Another glowing crystal is taken away from my fleeting youth. I didn’t know the man, but I knew the player – hero of my early teens – my hero. When he was on song, the sky blue angels danced on ice; and in the floodlit night of a European winter, he glided into the frosty […]
retrospect
- Psychology
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And What Was I Doing When I Was Fifteen?
It’s a legitimate question that I must ask myself before I reprimand my rebel son for the umpteenth time. What was I like, when I was fifteen? I reflect on this conundrum as soon as my son finished his dinner – in under ten minutes – half-hanging from the table chair, and having cursed the […]
Film Review: “Son Of Saul” – A Vision Of Hell
Film Title: Son of Saul (2015) Director: László Nemes May 4th is a national remembrance day in the Netherlands. The entire country pays its respect to those who died in WWII and more recent conflicts, all in the name of freedom. Supermarkets close at 7.00 pm and, an hour later, a two-minute silence is observed. […]
- Peru
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Mon Trésor Inca
Je t’ai vu traverser la neige fragile, Je t’ai aidé à franchir le lac de cristal. Et lorsque tu t’es approchée de moi d’un sommet andin, Pour me balayer de l’océan sans fin, Comme un message dans une bouteille, Comme un trésor sur un bateau, Une pépite d’or provenant des Incas, Tu me laisses saisir […]
Brexit Is Brexit, And Marmite Is Marmite!
How dare they! How could they! And who are the traitors buying this unsavoury mix? It is a mix that defies what I am and where I come from. There are not many things that I have treasured since I left England in 1984, but Christmas pudding, Manchester City, and Marmite figure high up on […]
- Peru
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My Treasure From The Andes, Mi Tesoro De Los Andes
I saw you cross the brittle snow, I helped you bridge the crystal lake. And as you approached me from an Andean peak, To sweep me from a never-ending ocean, Like a message in a bottle, Like a treasure upon a ship, A golden nugget once belonging to the Incas, You let me seize my […]
Manchester City 6-0 Chelsea: How I Vanquished An Old Ghost
It’s been a recurring nightmare for nearly 50 years, but since yesterday I can really say that I’ve vanquished an old ghost, banished a demon for ever and ever. A 13-year-old boy is so vulnerable, so impressionable – especially at school. My recurring nightmare featured my old French school, in South Kensington, and how I […]
- Psychology
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Death In The Family – Falling Into The Abyss Of Love, Distress, And Freedom
Following my father’s death, in 2012, I felt no grief because I had thought about his passing away for years, analysing the feelings I would have and coping with them. Was it anticipatory grief, without the symptoms? Was it a sense of detachment from my parents? Was I challenging moral standards, where grieving death is the […]
- retrospect
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France 4 : Croatia 2 – When Pragmatism Broke Romanticism
It was a battle of two philosophical ideals, enacted by highly skilled protagonists. It was a battle of mind against matter, pragmatism against romanticism. In the end, God ensured that a deluge would end it all, and make fragile humans think again about what they were doing. It was a message telling us to wipe […]
- retrospect
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Blue Moon Ready To Rise
Blue moon You saw me standing alone Without a dream in my heart Without a love of my own At about twenty past six, on Sunday 15th April a feeling of profound bliss penetrated the very heart of my soul. Something so powerful, that it made me clench my fists and cut the air with […]