Q and A
Virginia Woolf Tours
Q. My siblings and I would like to send our mother, a Virginia Woolf enthusiast, on a literary tour of England that includes Bloomsbury sights and some of the places were Woolf lived. -- E.A.H.P., Monsey, N.Y.
A. Compared with literary tours for Shakespeare, Dickens and Jane Austen enthusiasts, there are not many options for fans of Virginia Woolf. Day tours are a possibility, however. One experienced guide is Maire McQueeney, who has run Twentieth Century Walks, a series of literary walks in England, since 1985. On May 8, 15 and 22, during the Brighton Festival, Ms. McQueeney will lead 90-minute walking tours of Lewes, a few miles from Monks House in Rodmell, where Woolf spent her final years; $12.60, at $1.80 to the pound. On June 20, in London, she will lead two tours following the walk that Woolf's heroine Mrs. Dalloway took from Pimlico to Mayfair in June 1923; $12.60. And on June 22 she will lead a London-Sussex coach excursion to Monks House and a walking tour of Rodmell; the tour ($54) is planned in connection with the 14th Annual International Conference on Virginia Woolf, in London from June 23 to 26. Contact Maire McQueeney at m.mcqueeney@btopenworld.com.
The conference will include a series of speakers, panel discussions and Woolf-inspired performances, as well as tours of Bloomsbury residences. It is open to the public, but requires registration and a fee of $233 (spaces are limited, so it is best to register soon). Information and reservations: (44-207) 862 8675; fax (44-207) 862 8720; www.sas.ac.uk/ies/conferences/virginiawoolf.htm.
Another option is to hire a car and guide for a customized Woolf tour with a company such as British Tours, in London. Jason Doll-Steinberg, marketing manager, says the company, in business since 1958, has 47 guides, a dozen with literary backgrounds. He suggests two day tours. A seven-hour London tour would include Bloomsbury and other sites for $450 for one or two people (the more people in the car, the cheaper the cost per person). A second day trip would be to Sussex, and would include Monks House and Charleston, the farmhouse of the painter Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant; $560 for one or two people for a seven-hour tour. (You should plan your visit during the months the house museums are open, April through October.) A third tour might include the two great Bloomsbury sites in Kent: Knole, where Vita Sackville-West grew up, and Sissinghurst, where she moved with Sir Harold Nicolson. Contact British Tours at (866) 464-3010; www.britishtours.com.
Self-guided tours are an alternative. Marylin Bender, an author and former editor, has written 'Virginia Woolf's London,' a detailed series of itineraries for self-guided walks in London, Richmond, Sussex and Kent, interspersed with quotations from Woolf's works, and including travel information (by public transportation). It can be found on the New York Society Library site, www.nysoclib.org/travels/woolf.html.
Another good source would be Jean Moorcroft Wilson's 'Virginia Woolf's London: A Guide to Bloomsbury and Beyond' (I.B. Tauris, 2001), which looks at Woolf's various homes and includes walking route maps.
Carnival in Dominica
Q. We will be visiting Dominica Feb. 12 to 19. What Carnival events might we attend? -- V.P., Chicago
A. This year the two official days of Carnival (Mas Domnik) are Feb. 23 and 24. But the Carnival period begins Feb. 7, according to Sobers Esprit, deputy director of tourism and a member of the Carnival Committee. For the next two weeks competitions and pageants take place almost every night, mainly in the capital of Roseau. Mr. Esprit explains that Dominica promotes some of the most traditional forms of Carnival in the Caribbean, and that some costumes, such as the elaborate shaggy sensay outfits, date back well over a century, originating in Africa.
Events you will be able to see during your visit include Ole Mas, a parade of masqueraders, Feb. 12; the Junior Calypso Monarch competition, Feb. 13; Band Splash, when the top bands perform, Feb. 14; a teenage pageant, with competition for queen, Feb. 15; the Lagoon Street Jam, with dancing to the music of the most popular calypso and bouyon music bands, on Feb. 16; and on Feb. 18, a king is chosen from the Stardom tent, the biggest and most popular calypso competition on the island.
While most events are held at the Festival City open-air grounds just outside Roseau, it is best to doublecheck at your hotel as to where each event will take place and when. The Dominica tourism Web site, www.dominica.dm, has a schedule of events.
FLORENCE STICKNEY
Q & A  Correction:  February 15, 2004, Sunday  An answer in the Q&A column on Feb. 1 about Virginia Woolf tours in England misstated contact information for a London-Sussex trip on June 22. It is open only to those who have registered and paid a fee to attend the International Conference on Virginia Woolf in London, mentioned in the column with contact information: (44-207) 862 8675, fax (44-207) 862 8720. While the excursion is indeed led by Maire McQueeney, those interested must contact the conference, not Ms. McQueeney.