So, a couple of things I’m hearing have this expat more than a little perturbed. The first is the fact that all British passports now have to be processed in the UK, as opposed to at various British Embassies, as has been the practice heretofore. Inevitably, we are now hearing of huge, and I mean … Read more
I know. You hear the name Nigeria and you think ‘oh poor thing. It must be so hard.’ The country has a bad reputation. Good news is not news so when the country appears in the headlines it is rarely positive. But these stories do not reflect in any way what it is really like … Read more
American artist, Henry Clews, and his American wife, Marie, bought and re-built a sea-front, medieval fortress/château, built on the edge of the sea in 1387 by the Counts of Villeneuve, and renovated it in the 1920′s. As it had mostly been destroyed during the French Revolution (except for the Roman Tower from the 4th century … Read more
When the long hot summer days arrive, so do our visitors, eager to share the Spanish sunshine and the peace and quiet of El Hoyo. My niece, Becky, comes every June, always alone. She’s not married, but has never been short of a boyfriend. “You know you can bring whoever you like,” Joe and I … Read more
The continuing Adventures of June Finnigan, Her Man and Farty Barty the Cat. Benvenuto to all my Loyal and New Followers The month of May, here in beautiful Tuscany, is generally lovely and everywhere wild Acacia trees are dripping with blossom. We are also surrounded by heavily blossomed Horse Chestnut and Lilac, so driving along … Read more
With the World Cup in full swing, there is one question that people now ask me quite regularly: Will you root for your home country or your host country? My home country is the U.S. My host country is Germany. So, when this question is asked, the American patriot in me wants to blurt out, … Read more
I’ve lived in the UK for over 20 years so the early expat days are a little foggy in my memory. I belong to some expat groups and each of these groups has members who have lived in the UK for anything from next month to thirty years. I mostly enjoy these groups as a … Read more
“What’s bil-har-zia?” my older nephew asks me, enunciating slowly and pronouncing it perfectly. I am walking ahead of him to board the pontoon boat for our trip through the Blyde River Canyon. I stop. Bilharzia? Here? I try not to look alarmed as I return to where is was standing, reading a sign I had … Read more
We eat well here in the Morvan, in Burgundy, central France. Cheeses to die for, top-quality meat and poultry, superb fruit, vegetables and salads, a bewildering choice of pâtés, terrines and other charcuterie, delectable tarts and cakes. All this and wine too! Lefty propaganda prattles merrily of diversity and cultural enrichment. Well, our visitors leave … Read more
As an American who’s living and working in Panama, I rely heavily on internet connectivity. I’m a freelance writer and WordPress website builder, so I need the internet to work quickly and all the time. Now I’ve spent the past month back in the US, and I have to say, I’m not impressed with my … Read more