Every time I read about English King Henry VIII I have great difficulty feeling sympathy towards the man, a lustful harsh egotistical king who married six times for the purpose of securing a male heir to the throne, severed England from the Roman Catholic Church and dissolved monasteries for financial gain. To be fair, there… Continue reading The glory departed
Tag: history
Canada Slim and the Dickensian Moment
Two days ago my hosts in England and I did a very English thing… We visited the Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum, at 393 Old Commercial Road, in Portsmouth. “He created some of the world’s best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His work enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Dickensian Moment
Gold and orange / triumph and tragedy
Day Three in England…a full day…a knife to the throat…the gold of victory…the first port of a legend… Last year, prior to my best pal’s wedding, we arranged to have a barbershop shave to ensure that no five-o’clock shadow faces would cloud the perfect nuptial day. Iain thought it might be a lark to have… Continue reading Gold and orange / triumph and tragedy
The Queen is dead, long live the Queen
Rule Two regarding life in England: The press is generally horrid. I have only been on English soil two days and already the press exasperates me. I rarely see people buy newspapers as they either subscribe online or they read the free newspapers found at any rail or Tube station. The free paper Metro, suitable… Continue reading The Queen is dead, long live the Queen
A sense of accomplishment (my favourite SOB)
I know that I am probably not alone in this – “Why can´t you be more like (Insert name here.)?” – situation. I am certain that there are, or have been, people in your life who seem to shine brighter than those around them. They radiate success, confidence, achievement and accomplishment, and are the envy of… Continue reading A sense of accomplishment (my favourite SOB)
The Memory Music Project
“I spent a large part of one of the evenings I was in Uganda thinking about what precisely the memory of a person is. What do I want people to remember about me? What would I prefer to have suppressed? Do I have a number of secrets that I shall take with me to the… Continue reading The Memory Music Project
Delivery refused
Sins, that which is counted against you when one´s life is assessed, come in two basic forms: commission (what you did but shouldn´t have) and omission (what you should have done but didn´t). Clearly, there are no innocents, alive or dead, in the world. This lesson was powerfully demonstated to Ute and I yesterday when… Continue reading Delivery refused
Happiness is a warm gun
“Ideas should not stay inside the brain, but should be released and given expression.”(André Robillard) This year of 2015 the Thurgau Art Museum is paying homage to the work of André Robillard…and after our lacklustre time on the Beaver Trail today, She Who Must Be Obeyed and I also paid homage to his work. We… Continue reading Happiness is a warm gun
Walking with Anahareo
Another day, another walk, this time along the Beaver Trail of the World Wildwife (umm sorry, Wildlife) Federation of Bodensee-Thurgau with She Who Must Be Obeyed. The Trail is a 5 km/3-hour walk, through forest and field, beside river and stream, near the town of Pfyn (pronounced “foon”), close to the city of Weinfelden, and… Continue reading Walking with Anahareo
Post vino veritas
The Canadian group, The Rovers, have a song, “Wasn´t That a Party?”that seems appropriate to describing the events of yesterday and the after effects this morning. “Could have been the whisky Might´ve been the gin Could´ve been the three or four six-packs I don´t know But look at the mess I´m in My head is… Continue reading Post vino veritas