Forget about Boris Johnson’s comforting words reassuring us that MP’s will have sufficient time to do something about avoiding a no-deal Brexit, the prorogation of parliament is an affront to democracy. In delaying the Queen’s speech until October 14th, Johnson is doing nothing less that bypassing democracy. In shutting up Westminster, he has effectively forced […]
EU Must Resist Boris Johnson And His Tantrum
Negotiation is an art of give-and-take, and UK prime minister Boris Johnson wants to give nothing and take all. Johnson and his so skillfully skewed cabinet that is bent on a no-deal Brexit seem to forget that not so long ago he evaluated the chances of a no-deal Brexit as one in a million. Judging […]
Peru – Living Under Constant Threat Of Being Moved
The earth moves every few days under the feet of unsuspecting Peruvians, a phenomenon that goes unnoticed by those who either do not know of the existence of a major risk of disaster in Peru or choose to ignore it. As a tourist, I am well aware that during my two-week stay I was not […]
True Stories
A little girl on the motorway….A grown-up dentist in the desert. POSTS The Unknown Little Girl On The A10 Motorway Syria: Having a Caesarean Performed by…a Dentist
Caught In The Net
A wonderful thing, the Internet. If you don’t let it catch up with you body and mess up your mind. Is it virtual reality or a real version of virtualness? Splitting the mind from the body you remain yourself only behind the comfort of a computer screen. Once on the other side, all hell breaks […]
“L’Enfant Terrible” Of The European Union
Iconic French president Charles de Gaulle may have been right in describing the UK as being the odd-one-out in the European Union. Was he a visionary? I have always said that it would have been much better for the UK to stay in the EU and reform it from the inside. But maybe that is […]
El Mismo Sol: Ordinary Lives In Peru & The Quipu Project
You cannot expect me to be writing all year round can you? It’s time for a break. In the meantime, here’s the first of three updates concerning posts that I wrote ages ago. The two photographs will take you to the land of the Inca’s – Peru. I In 2017, a second international arrest […]
Wreckless Driving: Unequality In Front Of The Law
Actor Steven Coogan has had a six-month driving ban reduced to 2 months, after having successfully argued that it was inconceivable that his TV character Alan Partridge be seen on public transport. I have received several fines for driving above the speed limit, but never in built-up areas. There is no points system in the […]
Love At First Read – Françoise Sagan: “Bonjour Tristesse” (“Hello Sadness”)
When French author, Françoise Sagan, died in September 2004, she left behind more than one million dollars in debts and a little gem entitled “Bonjour Tristesse” (“Hello Sadness”). In his memorial statement, the then French President Jacques Chirac said of Sagan: “With her death, France loses one of its most brilliant and sensitive writers – […]
Five Minutes In The US And My English Is In Big Trouble
I didn’t spend long in the US, just past customs and a few hours between terminals, but I can tell you straight away that if I came to live there permanently, my English would quickly be in big trouble. For starters, my cute semblance of a cockneyish intonation due to my being born on the […]