“Someone gave us a snake last week, but a cayman ate it,” Felix shrugged. He did not seem unduly concerned about the fate of the unfortunate reptile. His interest was in conserving flora, not fauna. The lake in the centre … Continue reading In Search of a Garden
The Christmas trees were a bit of a surprise. I have been on anti-Christmas trips before, only to find that seasonal kitsch is harder to escape that you might imagine. In Marrakech we found inflatable Santas in the souk and … Continue reading Christmas in Ashgabat
Fish, Ale, Old Town and Poetry: Finding the connection between these subjects seems like it might be a round on the BBC quiz programme Only Connect. In fact they are all the subjects of ‘trails’ which can be followed round … Continue reading Trailing Around Hull
There are no wombats on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Or dingoes either, for that matter. What they do have, aside from the eponymous marsupials, are pure-bred Ligurian bees, as we discovered when our island tour took us to Clifford’s Honey … Continue reading The Bees of Kangaroo Island
When I suddenly received an e-mail out of the blue from my old school friend Z, I was surprised to learn that she was getting married. I had always admired the way Z had studied for a PhD and become … Continue reading The Teapot is in Bahrain!
‘Lane 1 Closed for Pruning’ said the road sign on the way into the city from Changi Airport. You don’t see that on the M4. Despite the horticultural hazards, we arrived safely at our hotel to the unexpected but welcome … Continue reading Green Singapore
If you stay in one place long enough, the world will pass by. What better place to sit, on a baking hot July afternoon in Taormina than a shady bench in the Public Garden, with a view of the bay … Continue reading Sicilian Interlude
The pigeons lined up at the edge of the pool, as if daring each other to be the first to take the plunge. Their cooing was the only sound to be heard in the Patio del Yesu. At ten-thirty in … Continue reading A Tale of Three Courtyards
“I would have got away with it if it hadn’t been for those pesky time-travelling racoons!” Not a sentence one uses every day, but in this case it fitted the situation perfectly. I was exploring Kitakyushu, on Japan’s southernmost island, … Continue reading In Search of Bungo
The local newspaper gives a count of the number of days the ‘siege’ has lasted, but in truth Doha does not feel like a city under siege. It is far more of a city under construction. Everywhere are building sites, … Continue reading City Under Siege?
Travels with me aren't 