It’s a sad rendition of a song I never liked. I listened to it on YouTube when all the hoo-hah about the rehash of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ started up. Let’s just say that I’m glad I don’t live somewhere where I’d hear it endlessly on the radio. But the song isn’t meant to … Read more
Boy am I glad to be heading back to London for Christmas. Last year I spent Christmas in Seville, not really through choice, but we’d just had a baby and decided it would be better not to fly back, mainly because of Mr Jack Frost, but also because the only airline with free flights was … Read more
As I sit here in Northern Europe on the fourth Thursday in November, I’m scrolling through the many social media postings that have been littering my feed over the last 24 hours or so, drawing my attention to Thanksgiving. There are the nice ‘I give thanks for my kids/partner/dog/life’ postings, and then there are the … Read more
It’s official: Christmas is coming to the Morvan. The Morvan? Think of the Yorkshire Dales, but with better roads and less hype. Nobody comes here for motorways, theatres, discos, shopping malls or even ubiquitous broad band. We are online thanks to a gizmo on our balcony which provides a microwave link to a base station … Read more
The continuing adventures of June Finnigan, her Man, and Farty Barty the cat. Benvenuti to all my Loyal and New Followers Here in beautiful Tuscany, the first week in October heralds the buying up of loads of winter plants to cheer up the pots that are now in need of refreshing. So on the first … Read more
No need for alarm clocks here. Inquisitive penguins were playing round the boat before dawn broke. Seagulls, cormorants and oyster catchers added their voices to the cacophony of the morning chorus long before we rose and set sail north, along the Western Coastline to Langebaan. Most of the other yachts had sailed on to Langebaan … Read more
You’d think with so many people moving around the world, holding citizenship in more than one country and generally being planetary, the countries of origin would come to terms with it all and well, not put so many obstacles in the way. I understand the need to (try to) regulate who comes in, especially if … Read more
Whilst most people here in Spain are digging out their warm clothes in preparation for the winter, I am doing the very reverse. The coats and scarves are being packed away and the swimming stuff, shorts and T-shirts are coming out. Why? Because soon, very soon, I shall be on a long-haul flight to Australia. … Read more
There were no weather-related clues that meant anything to me. It didn’t get colder, leaves didn’t turn color or fall off trees any more than they normally did, days didn’t get appreciably shorter. . . . Not until after my son’s November 5 birthday did I even give Thanksgiving a thought. We had moved to … Read more
I come from Vienna, so, after living there for 18 years, I would like to share with you my five must-do’s in this lovely city, without which you should not leave, local, expat and tourist alike. Schönbrunn Zoo The oldest zoo in Europe, open since the late 18th century, it fell into disrepute for lack … Read more