Islands – Stanfords Blog

NEW Editions of My Ibiza and My Formentera Guides

We are very excited to have new editions of My Ibiza and My Formentera as our customers love them which we know because they always feature on our list of bestsellers.

These guides are so popular as they are unlike any other guides. Written, produced and illustrated by Hjordis Fogelberg, born and raised on the island of Ibiza, these guides are a personal collection of experiences gathered through trial and error.

Originally started in 2014 as the “My Ibiza & Formentera” guide, and was then split into two separate guides in 2018. Every year the guides are revised and every 2 years a new edition is published.

Book Launch: Children of the Volcano by Ros Belford

Last night we hosted the launch of Ros Belford’s new book Children of the Volcano: Finding Freedom and Making a Home for Three in Sicily.

This is an uplifting, humorous memoir of a mother building a new life on a beautiful Sicilian island.

Reeling from a broken relationship, Ros Belford decides the best chance she has of healing, while giving her daughters a childhood to remember, is to move to Italy and live by the sea.

After a false start in a town where machismo is ingrained, they find the small, lush, delightful island of Salina. Izzy and Juno grow up playing on the beach, learning to swim over volcanic bubbles, hearing tales of Aeolian witches and watching Stromboli erupt on the horizon. It is not entirely paradise, however. The school is atrocious, there are power cuts and an earthquake, and property speculators threaten the island’s fragile beauty. But an eclectic community of islanders take them to their hearts, friendships are forged and Salina becomes home.

Full of humanity, vitality, honesty and optimism, Children of the Volcano is for anyone unwilling to give up dreams of adventure and excitement simply because of parenthood, lack of money and not getting things right the first time.

Children of the Volcano by Ros Belford is available now for £19.99. We have signed copies while stocks last.

Three Enchanting Islands to visit in the Mediterranean

Travel with Laura Coffey through Greek Myth with Enchanted Islands, a magical story of love, loss and the real-life islands that inspired the oldest travel story of all time…

A lyrical odyssey about love, loss and Greek myth, Enchanted Islands is a new book that weaves together Laura’s experience navigating heartbreak and grief with her quest to map the real-life islands that inspired the wanderings of Homer’s epic hero, Odysseus. Stephen Fry called it “magical and captivating – hugely recommended” It’s not remotely academic, and you don’t need to know anything about Greek myth to enjoy it.

“If you love memoir and Greek mythology this is a delight. Coffey escapes a grim and lonely pandemic for volcanos and orange-blossom brioche, kingfishers and tales of Circe. But life lies ready to sting, like the Medusa jellyfish she encounters on her evening swims. A spellbinding book about growing up, grieving and the Gods” ― Clare Pollard, author of Delphi

Stanfords fans will love this book because it blends together travel and maps, two of our favourite things. And interestingly none of the islands Laura visited were in modern-day Greece. You’ll need to read the book to find out where she went…

Book of the Month: 36 Islands: In Search of the Hidden Wonders of the Lake District

Our Book of the Month for November 2022 is 36 Islands: In Search of the Hidden Wonders of the Lake District by Robert Twigger

A journey across the Lake District to discover the secrets of its 36 islands.

The Island of Socotra

AND THE ANSWER IS……

by Janice Booth

It’s a Pub Quiz-setter’s dream. Which Middle-Eastern island’s endemic buzzard flew into the Guinness Book of Records in 2010? Which Arabian island did Britain try to buy for 10,000 dollars in 1834? Which island is sometimes known as the ‘Galapagos of the Indian Ocean’? Where can you play a traditional game named Algashal that resembles fivestones or jacks? Answers: Socotra, Socotra, Socotra and (surprise!) Socotra.