Yurt 101
Yurts are the traditional round houses of nomadic Asian tribes (should you want details on its origins (hint: it’s not Mongolian) – see here). A yurt is vaguely equivalent to a teepee in that it was originally intended as a permanent home for communities on the go. You can put one up and take it … Continue reading
Our adventure has been mindblowing, awe-inspiring and (on occasion) terrifying. Imagine a country which is old world and romantic, in a landscape both rugged and wild. The best and worst of fairy tales brought to life – and alive it most certainly is. When I get over the culture shock of homecoming and finally trawl … Continue reading
The Other Olympics
I have a confession. I was always one of those people who thought of the Paralympics as a ultra-PC also-ran: a really, nice, encouraging thing, ultimately defined by disability and limitation and therefore not as interesting as real sports. I have another confession. I was an idiot. Saying the Paralympics are just the Olympics with … Continue reading
Light Travels in August
I am currently in Kyrgyzstan – midway through my three-legged August. First, we went to an island in the English Channel for some Shakespeare. It’s a National Trust property, and an excellently English summer evening. Adorable. By the time you are reading this, I am probably camping with sheep some 4,000 miles above sea-level. Google … Continue reading
Bon Voyages…
This weekend my grandmother left the world as we know it. And in her brilliantly stubborn way, she did so exactly like she would have chosen to do so: In her house, with her nails done and with all of her family laughing and telling stories in the kitchen. It went very quickly, too quickly … Continue reading
Test Run
So I’ve finally bought a real camera. The kind with a really long name and a giant lens. Hopefully it will help me capture my journey through Kyrgyzstan better than the average Blackberry. Based on today’s initial test run, I have a lot to learn… Lesson I: Focus … Continue reading
In the arena, I’m still young at heart
Between the ages of 9 and 14 I spent an inordinate amount of time following the American Women’s Gymnastics team. I would buy magazines with babysitting money, purely because they featured some “day-in-the-life” story of one of the Olympic hopefuls of my youth. I quietly obsessed about those girls the way other kids knew famous … Continue reading
All the (Olympic) Bells
The Olympics are coming! Sure. You are skeptical of my enthusiasm. I get it. There has been much criticism, confusion and downright buffoonery in the lead up the games. I mean, a rights monopoly on all potato-based sticks in the area is a very odd battle ground no matter where you live. And drivers getting … Continue reading
The Virgin Money Lounge
I sometimes wonder if Richard Branson is the UK’s very own Donald Trump, admittedly with a savvy, edgier, Baby Boomer vibe. The red lacquered signage has splashed its way into almost every major industry. It is an Empire. Of records, and books, and phones, and cable tv – including the long-awaited UK launch of TiVo. … Continue reading
Things I Love
It’s raining cats and dogs. Again. They say it’s the worst summer on record (and the Queen’s Garden Party was definitely a damp squib). The wet weather has drowned a large portion of puffin hatchlings, wiped out the breeding season for the already struggling butterfly population, and hit farmers hard. The season of bounty this … Continue reading
Que Sera Sara? 