There was once a French boy who spent his summer holidays in an old cottage in the Morvan region of Burgundy. After a lifetime driving a Paris dustcart, he and his wife bought the cottage and built their dream home on the site. When they downsized in 2005 my husband John and I bought the … Read more
Tattoos and Abba – not two words you’d normally would – or should – hear together but they pretty much sum up my Swedish summer, which came to a screeching halt in mid-August when everyone returned from holiday and the autumn weather slowly started creeping in. Let’s start with the tattoos: in between working a … Read more
The day dawned. The pressure was on. People were making demands, asking questions – difficult questions – and the answers lay just beyond my reach. The opportunity was there for the taking, a classic Carpe Diem moment. The idea percolated in my head as I went about my chores, slowly, steadily filling my mind with … Read more
A few hundred years ago some British expats who were mostly settling in a new land (some still travelling back and forth for business, with homes in both places) started to grow increasingly frustrated by taxes levied by the Parliament on the other side of the ocean. The crux of the matter was that in … Read more
I suppose it’s inevitable that when you go years without speaking your native language, you start to forget a few words. Apparently it’s called language attrition and is a well-known phenomenon, particularly if you avoid speaking your native language while learning a new language, or if you rarely come across people who speak your native … Read more
With all my thoughts and energies channelled into the launch of Two Old Fools in Spain Again, I haven’t taken much time off this summer. However the book is out now and, with the temperatures still soaring, Joe and I long for a swim. Our village of El Hoyo is too small to warrant its … Read more
The continuing adventures of June Finnigan, her Man, and Farty Barty the cat. Benvenuto to all my Loyal and New Followers As you know, we ended June with a fantastic Rock Concert Garden Party. It was a brilliant evening, the band performed outstandingly, reminding me just how lucky I am to have such talented musicians … Read more
The real worth of Castle lager I didn’t realise the significance of the case of lager we were carrying nor did I know its real worth until we hit a ‘road block’ after crossing the Natal border with Transkei. The border post was manned by a handful of soldiers, each of whom was brandishing an … Read more
One month ago, my husband and I were dealing with a drinking water crisis in Las Tablas, Panama. We had chosen to move to Panama in part because we’d have access to potable water. So when we learned the drinking water supply for most of the Azuero Peninsula was contaminated with Atrazine, we were pretty … Read more
“Good luck seeing any whales in November. You know whale season is basically over by then, right?” An acquaintance at a Pretoria coffee shop was quick to douse my excitement when talking about our upcoming trip to Cape Town. It was a year ago this time that I was planning our first big South African … Read more