Category Archives: Travel
Strangers on a train
I like long train journeys because they provide me with the time to read books, magazines and newspapers. Once, on a train in Germany, I was reading a newspaper or a news magazine. Across the table sat a man who … Continue reading
Book Review: “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer
“Into the Wild” is the real story of Christopher McCandless, a young American who decided to roam the wilderness of the United States after graduating from university and who eventually died of starvation in Alaska, aged 24. “Greetings from Fairbanks! … Continue reading
Why the North is taking itself too serious
Map-making has always had the problem of trying to fit the surface of a (roughly) ball-shaped object on a flat piece of paper. A map reflective of the true proportions of our planet would look something like this: However, most … Continue reading
Half Marathon at Eton
For the first time in almost a year, I have managed to run a half marathon (21 km = 13 miles) again yesterday. I ran at Eton, a small town situated west of London, which forms one community with the … Continue reading
Mandela deserves better
The mail delivery centres where you have to pick up the parcels that are too big to be squeezed through the letter slot, are rarely housed in beautiful buildings or located in enticing parts of the city. My local Royal … Continue reading
Upside down?
Ever since I spent 3 months on student exchange in Australia in 1992 and realised that I was not walking upside down, let alone falling off the earth, I have been very adamant against the use of “up” or “down” … Continue reading
It was the Mossad!
What, WikiLeaks? The attacks on Iranian nuclear scientists? The hijackings of 11 September 2001? Pearl Harbour? Global warming? No. This time, it is something far more sinister that Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad is accused of: The Egyptian coast on the Red … Continue reading
Fireworks for Bonfire Night 2010 at Blackheath in London
Every first week in November, all over Great Britain fireworks are lit up for “Bonfire Night” to commemorate the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. A group of English Catholics around Guy Fawkes had conspired to kill King James I and to … Continue reading
Al-Qaeda 2.0: DIY Terror
Remember Al-Qaeda? They used to scare us a bit by hijacking planes and blowing themselves up. With their nasty activities, they have caused us quite some trouble. Recently however, they seem to have experienced some problems of their own. Recruits … Continue reading
The Happy Hermit 