllic isles are surprisingly quiet. Mid-week, you may even have their million-dollar views all to yourself.

That’s not the case come New Year’s Eve, though. Five islands – Fort Denison, Shark and Clark to the east of the Harbour Bridge, and Cockatoo and Goat to the west – are open to the public. They provide front-row seats (at a hefty price) for one of the world’s most spectacular fireworks displays. Here’s how you can enjoy Sydney’s historic harbour islands all year-round.

Read more... 

Published in lonelyplanet.com. Copyright Lonely Planet. Photo: Glen Pearson/ Lonely Planet.

It's not just flat-pack furniture and television dramas that the Scandinavians do so well – their diet is also a winner.

Gastronomy and healthy eating don't usually figure in the same sentence. Yet both foodies and health experts are singing the praises of the New Nordic Diet, which is based on seasonal berries, cold-climate vegetables, wild meat and fat-rich fish. "Like the Mediterranean diet, the Nordic diet is rich in omega-3 fats and mono-unsaturated fats, low in saturated fats and high in fibre and lean proteins," says Sydney-based dietitian Geraldine Georgeou.

Nordic food first came to international attention thanks to ground-breaking Copenhagen restaurant Noma, whose co-founders, René Redzepi and Claus Meyer, eschewed fine-dining staples like foie gras in favour of fresh and foraged local ingredients. Now, Meyer has collaborated with University of Copenhagen professor Arne Astrup on OPUS, a five-year research project on the New Nordic Diet to investigate whether it has the potential to prevent weight-related diseases, and to develop food, health and lifestyle strategies for reducing obesity.

Read more...

Published in Sunday Life. Copyright SMH.

London does pubs and pints famously well but you can increasingly add rooftop bars to the superlatives list, too.

True, summer lasts only about two weeks here but that hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm for an alfresco cocktail or two -- most of these spots are open year-round with outdoor heaters and cozy blankets if you want to leave the sheltered inside space.

These 10 panoramic places will be among the best perches in town for New Year revels. Read more...

Published in CNNTravel.com. Copyright CNN. Photo: Queen of Hoxton.

The Barmy Army is celebrating 20 years of singing, sledging Aussies and supporting England’s cricket team. LARA BRUNT caught up with co-founder PAUL BURNHAM who is in Australia for the current Ashes series.

How did the Barmy Army begin?
The Barmy Army started on the 1994-95 Ashes tour in Australia. The Aussie media called us ‘barmy’ because we were supporting a tour that was losing and ‘army’ because there was a lot of us. Everybody that was there together went to the next [England] tour in South Africa.

Now, 20 years on, we’ve got 40,000 followers on Twitter, nearly 50,000 on Facebook and nearly 30,000 members. It’s been something that’s evolved over time and it’s just about supporting the England cricket team in a positive way.

How many fans have you got travelling with you for this series?
We’ve got 700 over the five tests. Obviously, it’s lot more expensive than it used to be, but the passion for watching England abroad will always be there so people will find the money.

We’re seeing a lot of new tourists coming here who have obviously saved up for the trip, as opposed to people who are probably still recovering from how expensive it was three years’ ago [when England last toured Australia for the 2010-11 Ashes series].

Read more...

Published in Australian Times. Copyright Lara Brunt. Photo by Prescott Pym.

Want to get away this summer? Here are five of the best bargain holiday destinations for Australians heading overseas in 2014.

While the Aussie dollar isn’t as strong as it was at the start of 2013, an overseas jaunt can still be more affordable than holidaying at home. Here’s where you should head for the best bargain holiday destinations for Australians heading overseas in 2014.

INDIA
Colourful, chaotic and super cheap, thanks to the stumbling rupee. Air India started direct flights to Oz earlier this year, making it even easier to visit this vast and varied country. The well-trodden Golden Triangle route in the country’s northwest is perfect for first-timers. Start in the capital Delhi with its teeming bazaars and magnificent monuments. Then head to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal and massive Mughal fort, before finishing in the pink city of Jaipur. All three cities are connected by good road and rail links.

Where to stay: Intrepid has an 8-day Golden Triangle Overview tour from $725pp.

When to go: November to mid-February when temperatures are a pleasant 20-25°C.

How to get there: Air India flies daily to Delhi from Sydney and Melbourne.

Read more...

Published in The New Daily. Copyright The New Daily.

A French design company has taken street art to the extreme with a huge canvas that is vying to be the biggest in the world.

Artists from Lyon-based CitéCréation have painted the Wohngenossenschaft Soldaritaet Coop apartments in the Friedrichsfelde district of Berlin with a remarkably life-like canvas.

The trompe-l'oeil, or urban design, features trees, animals and people and was inspired by a nearby zoo.

Covering 22,000 square metres of wall, the company is hoping to nab the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest mural. 

The five-kilometre Pueblo Levee Project in Pueblo, Colorado currently holds the title. 

Unlike the carefully-planned Berlin wall, the levee's concrete walls were first painted by students in the 1970s. Since then, more than 1,000 painters have left their mark.

CitéCréation began back in the '70s too, and has created over 580 giant frescos in cities including Barcelona, Mexico City, Jerusalem, Moscow and Shanghai.

Certainly adds some colour to the neighbourhood!

No one knowingly signs up for a trip to hell, do they?

Well, I’ve done just that. And, as I scribble my signature on the bottom of the waiver form, I’m starting to get a tad nervous.

Admittedly, my journey isn’t into the fiery pits we’ve all been warned about.

But it does involve hurtling around a racetrack – nicknamed the “Green Hell” –really freakin’ fast.

I’m at the Nürburgring in western Germany, 50 kilometres south of Bonn, about to take on the infamous Nordschleife (North Loop).

Well-known to motorsport fans, the ‘Ring is hitting the headlines again, thanks to Oscar-winning director Ron Howard’s new flick.

Read more...

Published in Australian Times. Copyright Lara Brunt. Photo: Glen Pearson.