No-go area

This morning a tweet from Drew McWeeny caught my eye. He’s subsequently deleted that tweet, so I can’t quote it exactly, but he was commenting on the recent election results in France and Greece, and he said something about both France and Greece having elected Neo-nazis. I (and several others, I think) replied that France [...]

Les Roches Rouges

During a recent holiday in Corsica we decided to drive along the coast to an area called Les Calanche which is famous for its rock formations. My wife remembered visiting a while back and stopping for a drink on the terrace of a hotel with a view across the bay, so we figured we’d head [...]

Thai markets

I’m currently reading a book (The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi) set in Thailand. The Thailand of the late 22nd century, admittedly, and one where genetic modification of foodstuffs is the norm. What this means is that there are numerous scenes (so far; I’m only 100 pages in) set in the markets of Bangkok, where [...]

The Familiar and the Foreign

We all know what America’s like, right? We’ve seen it all on TV and in films, we’ve heard the music, eaten the food, worn the clothes. We know how they speak and how they spend their free time (when they get any). So it doesn’t make a particularly exotic or surprising foreign holiday destination, I [...]

The Marzipan Chronicles

When I was a small child I used to accompany my mother to the bakery just around the corner. Our next-door neighbour worked in there and she’d always let me choose a cake and refused to take any money for it. I invariably chose a sponge rectangle covered in chocolate, with a chocolate Flake on [...]

Eating Austria

I didn’t go to Austria this year with any particular expectations regarding food. I spent a few days in Vienna last year and had the obligatory monstrous schnitzel, but beyond that I didn’t really know what they eat in the Tirol. So this isn’t exactly going to be an exhaustive and accurate overview of Austrian [...]

London town

In my imagination as a child, London was a place of romance and glamour. I visited a few times as a child, usually only for a day or two, on school trips to the Natural History museum or the Planetarium,  but it wasn’t until I reached my teenage years and began to think seriously about leaving [...]

Art Attack

This is Shawn. Shawn has a scar on his forehead, but he’s no boy wizard. Shawn recently visited Paris and Brussels with his Japanese wife and her parents. While strolling around a Parisian square his wife’s attention was caught by the work of a street artist. She pulled out her camera and took a photo [...]

Are you being served?

While on holiday in Mauritius recently (and yes, I promise that’s the last time I’ll start a blogpost with those words, ok?) I started thinking about the relationship between hotel guests and staff. This was the kind of resort where staff outnumber guests and someone was always nearby to serve you. So how do the [...]

Islamic manners for children

While visiting the Mauritian capital of Port Louis we popped inside the Jumma Mosque, partly as respite from the midday sun, partly to admire the architecture. While inside a gentleman approached me (he can be seen in the photo below, taken after we’d left. He’s the one on the left, seated and wearing a helmet [...]