A massive thank you to all my family, friends and work colleagues, who took time out of their busy schedules to take the time, to wish me a Happy Birthday. I’ve had a gorgeous day. A special shout out to Gerard who gave me an eclectic and thoughtful gift. Chocolates, bees wax candles, packets of … More Sunday Morning in Madrid
It’s proving hard to find inspiration for my blog right now. But lots of interesting things are happening so I’ll try and do a travel blog just to keep the page alive. I’m not especially inspired so be warned :). I’m writing this from Leon in north-west Spain, where I’m spending time with “the Spaniards” … More La Buena Vida
Charlie Pickering presented a very funny satire about Australian foreign aid on The Weekly last week (ABC (Australia) television), which has been doing the rounds on Facebook. On average, a group of polled Australians believe that 16% of our gross national income is spent on foreign aid. These same people, probably influenced by the political … More Foie Gras and Truffle
Thank you, Prague! The fairytales of my childhood must surely have all originated in Prague. Here I found castles, bridges, legends, cathedrals, majestic gardens, narrow streets, kings, maidens, famous literature, synagogues, broad boulevards, murder, romance, towers, art history, archways over cobblestoned alleyways, medi evil city walls, Jewish pogroms and heretics burned at the stake. From … More Goodbye, Prague
When I was home in New Zealand at the end of last year, one of my stories about Cambodia had a strong impact on an aunt of mine. The sister of a colleague in Cambodia is in her 60s, unmarried with no children and lives alone. She is also completely blind, since birth. Two of … More Disconnection Syndrome. Again.
Beheaded in Rome in 304AD at the age of 14 for refusing to renounce his Christian faith, Saint Pancras became the patron saint of children. Quite fitting then, that London’s St Pancras Station is a place where you will see tiny children taking overseas holidays, following their adults through the throngs of travelers with their … More Toddlers Toting Portmanteaus
This brilliant article deserves to be shared far and wide. The disgusting tactics of shock jock Katie Hopkins are one thing, placing her in the same league as the bigoted criminals most refugees are trying to escape from. I hope that most of us could not relate to Katie if we tried, and of course … More Disconnection Syndrome Misrepresents Reality
I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. William Wordsworth, 1804 It is so much easier to be in tune with things when you … More Wandering, Lonely as a Cloud
England, particularly London, feels very much like a second home even though it was 12 years since I last stepped foot on her soil. My first encounter of the English last month involved two immigration officials stamping me in at Heathrow amidst feigned jealousy about my long holiday. How I have missed the British and … More Opportunity Knocks
Francois Bizot worked in Cambodia as a young Frenchman in the 1960s and 1970s. An ethnologist employed by the Angkor Conservation Office, he restored ceramics and bronzes from the temples and researched Buddhism. He lived in a village near Angkor Wat with his Cambodian partner and their infant daughter when, in 1971, he was captured … More The Gate
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