Sunday 5 July 2026 Sighnaghi, Signagi Municipality, Georgia As my days decrease here in this country, my chronicles come closer to arriving in it. Mad honey has been intoxicating travellers along the Black Sea coast for over 2,000 years…. Sunday 10 May 2026 Trabzon-Rize Shuttle Bus The Difficult Daughter A day that began as a… Continue reading Mad honey
Tag: travel
Flight to Trabzon
Above: Trabzon Airport Sighnaghi, Kakheti, Georgia Above: The town of Sighnaghi Sunday 5 July 2026 There is a certain irony in writing these words this morning. In three days I shall leave Georgia by air, while describing another flight — one that carried me to Trabzon two months ago, two days before I entered Georgia… Continue reading Flight to Trabzon
Serene bull
Tuesday 19 June 2026 Kutaisi, Georgia Above: Downtown Kutaisi and the White Bridge, as seen from Mt Gora Above: Flag of Georgia (Sakartvelo) I have come to the conclusion that airports and I maintain a polite but deeply suspicious relationship. With one exception — the bus from Rize to Batumi — every entry into and… Continue reading Serene bull
Café de la Paix
Sunday 26 October 2025 Ankara, Türkiye The night is still heavy over Ankara when you wake, not to the call of inspiration, but to the high-pitched drone of a mosquito. It is 3:30 a.m. Outside, the world sleeps. Inside, something stirs — part irritation, part calling. The kind that brings a man to lace his… Continue reading Café de la Paix
The ostrich in the room
Sunday 5 October 2025 Ankara, Türkiye Above: Başkent Millet Bahçesi Park, Ankara, Türkiye There is an old story about the ostrich, repeated since the days of Pliny the Elder, that when danger approaches the bird buries its head in the sand, imagining that what it cannot see cannot see it. In Natural History, Pliny the… Continue reading The ostrich in the room
Bruggwald
Landschlacht, Switzerland Wednesday 23 April 2025 In the event of something happening to me,There is something I would like you all to see.It’s just a photograph of someone that I knew. Have you seen my wife, Mr Jones?Do you know what it’s like on the outside?Don’t go talking too loud, you’ll cause a landslide, Mr.… Continue reading Bruggwald
Candle in the wind
Friday 18 April 2025 (Good Friday) Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland On this day in the predominantly Christian nation of Switzerland there is little that anyone can do today. Above: Flag of Switzerland Shops and businesses and cinemas are all closed to commemorate the execution of Christ by crucifixion on Golgotha (Calvary) outside the walls of… Continue reading Candle in the wind
This mediocre adventure
Journal de Jules Renard February 28, 1895 “I think that if I had to choose a profession all over again, I would not be a writer. I would be a peasant. A peasant doesn’t need to please anyone but the land. The land does not flatter in return. Writers grow hunchbacked over paper, hungrily awaiting… Continue reading This mediocre adventure
Next stop upon request (Runaway train)
Above: The logo of Swiss Federal Railways – the national railway company of Switzerland The train lurches with a sudden screeech, the hum of forward motion swallowed by the high eee of braking and the collective gasp of surprised passengers clutching at poles and seats. The train halts between Egnach and Arbon, a silent pause in motion.… Continue reading Next stop upon request (Runaway train)
Seeing red
Part Three of Peace of Mind / Part Two of The Road to Rorschach Sunday 6 April 2025 Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Schweiz Above: St. Leonhard’s Chapel, Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Schweiz I returned yesterday evening from a five-day mini-vacation in Bologna, Italy. Memory, at least mine, is much like a pot of tea. It needs time… Continue reading Seeing red