Archive

Catalonian independence Legend has it the flag of Catalonia was born from blood. The blood of a man called Wilfred the Hairy, who stories (but not necessarily any historical evidence) claim is the founder of Catalonia. He was injured in war in August of the year 897 and would die there on the battlefield. But ...

The genius of Thomas Jefferson There’s no doubt what the finest creation of Thomas Jefferson was. It’s the thing with the words. You know… these words: “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, ...

Visiting San Marino From high up on the hill, looking out over the countryside and towards the ocean, you can see why the residents of San Marino have tried so hard over the centuries to keep their land – it’s a stunning view, witnessed from a beautiful city that has maintained its historic charm. It’s ...

The gnomes in Wroclaw, Poland It starts with just one of them. One little guy, all bronzed and steady, looking up at you from a pavement in Wroclaw. He’s a blend between a gnome and a dwarf – for the sake of this conversation, let’s call him a gnome. This guy isn’t your usual garden ...

An open letter to Che Guevara Dear Che, I thought you might like to know that I visited your old house today. The one you grew up in near Cordoba in Argentina. They’ve turned it into a museum, you know. Old photos of your family, your childhood, the adolescence you spent growing and nurturing that ...

In the mid-1990s, hoping it would bring great fortune and fame to the country, the Argentinian Government allowed Madonna stand on the balcony of the Presidential Palace in Buenos Aires to film the scene from ‘Evita’ that would define the movie. Of course, the balcony scene was a stand-out partly because the rest of the ...

Deep South civil rights When it comes to civil rights and racial equality, there’s a lot of food for thought during a trip through the Deep South of the United States (and I’m not talking about the fried chicken!). Everywhere you go you’re confronted with overt signs of the gap between black and white. Sometimes ...

Sunset at Washington DC On a visit to Washington DC, I was reminded of that old phrase, “the sun never sets on the British Empire”. Walking down the National Mall, the sun was setting behind the Lincoln Memorial, casting an orange glow before darkness fell over America’s seat of government. It may seem a little ...

JFK Presidential Library, Boston There’s a moment on a tour of the JFK Presidential Library that brings on tears. Around me, as I stood there, some people sobbed. I could even feel that slight sting in the eyes myself. The moment comes right at the end of the exhibits in the room dedicated to that ...

The Boston Freedom Trail It’s in Boston, the city sometimes described as ‘the cradle of America’, that we pick up this story of ‘America, the resentful adolescent’. You see, to stick with this metaphor, the USA has been a rather spoilt child over the years. It was born into privilege with rights it feels are ...