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Philip Dunn

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This unique and growing collection of images covers many of Philip Dunn’s assignments as the travel photographer for The Sunday Times. The images range from gritty portraits of coal miners, to abstract images of flowers.

One particularly tender image shows a miner holding the last canary used in a British coal mine.

The images are all for sale at sensible prices. They can be bought online.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE ART PRINTS GALLERY

All you need do is fill in the form found here on the E-Brochure page. I just need your name and email address and I will do all I can to get your chosen e-brochure to you within 24hrs.

Just to put your minds at rest – your details will NEVER be passed on to any third parties and you will NOT be inundated with unwanted emails.

The e-brochures are designed to give you just a flavour of the holidays and proved useful links throughout the Inspiration Holidays website where you can find all the information you need to help you choose your holiday.

Having said all that – Norene and I are always more than happy to answer you queries by phone. So do call us on 01557 331343.

Norene and Philip Dunn

It’s all part of our aim to make things easier, clearer and simpler for you to book the holiday of your choice.

The logos are linked directly to the appropriate Booking Form page for each  particular holiday and make it clear that you can secure your holiday place with a deposit of just £200. So unless you leave it till the last minute, there is no need to pay the full amount of the holiday straight away.

Now each booking for will also have a PayPal ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Add to Basket link’. Remember – you do not need to be a member of Paypal to use your credit card to pay.

We are always grateful when people make suggestions as to how we can improve the Inspiration Holidays website, so please do contact Norene or Philip Dunn and let us know how we can improve.

Special thanks you to all the people who have been on our Holidays, and who have helped to make 2009 such a very happy year for us.

We hope we will be welcoming you again in 2010 to Menorca and Scotland.

Good Wishes to you all – may your Christmas be peaceful and filled with happiness.

We also send best wishes, from our tutors – John Glover, Sue Ford, David Hawker, Moira & Keith Stacey and Jenny Frances & Ricardo Oria.

Have a wonderful Christmas,

Norene & Philip Dunn

Sue will be spending her Christmas working as an art tutor aboard the luxury cruise liner Queen Mary II. Ah well, someone has to do it.

Unfortunately, Sue dashed off before giving me any further details about her latest work, so I am unable to tell you very much about them. Perhaps you know where the the street is.

If Sue gets in touch in the near future, I’ll be able to tell you more.

Christmas - a collage by Inspiration-Holiday artist Sue Ford

Meanwhile – I hope this wonderful collage really helps get you into a Christmas frame of mind despite the fact that it is some weeks away yet.

Sue will be teaching during two Art Holidays for us next year. She will be here in Kirkcudbright, Scotland’s Artists’ Town April 9th-16th. Then she will be tutoring our Art Holiday in Menorca from May 21st till May 28th.

You can get more details about all our Art Holidays in Menorca and Scotland here.

Sue helped compile our list of Top Ten Christmas Gifts for Artists – but I think most people would be happy to see this Christmas picture in their Christmas stocking.

The BBC’s latest series of Strictly Come Dancing has sparked a rise in the number of people wanting to learn to dance.

A company specialising in dancing holidays has credited the hit television show for the huge surge in interest for their services and holidays. Philip Dunn, from Inspiration Holidays, said he has seen an increase in visitors coming to the company’s website, www.inspiration-holidays.com, since the launch of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing show, three months ago.

“Lots of visitors are now finding us by searching on Google for terms such as ‘learning to dance’,” said Philip.

“It seems that people are being inspired by the likes of Ricky Wittle and Ali and Bastian from this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing and want to learn to dance themselves.

“The show really highlights that dancing is a tremendous activity and skill to have – it keeps you fit, helps you meet people and of course it’s great fun.”

“Plus, there’s nothing sexier than being able to Tango properly with your partner on the dance floor,” Philip added.

Strictly Come Dancing is now in its seventh series and regularly attracts nearly 10million viewers despite being up against The X Factor on ITV. The show, presented by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly, sees celebrities teamed up with professional dancers. Each week the couples compete against each other performing different styles of Ballroom and Latin dances.

Since the first episode of the 2009 season aired the term Strictly Come Dancing has been one of the UK’s fastest rising phrases searched for on Google.

Would you like to learn to dance like the stars of Strictly Come Dancing?

Why not join Inspiration Holidays for a quality dancing holiday in Menorca, Spain.

Inspiration Holidays offer two very different styles of dancing holidays – Tango Dancing Holidays and Scottish Country Dancing Holidays.

Whichever is your passion, you will get the very best dancing tuition with gifted and enthusiastic teachers, and you will relax in a luxury hotel with luxury poolside dancing facilities overlooking the Mediterranean.

Lazy beach holidays don’t do a lot for Philip – he looks for visual inspiration wherever he goes, so here are his Top Ten Holiday Destinations – places where you are sure to find inspiration for your painting and photography…

Arabs race their horses in the Jordanian Desert near Petra - one of the places where travel photographer Philip Dunn finds visual inspiration - and one of his Top Ten Holiday Destinations. Photograph by Philip Dunn

New York
You can feel the ‘vibes’ coming up through the sidewalks. New Yorkers are city dwellers and mean it. When I was last there some years back, New York was supposed to be a dangerous place. I was warned never to walk anywhere especially at night. Advice I totally ignored. I walked everywhere and met and photographed some great characters.

