Most of us have lived under various levels of lockdown over the past year and because of this, the level at which we can participate in our various communities has been changed and so has how we participate (Zoom, anyone?). As an unemployed tour guide, I have had ample time to reflect on the different communities in my life and how they have evolved or simply morphed over the past year.

Europe Day is a bittersweet day for me. I am of the generation that had the opportunity to study and work in Europe. I had the freedom to go where I pleased for as long as I pleased, which—unless they already live there and have applied for settled status—UK citizens will no longer have. 

Human beings are social characters that need interaction to stimulate emotions, to energize thought processes, to bring experiences to life; and boy, have I loved the various communities I have been part of across the world!

One of our goals is to include you in our community, to make GC a welcoming space for people with a passion for cultures and travel. No matter what the future holds, this has made all the work worth the effort. I hope we have given you the same sense of fellowship that we all feel.

Here in the Basque country, the sense of community is very strong. We say we do things in the auzolan way. It doesn't have an exact translation, but it kind of means that everybody who can help in the community, does. We construct houses, clean the forest, fix the church’s ceiling or take care of our elderly in the auzolan way. You volunteer to do whatever you do best.

I don’t know about you, but for me, the last 12 months has been a rollercoaster of highs, lows and just jogging along on life’s journey. It has been exhausting, exhilarating and exceptional, but not necessarily in equal doses.

Being a guide, I am also curious about the idea of rebirth in history. Almost everyone in the Western World studies the Italian cultural and artistic Renaissance, which of course has at its root the word for rebirth. Historians, though, do not tend to love the term, because although there is a clear cultural movement during that period, no cultural idea “dies”—nothing is reborn.

If you want to do a deep dive on the most important family in European history—or, heck, even if you don’t want to go fully down the rabbit hole, but do want to learn a bit more—then I’ve got some resources for you. These are a few websites, movies/tv series, and books (besides the one I wrote) that are all worth exploring. Enjoy—I’d be interested to hear if you have any favorites!

You can easily imagine that the Habsburgs, as the most important family in European history, amassed some pretty amazing real estate. And who hasn’t dreamed of living in a palace, of relishing the crème-de-la-crème life of European royalty? The Habsburgs didn’t have to dream, of course, but we can all indulge our “let them eat cake” fantasies by touring the lavish homes they left behind. So let’s play “House Hunters International” with my picks for the most fabulous Habsburg palaces!

I am a tour guide and as you may guess, very affected in my job because of the damned virus. Colleagues worldwide are in the same boat. Many tour operators are disappearing, others are trying to re-invent themselves the way the can and others are just on standby until the vaccine is massively done, waiting for a “new normality” to take hold. A group of friends and colleagues from four continents have created an association called Guide Collective, ( www.guide-collective.com ), of which I am a proud founding member.

Let me share with you how the world was created according to the Basques, and then you will understand why Amalur needs the Joaldunaks. Like other ancient beliefs, you will find different versions all around the Basque Country—and all of them are true! Foolish people who don't believe in them, call them legends.

If I look back, I can remember several situations in my past that put me in a terrible distress, sadness and pain. But I also remember the incredible joy of living a new adventure , the thrill for a new love, the satisfaction for new achievements. Having that in mind, now more than ever, I am certain that a true Rebirth is waiting for me at the end of this epic moment.

The long, dark winter was longer and darker than most of us can recall. The signs that we are on the other side of it may be small things—wisps of hyacinth in the air, grass growing out of control—but in a world-wide pandemic, we can use all the hopeful signs that nature can put out. It could not be more fitting that our monthly theme for April is “Rebirth.” There are so many ways in which this theme can apply to every person these days.

The high level of economic wellbeing in Etruscan society meant that, already in the Archaic period (from the 6th century BC), women began to "leave" the home to participate more actively in public life…Unlike a Grecian Penelope and Andromache, Etruscan women were not satisfied with waiting patiently at home for their spouse to return but rather legitimately took part in all the pleasures of life.

This past March 8th, I was wondering about the importance of this celebration and the role of women in the western society and all over the world. Looking at the sad figures of domestic violence , abuses , murders perpetrated by husbands, boyfriends and fathers over women, a deep, disheartening feeling hits me like a punch in the stomach.

Like most, I can remember a few teachers who have been influential in my life…Yet for me there is only one who, with hindsight, played a pivotal role in the direction my career would take—the Pole Star by which my life would be navigated.

Margaret Reid Farmer, my Granny,  was born on 26 October 1875 in Lochee, Dundee. Her mother registered the birth and “signed” with an “X” her mark. 

He discovered a dimension of the world that he had never noticed. He saw how his previous motivations were vain, mean, and absurd when he placed them in front of the greatness of God. Those earthly pleasures and honors, even if intense, were momentary, while spiritual ones endured. He concluded that God was giving him a new opportunity. He rethought his life and became Ignatius.

“Several of us members of GC have shared some photos and tidbits about special women in our lives—women who have influenced us, guided us, helped us to evolve into the people we are to they. And to them, we say, ‘Thank you for being you and for all that you do!’”

Louisa Jordan’s working career was mainly in care and nursing on the East and West of Scotland. She later enlisted with the Scottish Women’s Hospitals for Foreign Service in December 1914, after the start of the First World War.  She joined the first Serbian unit and looked after war wounded soldiers until the outbreak of a typhus epidemic in 1915, when she took charge of a typhus ward in Serbia.