Landschlacht, Switzerland, 16 August 2016 Recent events have made me aware of the importance that humanity gives to names. A colleague and her husband, both good friends of mine, brought a new soul, a baby boy, into the world at 12:27 pm today. This past weekend the mother was honoured with a baby shower – a party… Continue reading The Name Game
Canada Slim and the Genius of Glarus
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 12 August 2016 In my last blog post, Yesterday’s Children, I wrote of boarding a train to parts unknown in an attempt to restore my composure after attending a memorial service in Benken, Canton St. Gallen. The day then was much like today’s weather: chilly, dark, unpleasant… Glarus, Canton Glarus, 21 March 2016 Glarus, the… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Genius of Glarus
Yesterday’s children
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 9 August 2016 Yesterday, one of my Facebook friends posed the question: Considering your life experience, what one piece of advice would you pass onto others? My answer was: Don’t wait, for time belongs to no one. None of us know how long we each have to live nor how long our loved ones… Continue reading Yesterday’s children
Hongwon style: Canada Slim in Korea
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 9 August 2016 Thirteen months of time remembered sixteen years later…prompted by a recent edition of The Economist and another “old” article found whilst searching for conversation ideas for my Friday classes: First, the articles: “Watching a new film on the big screen could soon be consigned to the dustbin of history. Sean Parker,… Continue reading Hongwon style: Canada Slim in Korea
The economics of love vs freedom
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 7 August 2016 Single people, aged 25 to 29 in eight rich countries – the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, Spain, Italy, France and Germany – have become poorer over the last 20 years compared with the average population. People aged 25 to 29 who live by themselves have less post-tax income in… Continue reading The economics of love vs freedom
Best kept secret
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 7 August 2016 In preparation for my Friday morning conversation classes and in an ever valiant quest to bring order to the chaos that is our apartment I have stumbled upon an “old” article from the Independent. And it has got my mind spinning in a variety of directions. The article is about how… Continue reading Best kept secret
Artistic differences, dogs and cats, earth and sky
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 7 August 2016 One of the dangers of spending “quality time” with a significant other, especially if much time has passed since the last period of “quality time”, is the need to “discuss the relationship”. Spend any significant amount of time with a member of the opposite gender and you quickly come to… Continue reading Artistic differences, dogs and cats, earth and sky
Wormwood forever
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 6 August 2016 Perhaps it is a result of lying on a beach under the hot Italian sun for three days that have caused my thoughts to think about radiation… I have just returned yesterday from a two-week holiday in Tuscany and have looked at some of the books I read, or wanted… Continue reading Wormwood forever
The Battle Electronic
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 23 July 2016 It´s 5 am and my wife is still asleep in her bed while I stare at an electronic screen willing it to magically put scattered thoughts into sensible prose for public digestion and edification. I think of the number of topics and events I have yet to write about and… Continue reading The Battle Electronic
Canada Slim behind bars 5b: Time served
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 22 July 2016 In the past five posts I spoke of prisons – how prisons inspire literature, prisons as tourist attractions, prisons as tourist accommodation, my work and life in a youth hostel/former jail, and the road that lead to me being imprisoned for a short time in America. In this sixth and… Continue reading Canada Slim behind bars 5b: Time served