Landschlacht, Switzerland, Monday 6 July 2020 Let there be no doubt: My souvenir book loves Porto. Above from the top left corner clockwise: Clérigos Church and Tower; Avenida dos Aliados; Casa da Música concert hall; Ribeira district; Avenida da Boavista business hub; Luiz I bridge and Porto from Vila Nova de Gaia “The… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Invention of the Clear Day
Tag: identity
Snowbirds
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 22 February 2017 In pauper’s fields the daisies grow There are no crosses, sadly, no To mark the place beneath the sky There is no singing from up high Scarce heard beneath the ground below These pauper’s fields. We are the dead, some time ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow Loved… Continue reading Snowbirds
Canada Slim and Last Year´s Man
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 19 December 2016 Now, Belgians love a good celebration, but a big night in the Belgian boozers often leads to mornings of regret and grim reflection. Being the chaste daughter of an English curate, nights in a bar were probably not part of Charlotte Bronte´s story, but her unrequited love for a married… Continue reading Canada Slim and Last Year´s Man
Dark discussions
I asked Reggie, my American cousin in all but bloodline, why Americans are responding with such fear and suspicion to Syrian refugees. He responded that I should not be so surprised considering how America treats its minorities already resident there. Why, I asked Reggie my ebony brother, was there so much violence against black folks in… Continue reading Dark discussions
Oh, oh, Canada!
Yesterday was Canada Day, our celebration of nationhood since 1867. Wish I could have been up on Ottawa’s Parliament Hill to see the fireworks, but whether increased security would have diminished the fun factor is problematic. Two days ago at the Allerheiligen Museum in Schaffhausen I came across a German-language magazine, Transhelvetica: Schweizer Magazin für… Continue reading Oh, oh, Canada!
Alex Supertramp and Canada Slim
“What´s in a name? That which we call a rose A rose by any other name would smell as sweet…” (William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet) “Each thing is the same with itself and different from another.” (Plato, Theaetetus) “Like the pine trees linin’ the windin’ road I’ve got a name. I’ve got a name. Like… Continue reading Alex Supertramp and Canada Slim
Sympathy for the dialect
Every nation has its faux pas – things that you shouldn´t talk about or joke about…EVER. For example, don´t call a New Zealander “an envious Aussie”, or a Canadian “a wannabe American”, unless you like your tires flattened. Don´t call la Manche the English Channel when you are in Paris or call the French “brie-eating surrender… Continue reading Sympathy for the dialect