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Category Archives: UK
One Hundred Years Ago, Lawrence of Arabia killed the Railroad – March 1923: Transjordan
Zur deutschen Fassung. Not quite a hundred, but still more than thirty years ago, I was in Australia as an exchange student. I don’t think I have ever told stories from that time, because back then, we still took pictures … Continue reading
Posted in History, Iran, Islam, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Technology, Travel, UK, World War I
Tagged Australia, Iraq, Lebanon, train, Turkey
5 Comments
King and Peasants discuss the British Monarchy
The following clip from Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) is still one of the best contributions in the debate about (not only British) monarchy: I found the following transcript of the dialogue: [ARTHUR and PATSY riding. They stop and … Continue reading
Posted in History, Politics, UK
Tagged British monarchy, democracy, government, Monty Python
16 Comments
One Hundred Years Ago, the Battlefields turned Red – November 1921: Poppies
Zur deutschen Fassung. Since this is not only a history blog, but also a travel blog, I naturally thought of combining these two aspects when I began the “One Hundred Years Ago …” series. Under the pretext of urgently having … Continue reading
Posted in Belgium, Canada, History, Military, Photography, Travel, UK, World War I
Tagged Ypres
9 Comments
Driving a Lorry for Brexit
In Germany, a driving license is not comparable to an ID card or a passport. Instead, it is considered something like a birth certificate: once issued, it never expires. That’s why I can still drive with this old pink slip … Continue reading
One Hundred Years Ago, someone kept his New Year’s Resolutions, but didn’t care about the Lives of Others – February 1921: Winston Churchill
Zur deutschen Fassung. It’s the end of February. If you are like me, most of your New Year’s resolutions have already dissipated, been forgotten or pushed to March or April. The smarter ones among you won’t have made any resolutions in the … Continue reading
Why I didn’t walk all of the South West Coast Path
Zur deutschen Fassung dieses Berichts. 1 “If I take the night bus from Heathrow to Newquay, I’ll get there well rested,” I had thought, although I should have known that I can’t really sleep on night buses. But the last … Continue reading
Posted in Photography, Travel, UK
Tagged Cornwall, hiking, housesitting, Newquay, South West Coast Path
9 Comments
Hermit for Hire
Zur deutschen Fassung. Of the name of this blog, the hermit part actually suits me better than the happy part. Or, to be more precise, happiness often depends on hermitness. It’s becoming increasingly harder to become hermity, though, not least … Continue reading
Cognitive Dissonance for Lunch
I am currently writing the article about cat-sitting in Cornwall and my attempt to hike the South West Coast Path. Here’s a little appetizer: Stay tuna-ed! Links: Meanwhile, more articles from the United Kingdom. And did you know that my … Continue reading
Brexit and EU Elections
One could almost think that this Brexit isn’t going anywhere. Because three years after a referendum in which a narrow majority voted, ostensibly, against fellow Europeans being part of the political decision-making process (and for British people being excluded from … Continue reading
Splendid Isolation
This house in Newquay is a good symbol for how Britain sees itself in Europe. The house probably believes that it is self-sustainable, while relying heavily on commerce and cooperation with the mainland. In the Cornish Guardian, a letter was … Continue reading
The Happy Hermit 