Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee It wasn’t so long ago, I recall, that the Royal Family was a bit of a joke. An entire generation of them seemed unable to keep their private lives out of the tabloids with their adulterous, gaffe-prone, toe-sucking scandals. And the response to it all from the top left the […]
Pomp and circumstance
Jubilee flotilla on the Thames Oh, for such a British event, there was such British weather. The rain and the cold didn’t keep the Queen’s loyal subjects away from the Thames to see her Diamond Jubilee flotilla, though. Oh no, it was something else entirely that stopped much of the crowd enjoying the festivities. “I […]
Stories from John
John Waite is the world’s oldest backpacker, still staying at hostels at the age of 89 as he travels the globe. Here are some of his tales from his journey.
Religion is faith and sport is religion
College football in Texas It was when the well-spoken fifty year old Texan woman, her hair permed in deference to the sensibilities and social requirements of the Deep South, grabbed the bag of cheap wine offered to her, drank long and hard and then slapped the bag, that I knew we had entered a very […]
Life in North Korea
Life in North Korea is hard to imagine and hard to get information about. But this look inside the rogue state gives you some idea of what it would be like.
Independence Day
What a day of patriotism! So much red, white and blue! Such an overt demonstration of national pride! The 4th of July brings out the best in Americans. And, more importantly, they see the best in America. For many of these people – wheelchair-bound, close to poverty, threatened by the vices of society that tear […]