Anna Nicholas
Encyclopedia
Anna Nicholas is a British
travel writer and author based in Majorca, Spain
.
Nicholas spent most of her childhood in London
before studying Classics and English Literature at Leeds University in 1980. She worked for the charity Help the Aged
, handling event PR for the late Princess Diana, before working for the Guinness Book of Records as an invigilator and communications director. Following an eventful period judging bizarre world records – the longest conga line with singer Gloria Estefan
in Miami, the tallest tower of bread in Indonesia
, press-up and car pulling records in Korea
– Nicholas started her own luxury and travel public relations agency, ANA Communications.
She also became a freelance travel writer, writing for publications including the Financial Times
, The Independent
, Tatler
, Daily Express
and Evening Standard
. She was invited by the explorer Colonel John Blashford-Snell
to join his charity, The Scientific Exploration Society, as a director and trustee and thus began a long period of making tough global expeditions to remote locations. Nicholas featured in a BBC
TV documentary when she was on the team of an expedition to carry a grand piano to the remote Wai-Wai
tribe in South America. She relocated with her family to Majorca in the Balearic Islands
in 2005 where she continued to run her PR business in London before eventually settling down to become a full time writer.
Nicholas is a keen marathon runner, raising money for charities including orphanages in Colombo
and Kandy
in Sri Lanka
.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
travel writer and author based in Majorca, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Nicholas spent most of her childhood in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
before studying Classics and English Literature at Leeds University in 1980. She worked for the charity Help the Aged
Help the Aged
Help the Aged was a United Kingdom based, international charity, founded in 1961 by Cecil Jackson-Cole, to free disadvantaged older people from poverty, isolation and neglect. It merged with Age Concern in 2009 to form Age UK.-Organisation and campaigns:...
, handling event PR for the late Princess Diana, before working for the Guinness Book of Records as an invigilator and communications director. Following an eventful period judging bizarre world records – the longest conga line with singer Gloria Estefan
Gloria Estefan
Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those...
in Miami, the tallest tower of bread in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, press-up and car pulling records in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
– Nicholas started her own luxury and travel public relations agency, ANA Communications.
She also became a freelance travel writer, writing for publications including the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, Tatler
Tatler
Tatler has been the name of several British journals and magazines, each of which has viewed itself as the successor of the original literary and society journal founded by Richard Steele in 1709. The current incarnation, founded in 1901, is a glossy magazine published by Condé Nast Publications...
, Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
and Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
. She was invited by the explorer Colonel John Blashford-Snell
John Blashford-Snell
Colonel John Nicholas Blashford-Snell OBE is a former British Army officer, explorer and author.John Blashford-Snell was educated at Victoria College, Jersey and at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, then commissioned into the Royal Engineers.Amongst his expeditions have been the first descent...
to join his charity, The Scientific Exploration Society, as a director and trustee and thus began a long period of making tough global expeditions to remote locations. Nicholas featured in a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV documentary when she was on the team of an expedition to carry a grand piano to the remote Wai-Wai
Wai-Wai people
The Wai-wai are an ethnic group of Guyana and northern Brazil.The Wai-wai in Guyana live in the far south of the country, near the headwaters of the Essequibo River. There are approximately 200 Wai-wai in Guyana and 2000 in Brazil...
tribe in South America. She relocated with her family to Majorca in the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
in 2005 where she continued to run her PR business in London before eventually settling down to become a full time writer.
Nicholas is a keen marathon runner, raising money for charities including orphanages in Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
and Kandy
Kandy
Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an...
in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
.
Books by Anna Nicholas
- A Lizard in my Luggage, Summersdale, 2007. Focuses on Nicholas' experiences adapting to life in rural Majorca.
- Cat on a Hot Tiled Roof, Summersdale, 2008. Sequel to A Lizard in my Luggage.
- Goats from a Small Island, Summersdale, 2009. Focuses on Myotragus, the mouse-goat, now extinct, which roamed Majorca and Menorca up until 5000 years ago. 2009 marks the centenary of its discovery by BritishBritish peopleThe British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
scientist, Dorothea BateDorothea BateDorothea Minola Alice Bate FGS , also known as Dorothy Bate, was a British palaeontologist, a pioneer of archaeozoology...
in 1909. - Donkeys on my Doorstep, Summersdale 2010. Fourth in the series on moving to and living in Majorca.
- Strictly Off the Record, Summersdale, 2010. Memoirs of judging record attempts with Guinness World RecordsGuinness World RecordsGuinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
founder, Norris McWhirterNorris McWhirterNorris Dewar McWhirter, CBE was a writer, political activist, co-founder of the Freedom Association, and a television presenter. He and his twin brother, Ross, were known internationally for the Guinness Book of Records, a book they wrote and annually updated together between 1955 and 1975...
.