Paxos, Greece
Gentle and beautiful. Go to Paxos just out of the main holiday season and you’ll discover the sort of place that caresses the senses. There are still waterside tavernas serving simple food. It is a place to watch the moonbeams in the harbours, stroll though silver-leafed olive groves, take photographs and paint.

India
No country on earth can assault the senses like India. It is one of the places on earth I am always keen to return to. Each time I go back I know it will find new visual excitement and inspiration. No matter where you go – from Rajasthan to Bengal, north or south – the extremes and vividness of colour will both shock and delight.

Istanbul
Where East meets West – Istanbul is noisy and dirty, yes, but for a photographer or an artist there is always something to delight, something that will stop you in your tracks and make you look. Architecture, souks and people are the subject on which to concentrate. Go into the coffee shops and sketch – I have always found the Turkish people welcoming.

Jordan
Think of Jordan and immediately Petra comes to mind – quite right, too. Petra is one of the wonders of the world. It would be impossible for any artist or photographer to stand before The Treasury and not feel a tingle of inspiration. Go down there very early in the morning before the crowds of tourists – walk down the Siq, a narrow gorge in the sandstone – it’s not too far and well worth the effort when you glimpse he carved façade of The Treasury between the rocks for the very first time

New Zealand
New Zealand is a country with just about everything: deserts to jungles, snow-topped mountain ranges to sulphur-stinking geysers. It is a long way from anywhere, but the trip is worth the long flight. South Island is the largest of New Zealand’s two main island, but has only a quarter of the population. The Southern Alps has 18 peaks higher than 9,800 feet including Mount Cook at 12,316ft. The mountain views are quite staggering.

Yosemite USA
Yosemite National Park is one of the most incredibly beautiful places in the USA – and that’s saying something. Artists, and some photographers like Ansell Adams have devoted large parts of their lives recording the amazing scenery of Yosemite – it’s a wild place. If you can, leave to tourists trails and head up country with a back-pack and a sketch book – but beware of the bears!

Hong Kong
Crowded, vibrant and industrious. Hong Kong is never still, never quiet. Everyone should ride the famous Star Ferries at least once in their life. Hong Kong is the finest place in the world to eat Chinese food – forget China itself, the food there is mostly horrible. If you get chance, take a ferry trip to Macau, the old Portuguese colony, or Lantau and spend a night with the monks in a monastery.

Galloway
Bonnie Galloway – even the name conjures visions of blue skies and fluffy clouds, rolling field and pristine sand in hidden sea coves. It’s all true – Galloway is like that, one of the bonniest places in Scotland. People go tearing all the way north – but slow down when you get to Carlisle. Turn left and you’ll find over 100 miles of beautiful, unspoiled coastline. That’s just one of the good reasons we base our painting holidays in Scotland right here in Kirkcudbright, Scotland’s Artists’ Town – home of The Glasgow Boys School of Art.

Menorca
Menorca is not at all like its bigger, brasher and more developed neighbour Mallorca. Menorca is a smaller, quieter, more discreet. Happily, Menorca escaped the race to cover Mediterranean Spain with concrete and high rise buildings. Much of its rural charm still remains – postage stamp-sized fields bounded by white stone walls and wooden gates; meadows burgeoning with wild flowers – and people who really do enjoy welcoming visitors. Menorca a place to relax, feel comfortable, a place to appreciate beauty. You can enjoy a full week of artistic inspiration on an Art Holiday in Menorca.

Moira and Keith Stacey – teachers for our Scottish Country Dancing Holiday in Menorca – recently attended the AGM of the Royal Scottish Country Dancing Society in Perth (RSCDS).

This was their first big opportunity to spread the word about our new Scottish Country Dancing Holidays – the first of which will be in September 2010. Moira and Keith went to the AGM armed with a bundle of hot-off-the-press flyers, which were very well received.

Of course it is very difficult on an small A5 flyer to convey all the benefits of a particular holiday, but Moira and Keith spent a lot of time extolling the virtues of beautiful Menorca and the tremendous facilities we enjoy in the S’Algar Hotel. One frequently expressed comment was how good it is to hear about a new holiday venue to enjoy Scottish Country Dancing.

Well, strange as it might seem, this works the other way around, too. When we left Menorca a few short weeks ago, the S’Algar Hotel management and staff were all telling us how good it will be to welcome a new dancing venture to the hotel and how much they are looking forward to seeing Scottish Country Dancing for the first time.

Our first Scottish Country Dancing Holiday in Menorca will be:
10th – 17th September 2010

£597

Live Scottish Country Dancing music will be provided by talented musician Andrew Lyon

Find out More about our Scottish Country Dancing Holiday

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