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
Tag: work
Sober reflections
Sunday 2 November 2025 Ankara, Türkiye I want to talk about the events of Friday 31 October when I witnessed the visit and public lectures of Professor Elliott Sober and a concert by musicians Sinan Ayyıldız and Tolgahan Çoğulu. In the same building I also visited an exhibition about Gaza called “Homeland“. I had the… Continue reading Sober reflections
Invention of self
“Life is other than what we write.“ André Breton, Nadja (1928) Friday 7 March 2025 Landschlacht, Schweiz Above: Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland Literature is both a mirror and a chisel: One reflecting the world as it is. The other carving out the world as it could be. This blog may not be literature, but the… Continue reading Invention of self
Home?
Tuesday 11 February 2025 Eskişehir / Ankara, Türkiye The day begins in the embrace of motion — a train bound for Ankara, a city that has become familiar yet remains distant from the rhythms of my daily life. The capital of modern Türkiye has many roles to play. It is the conflicts between these roles… Continue reading Home?
The invisible man
Eskişehir, Türkiye Wednesday (Çarşamba) 25 December (Aralık) 2024 “There is such a sameness in my life at present it is not worthwhile to keep a journal.“ Nicholas Cresswell, Monday 13 October 1777 Above: British diarist Nicholas Cresswell (1750 – 1804) Cresswell was the son of a landowner and sheep farmer in Crowden-le-Booth, Edale, Derbyshire. Above: Holy Trinity Parish… Continue reading The invisible man
Canada Slim and the Bad Boss
Landschlacht, Switzerland, 19 November 2017 This particular post I write today will be different from others I have written since 2017 began. I do not wish to recount stories and histories or travelogs. There will few pictures in this post, because I want the reader to truly focus on what I have to say, rather than… Continue reading Canada Slim and the Bad Boss
What´s up, Doc? / Pier Pressure
Like many people, despite there being probably more years of life behind me than ahead, I have always been uncomfortable with the notion of my own mortality. Many years ago while browsing through a bookshop I came across a book called How We Die, which went to graphic, explicit detail of the exact bodily processes… Continue reading What´s up, Doc? / Pier Pressure
Saying “Davka” to Power
“In Hebrew, “Davka” is a gruff, one-word response to someone in authority. So in Hebrew you might ask an Israeli teenager “Why are you doing that?” and get the answer “Davka” – Because I chose to, because I want to do it this way rather than any other. Just because. Davka is about expressing determination,… Continue reading Saying “Davka” to Power
Pieces of flair
I was asked the other day by Roger, a Starbucks partner and shift manager, what was my favourite film, and I must confess the suddenness of the question had caught me off-guard, especially as it is so difficult to narrow down just one title from the many movies I have seen and enjoyed and in… Continue reading Pieces of flair
The wonderful world of work
On three different occasions I have witnessed a co-worker cry. Many times I hear co-workers complain about their jobs. I recall a beloved co-worker Vanessa, of Macedonia, (a country in the throes of civil unrest on a scale not far removed from Syria’s problems), who remarked to me that the job was not at all… Continue reading The wonderful world of work