It’s Just Not Cricket
Seriously, I felt if I don’t leave Australia soon I may never go again. India was made easier by my friend Mahin, finding room at his house in Fort Kochi in the southern province of Kerala. ‘Kochi is your home,…
Cairo Highway Cafe
The driving sun had passed over the yardarm as we descended Aswan High Dam. Ahead lay Luxor, 241 kilometres north, purportedly a three-and-a-bit hour drive if you don’t stop at the three temples Esna, Edfu, and Kom Ombo. Departing Luxor…
Behind the Battlements
Rugged stone escarpments soar into blazing skies. Looking up from the foot of the walls is dizzying. Circling the top of these craggy outcrops, man-made ramparts rise as high again, creating a perimeter demarcating the city within.
Statue of Limitations
Deliberately, willfully. I committed an act of art bastardry. Gleefully, shamelessly. On public record denouncing those who desecrate, no cause excuses taking anger out on works of art. Yes, they were behind glass but, no, Extinction Rebellion, no. Yet I,…
Cambodia’s Hidden Wonders
Cambodia has put its chequered history behind, proudly stepping forward claiming itself the Kingdom of Wonder. There are several ways that can interpreted.
Rolling Stock Nth Africa
Locomotives officially opened for public railway use on 27 September 1825. Expanses of previously impassable terrain opened new frontiers beckoning adventurers onboard. Ever since, rail travel has inspired artists, writers, songwriters, and filmmakers spinning dreams of romance, mystery, excitement, espionage,…
Going Dutch
In Amsterdam, asking “where are the dykes?” is as fraught with danger as asking a black waitress in Mobile Alabama for a cup of white coffee. And I’ve done both. In my defence the racist gaffe was in 1976,…
Beauty Under Glass
Through the swirling snowflakes a wan female face peers. Captured inside the glass dome is the world’s most beautiful woman, Queen Nefertiti, wife of Pharoah Akhenaton who ruled Egypt between approximately 1370 and 1333 BC. Feeding the fantasy of Egyptology…
Streets of Poison
Shadowing the high stone walls Locusta gathers in the woollen folds of her cape, the hood she pulls forward to better shield her auburn hair and fair skin from detection. Averting her gaze to avoid contact knowing with any utterance her Gallic accent will deceive her identity
Dickens of a Time
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. It was the dickens of a time locating 48-49 Doughty Street, Holborn, in the London Borough of Camden.