Category Archives: Local Culture

Christmas Markets

Posted on December 24, 2018 by

It is a Sunday morning in mid-December. We are in Köln (Cologne) in western Germany, wandering along the Rhine,  with our hands buried deep in pockets, and scarves wrapped almost up to our eyebrows as an icy wind whips around … Continue reading →

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Remembering the Armistice

Posted on November 29, 2018 by

“They do not know that in this shadowed place It is your light they see upon my face” ~ Mary Borden There was no forward planning whatsoever, but by pure fluke we ended up in the UK for the centenary … Continue reading →

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Ibsen’s Norway

Posted on July 24, 2018 by

‘The pillars of truth and the pillars of freedom – they are the pillars of society.’ ~ Henrik Ibsen Oslo in July. Boats and blue skies. A mad modern opera house, designed to look like it was rising from the … Continue reading →

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Wild Asparagus, Wild Strawberries

Posted on July 9, 2018 by

‘England represented the safety and comfort of familiarity but France dared me with challenges and rewarded me with the thrill of new discoveries within myself.’ ~ Barbara Santich Remember what it is like to be a footloose student or a … Continue reading →

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Travelling North

Posted on July 1, 2018 by

It was simply an overnight stop en route to the ferry port at Hertshals. We had spent the previous night at a Holiday Inn near Bremen Airport. The location, opposite a runway and a building site, was hardly salubrious, but … Continue reading →

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Happiness is Eating Together

Posted on June 21, 2018 by

Mere moments after we landed in the Philippines, I was invited to join the Antipodean team for the International Food Fair held annually at the boys school. For several years we churned out pies and pasties, Vegemite sandwiches and lamingtons … Continue reading →

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Echternach Spring Parade

Posted on May 22, 2018 by

After an exceptionally long winter that dragged on into April, May burst forth with enough vigour to drench the countryside with a top coat of pollen that looked like a layer of golden muslin. Now, the countryside is lush and … Continue reading →

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Bibliomania

Posted on October 30, 2017 by

“It borrows, it steals, it assimilates what words it pleases from all points of the compass…” ~ Charles MacKay on the English language. Bibliomaniac. Isn’t it a wonderful word? I found it in a book called ‘Forgotten English’ by Jeffrey … Continue reading →

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Compare & Contrast

Posted on September 30, 2017 by

Nine months ago, we packed our bags and too many boxes, and headed out to Ninoy Aquino International Airport for the last time. It was six years and a matter of days since I had first arrived in the Philippines. … Continue reading →

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A Fairy Tale Chateau

Posted on May 19, 2017 by

After two days of summer heat and glorious sunshine, Luxembourg has returned to winter drizzle and scuppered any thoughts of an expedition into the countryside. I had forgotten the unpredictability of European weather after years in the Philippines. Were the … Continue reading →

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