William Cook, Freelance Journalist Profile

Articles

Want to avoid the crowds in Florence? Here's how to do it

1 month ago | telegraph.co.uk | Chris Leadbeater |William Cook |Gabriella Le Breton |Sarah Lane

The Italian city is braced for record visitor numbers this year - but it's possible to get off the beaten track if you know howFlorence, cradle of the Italian Renaissance and home to an estimated 30 per cent of the world's art treasures, is a near-perfect destination for a short break.
In underrated Basel, big-city cool meets provincial charm

1 month ago | telegraph.co.uk | William Cook

Some places have a certain magic, and Basel, a bizarre, beguiling blend of metropolis and market town, is one of themUp to half a million music fans are swarming into Basel for this year's Eurovision Song Contest. The concert venue is in the outskirts and hotel rooms will be hard to come by. Chances are, many fans will simply travel straight in and then straight out again - but if they linger for a little while, they'll be amazed by what they find. Basel isn't just my favourite Swiss city.
Zoé Basha Releases Debut Album ‘Gamble’

2 months ago | pressparty.com | Oxana Lapchuk |Valentyn Koval |Roger Smith |William Cook

French-American musician, composer, and carpenter Zoé Basha, based in Dublin, Ireland has released her long-awaited debut solo album Gamble. A strikingly honest and genre-defying collection, Gamble weaves together threads of folk, blues, Americana, jazz, and Irish traditional music, telling stories of love, loss, resilience, and nomadic life.
Sugababes and Natasha Bedingfield announced as Radio 1 Anthems acts for Big Weekend 2025

2 months ago | pressparty.com | Oxana Lapchuk |Valentyn Koval |Roger Smith |William Cook

Published: April 16, 205 -- BBC Radio 1 has revealed an exciting first for Big Weekend 2025, which will take place in Sefton Park, Liverpool from Friday 23 May – Sunday 25 May. The festival will feature a performance from Radio 1 Anthems acts – celebrating iconic tracks and unforgettable moments from the past two decades of music.
Two forgotten men brought down the Berlin Wall

Nov 9, 2024 | spectator.co.uk | William Cook

Here in Berlin, 35 years ago today, at a dull press conference in a dreary conference room a short walk from my hotel, an East German politician made a rookie error which brought about the fall of the Berlin Wall. Half a lifetime later, it’s easy to forget that this seismic shift was the result of a bizarre accident – the unlikely collision of two snap decisions by two men whose names are now almost forgotten.
Two forgotten men brought down the Berlin Wall

Nov 9, 2024 | spectator.com.au | William Cook

Here in Berlin, 35 years ago today, at a dull press conference in a dreary conference room a short walk from my hotel, an East German politician made a rookie error which brought about the fall of the Berlin Wall. Half a lifetime later, it’s easy to forget that this seismic shift was the result of a bizarre accident – the unlikely collision of two snap decisions by two men whose names are now almost forgotten.
Why Umbria is an antidote to the age of mass tourism

Nov 4, 2024 | telegraph.co.uk | William Cook

The hilltop town of San Casciano dei Bagni is steeped in ancient history Credit: Alamy In Allerona, a sleepy village in rural Umbria, I’m helping Elizabeth and her husband Paulo with their annual olive harvest. I’m so clueless that their daughter Naomi has to show me how to do it. “You brush the branches like hair,” she says, running a little rake across the leaves. Sure enough, loads of ripe olives come tumbling down. Thanks to Naomi, I gradually get the hang of it, and by the time we break...
Searching for the real Mata Hari in her forgotten hometown

Oct 21, 2024 | yahoo.com | William Cook

Hari’s hometown of Leeuwarden is crisscrossed by canalsOn a cobbled street in Leeuwarden, the quaint little capital of Friesland, stands the birthplace of Mata Hari, the most notorious spy of the First World War. An erotic dancer and high-class courtesan, she won and lost a fortune, was caught spying for the Germans and was shot by a French firing squad.
How a polluted East German city became a hipster paradise

Oct 9, 2024 | yahoo.com | William Cook

Connewitz is home to lots of former factories converted into creative and commercial spacesGenerate Key TakeawaysIn the spooky Stasi HQ in Leipzig, now a rather sinister museum, Tobias Hollitzer, the museum’s director, is telling me about his participation in the Peaceful Revolution which led to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
What Robert Jenrick can learn from Oktoberfest

Sep 30, 2024 | spectator.co.uk | William Cook

Sitting in a gigantic marquee on the green edge of Munich, surrounded by thousands of boozy Germans singing along to a Bavarian oompah band, I wonder how I got talked into coming to another Oktoberfest. Last time I came, ten years ago, I hated it and swore I’d never come again, but this time feels different. Maybe it’s the beer talking, but this year the atmosphere seems less manic, more relaxed. There are lots of couples, old and young, and hardly any stag parties.