by David West | Feb 7, 2026 | News
I heard the term Barbenheimer for the first time yesterday. I haven’t seen Barbie but I watched Oppenheimer on the flight to Lima in 2024. I thought it was absolutely brilliant, and a very worthy Oscar winner. In a rare cultural moment dubbed “Barbenheimer,” Barbie...
by David West | Feb 7, 2026 | News
I posted yesterday about Singapore. It seems to me that Raffles gets rather too much credit in Singapore’s story, because the day after signing the treaty, Raffles took his leave and left Singapore in the hands of William Farquhar. William Farquhar (1774–1839) was a...
by David West | Feb 6, 2026 | News
On the 6th of February, 1819, the Treaty of Singapore was signed. I have nothing against Singapore, I’ve never been there, it isn’t on our bucket list, but I would like to visit. If I’m sounding at all negative it’s simply that it has been quite a while since I’ve...
by David West | Feb 5, 2026 | News
On the 5th of February, 1852, the New Hermitage Museum opened to the public in Saint Petersburg. Claire visited it on a school trip. Perhaps when Russia comes to its senses, I might get a chance too. The State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg is one of the world’s...
by David West | Feb 4, 2026 | News
Well Venezuela has been in the news recently, and on the 4th of February, 1992, Hugo Chávez led a coup against Venezuelan President, Carlos Andrés Pérez. Claire and I have visited several South American countries including Chile (en-route to Antarctica), Peru,...
