Reunification and division

We’ve all seen the pictures. 1989: a remarkable year. Muslims burn Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses as the Ayatollah Khomeini orders his execution for blaspheming Islam. The last Soviet troops leave Afghan soil after a ten-year occupation. The Exxon Valdez tanker spill ravages Alaska’s coast. Bloody riots mark the 30th anniversary of Tibetan anti-Chinese uprising: dozens… Continue reading Reunification and division

Love thine enemy?

On 6 February 1998, Season 4, Episode 3, (Hearts and Minds), of the TV show The Outer Limits, was broadcast. “In order to survive, a soldier must fight many battles, physical as well as mental. But in the heat of the struggle, reality can sometimes fade, like memory, until only one thing remains certain…the first… Continue reading Love thine enemy?

How SHE came to be

Before I tell the marvelous saga of Sardinia and our adventures there, it is necessary to remark that Day One of this sojourn, 27 July 2015, marked the 20th anniversary of how SHE came to be in my life. I am tempted to begin the tale with words like: “It was a dark and stormy… Continue reading How SHE came to be

The walk of life

“They do the walk. They do the walk of life.” (Dire Straits, “Walk of Life”, Brothers in Arms) “Our neighbourhoods arenĀ“t all that hostile… I have a thousand times more often encountered friends passing by, a sought-for book in a store window, compliments and greetings from my loquacious neighbours, architectural delights, posters for music and… Continue reading The walk of life