Writing, Dying, and Insults

Writing, Dying, and Insults

I came across two lists recently, which caught my attention. The first was a list of insults. Winston Churchill was a master of insults. Apparently George Bernard Shaw wrote to Churchill saying “I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a...
Getting Back in the Saddle

Getting Back in the Saddle

The only problem with a long holiday is getting back to work afterwards. After almost a month touring South America my brain is imbued with the Inca empire, the plants and animals of the Amazon Rainforest, the thunder of the Iguazu Falls, and so much more. But what...
Inca Gold

Inca Gold

It’s been over a month since my last post: we have been on holiday in South America. Machu Picchu was on Claire’s bucket list, and it did not disappoint. We were blessed with a wonderful guide for most of our almost four week tour, Berner Torres. Berner told me that...
Persian New Year

Persian New Year

Last night we celebrated Nowruz, which is the Persian New Year. Neither I nor Claire have any Persian connections, but we did attend an Indian street food cookery course with Vaughn’s Kitchen and Cookery School and they run pop-up evenings in a barn near us. The theme...
Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick

I’ve never really celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day. I’ve visited Ireland twice, the first time as a baby, and the second time on a one day business trip to Dublin. Claire and I have talked about going, but Ireland is the Emerald Isle, and what we’ve learnt about places...
Dictator and Tolerance

Dictator and Tolerance

On 15th March 44 BC, Brutus, Cassius, and other senators, assassinated Julius Caesar. He had orchestrated his appointment as dictator four years earlier. I am inclined to wish that all dictators could be dispatched so quickly. Yet even four years must feel like an...