Just as the Taliban swept into Kabul, I was coming to the end of Eric Newby’s famous 1956 account of his hiking trip to Afghanistan, A Short Walk in the Hindu …
More +Tailenders make cricket great
What other sport can you see played – at the most elite levels – by people who are basically not very good at it (puns aside)? This is the beauty …
More +Sweden’s alcohol security system
The most secure place in any Swedish city? The prison? No. A bank? No (there is no actual money in Swedish banks anymore – that’s another story). The town hall? …
More +Finding your Irish roots
I’m pretty sure my great-grandparents on my mother’s side were Irish. Their surname was Tandy (ironically, unusually close to my own paternal surname). But it’s hard to know for sure. …
More +Do all apricots taste as sweet?
Uzbek apricots cost a fortune from my local supermarket. They are the only Uzbek apricots I’ve ever eaten. Almost every apricot you ever bite into will be from Turkey. Why? …
More +The Ninjago Pandemic
Last week, I finally saw compelling evidence of a highly infectious obsession among our children. I was in a pine forest in rural Sweden, among deer, wood anemones and goldfinches, …
More +The devil wears Primark
Apparently, there are two types of buyer: sweatshop-conscious, eco-conscious (and rich) people who buy expensive, durable, long-lasting clothes, and evil people who go to Primark and get a fresh pair …
More +The day the waxwing came
The icy North Wind blew us a mysterious guest this January. It arrived on our balcony unseen, caught us aware, touched our hearts, and left a poo. I looked up, …
More +Mwah! One kiss or two?
In England, when I grew up, kissing or not kissing women on the cheek was a class issue. Lots of people think the English don’t do the kiss on the …
More +In praise of air travel
Would you consider a one- or two-stop flight from London to India? Or would you click the ‘direct flights only’ button every time? How about 21 stops, plus a rail …
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