When we stopped over in a hotel in Strasbourg, on our way down to Italy, my son was looking forward to a dip in the hotel pool. We were deeply disappointed to find out that the hotel rules did not allow boxer-short-type swimming trunks, the reason being that such trunks “disturbed other clients”. “Discriminatie” (discrimination) […]
- Sport
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Kicking Balls – From Doha To Paris, With Love
Brazilian footballer Neymar’s £200m release clause – allowing his transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) – places him at 206th in the United Nations’ list of nations by GDP, ahead of the Marshall Islands and Palau… Football transfers are fast becoming like fake breasts – over-inflated and ridiculous. I mean, how can so much […]
Brexit Musings (3) – Welcome To Amsterdam Schiphol
Well, not much to chew on this week, concerning Brexit. However, I do have an idea: with the tenors of the UK political landscape out of the country for the summer, maybe it is time to close the borders – before they get back. Wishful thinking I know, but it’s a nice thought. There is […]
Pour L’Amour De La Nation (For The Love Of The Nation)
Individualism, patriotism, nationalism?…A spectre of human interpretations of the world around us – each one a potential danger. Maybe I have no sense of patriotism due to my upbringing – loving two cultures and living in a third. However, more importantly, the world I live in is my representation and no-one else’s. For Donald Trump, […]
British and EU Expats – Our EU Citizen Status Remains In The Balance
The European Union has a common mission to extend, enhance and expand rights, not reduce them. We will never endorse their retroactive removal. The European parliament will reserve its right to reject any agreement that treats EU citizens, regardless of their nationality, less favourably than they are at present. This is a question of the […]
Brexit Musings (II) – Whistle While You Work
Welcome to Brexit Musings – part II. Last week, the Brexit boys and girls stayed at home. 12th July Boris Johnson has an uncanny knack of coming out with great statements. Some time ago, in one of his more sober moments, he remarked My chances of being PM are about as good as the chances […]
- Netherlands
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How Much Is That DUPpy In The Window? – The Dutch Want One Too
[perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Theresa May goes shopping[/perfectpullquote] Even from this side of the North Sea, it’s pretty obvious that, after the elections, Theresa May bought herself and her party 10 Democratic Union Party votes, costing 150 million quid a piece, in order to survive the Queen’s speech and get “back to […]
Rotten Apples
[perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]It’s the update – or lack of – that sealed its fate[/perfectpullquote] A few weeks ago, my iPad suffered a premature death. For my beloved tablet, it wasn’t a crash that transformed him to ash, it’s the update that sealed his fate. Or rather, it was the lack […]
El Mismo Sol: Ordinary Lives In Peru
(Posted 02/17) A second international arrest warrant has been ordered for the former Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo amidst allegations that he received up to $20m in bribes from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. The former president would, in return, have granted a lucrative contract to build a transoceanic highway between Brazil and the Peruvian […]
Brexit Musings 1 : “I’ve Started, So I’ll Finish”
Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, the Brexit negotiations are finally upon us. And this is where I get really busy because from now on, I’m going to follow what happens in Brussels very closely. Not surprising, because I’m one of those bargaining chips up for grabs – or, at least my UK qualification […]