“A comic writer should of all others be the least excused for deviating from nature, since it may not be always so easy for a serious poet to meet with the great and the admirable. But life everywhere furnishes an accurate observer with the ridiculous.“ (Henry Fielding, Joseph Andrews) Above: English writer Henry Fielding Eskişehir, Türkiye Monday 21 April 2024 Henry Fielding is one of… Continue reading Dreams of Fielding
Tag: politics
Revolving doors
Eskişehir, Türkiye Monday 1 April 2024 Local elections in Türkiye took place on 31 March 2024 throughout the country’s 81 provinces. A total of 30 metropolitan and 1,363 district municipal mayors, alongside 1,282 provincial and 21,001 municipal councillors were elected, in addition to numerous local non-partisan positions such as neighbourhood wardens (muhtars) and elderly people’s councils. The… Continue reading Revolving doors
Land Day
Eskişehir, Turkey Saturday 30 March 2024 “Started reading Goebbels’ diary. Interested to note that he, too, was a writer manqué who had begun by producing a bad novel and a play which no theatre would put on. Above: German Chancellor Joseph Goebbels (1897 – 1945) Most men of action seem to be writers manqué, and… Continue reading Land Day
Eye problems
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 9 January 2017 Today is my first day back to work as a teacher and this, of course, involves planning. Planning involves going through my wee little library here at home in search of interesting material to share with my students in the hopes that as they learn they might also be entertained,… Continue reading Eye problems
The Wolves of Washington
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 5 January 2017 Sometimes I believe that there is hope for us simple humans. Other times… I am not so sure. Been reading lately of the US Republican Party seeking to dismantle or at least disable the US House Committee on Ethics. It has many functions, but they all revolve around the standards of… Continue reading The Wolves of Washington
Canadian home sickness and the Excited States of America
As a Canadian resident in Switzerland there are many things I miss about life in Canada: I miss old friends and family. I miss the magnificent splendour of my home and native land. And I miss small things too: Food like Habitant pea soup, poutine, tourtiere, Canadian breakfast, perogies, microwave dinners, beavertails… Comedians like Lorne… Continue reading Canadian home sickness and the Excited States of America
Saints and monsters
It was with the greatest pleasure that I spent most of the first two days of December in my favourite European City, Freiburg im Breisgau, the “capital” of southwestern Germany´s Black Forest. I have in two previous posts briefly touched upon my last visit to Freiburg (Sign of the Times / Victims of the Machine)… Continue reading Saints and monsters
Frank about the Franc
“In the world of central banking, slow and predictable decisions are the aim. So on Wednesday 15 January 2015, when the Swiss National Bank (SNB) suddenly announced that it would no longer hold the Swiss Franc at a fixed exchange rate with the Euro, there was panic. The Franc soared. On that Wednesday one Euro… Continue reading Frank about the Franc
Hurrah for Folly-would
Gosh darn it… Why are those “liberals” so hard on “average” citizens? Why do liberals condemn ordinary folks so much for simply wanting to protect their families and homes? I mean, let’s just look at things from our point of view. We all know the surety of things we believe in… – When a white… Continue reading Hurrah for Folly-would
Why I write
Who am I? Why am I writing this blog? Legitimate questions. I am Adam Oliver Kerr, aka Canada Slim. In my travels across Switzerland, and eventually the world (I hope), I explore the places I encounter with a curious and open mind, wanting to know “What makes a place special and unique?” Sometimes it is… Continue reading Why I write