Above: Holy Trinity Cathedral, Tbilisi, Georgia Wednesday 15 July 2026 Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland Violent wind. Heavy rain. Hailstones. Nothing about the weather yesterday did I have any control over. Above: Weather Wizard (Mark Mardon) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. We readily speak of acts of God. Earthquakes. Floods. Lightning. Events beyond human control.… Continue reading Synod
Tag: Russia
To Batumi and beyond
Monday 13 July 2026 Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland I am caught between two systems that operate on completely different assumptions about time and responsibility. On one side is my wife. She values clarity, planning and decisions. To her, “I don’t know yet” sounds like something that ought to be solved by asking harder, following up… Continue reading To Batumi and beyond
The road to the border
Sunday 12 July 2026 Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland Above: Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland I sit at my laptop and I write. About places I have known, conversations I have heard and people I have observed in the hope that my own experiences are rich enough material. It is only 0900 but I have been up… Continue reading The road to the border
The big chill / The last station
Above: Lev Tolstoy railway station, Russia Wednesday 7 December 2025 Ankara, Türkiye Above: Ankara in winter “We live only to discover beauty. All else is a form of waiting.” Kahlil Gibran Above: Lebanese-American writer Kahlil Gibran (1883 – 1931) I sit in my room on a December evening in Ankara with the windows open to… Continue reading The big chill / The last station
Shadows on the sea
“O call back yesterday, bid time return.“ William Shakespeare, Richard II Tuesday 11 March 2025 Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Schweiz The fog drifts over the Bodensee (Lake Constance) like a whispered secret, delicate as breath on glass. It moves with the hush of something ancient, curling in tendrils over the water’s surface, dissolving as it meets… Continue reading Shadows on the sea
Fearless?
Sunday 9 February 2025 Eskişehir, Türkiye “The thing I fear most is fear.“ Michel de Montaigne, Essais Above: French writer Michel de Montaigne (1533 – 1592) Picture him in a tunic, a linen or woolen garment that fell to his knees, dyed in earthy tones like brown, gray, or deep green, reflecting his philosophical practicality. Over… Continue reading Fearless?
Canada Slim and the Humanitarian Adventure
Landschlacht, Switzerland, Tuesday 10 December 2019 There are things in Switzerland (and in our existence) that we simply take for granted: And the thing about Swiss stereotypes is that some of them are true. Diplomatic? Yes. Efficient? Absolutely. Boring? Only at first glance. Despite being one of the most visited countries in Europe, Switzerland remains… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Humanitarian Adventure
Canada Slim and Our Lady of St. Petersburg
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 23 September 2017 It has been a hard year for my heart in my dual roles of teacher and barista. In the former role, I have been disappointed that my preferred profession of choice, teaching, has sadly not been as busy lately as I might have hoped. In the latter, I have been saddened by the… Continue reading Canada Slim and Our Lady of St. Petersburg
Canada Slim and the Forces of Darkness
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 10 September 2017 Sometimes you have to borrow from the best, to raise yourself up from the shoulders of the great. Being the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, with much focus paid on this event and Swiss connections to it, I have found too much too interesting to ignore. What follows is a… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Forces of Darkness
Canada Slim and the Zimmerwald Movement
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 7 September 2017 “I have come not to praise Caesar but to bury him.” (William Shakespeare) “One hundred years after the Revolution took Russia by storm, it might be the right time to re-examine why it happened, how it developed and why its lessons can still shape our vision and understanding of the world… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Zimmerwald Movement