I cannot claim to be an authority on Thomas Mann, or the long and varied history of various incarnations of Faust. Nor have I read the many, many subsequent books and papers which followed Mann's 1947 novel. When reading it this month, the story felt eerily familiar; as
It's been a couple of weeks since Susan signed us up for bell ringing lessons. That red arrow points to the little room, about 70 narrow, winding, stone steps up, where we're learning the basics. In this room. Each big church bell has a rope that
I grew up in a household where Stampede Wrestling was a weekend highlight. I pretty much educated myself at the Kelowna Public Library, and somehow never aspired to much of anything. Dad was a used car dealer, and Mom was... well, Mom. Small town Kelowna education was nothing dramatic. There
For those who don't subscribe to the Globe and Mail, my column about dry wells in Nova Scotia is now on-line at my own site. What was touched on, but never really explored, was the question of what the role of governments should be in this disaster. There
In today's Globe and Mail I write about the Nova Scotia drought, our dry well, and why governments need to stop supporting fossil fuel use. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-nova-scotia-atlantic-drought-wells-water/
Lately I've been reading Jonn Elledge's A History of the World in 47 Borders. Pick up a copy - you won't regret it. And subscribe to his newsletter. Two things emerge from this book: The national (and internal) borders that govern our lives are
This post is strictly to give Google something to index, for the benefit of North Americans who move to the UK and are baffled by heating All that you need to know is the Rule of Twos. Your storage heater is pretty primitive. It warms up big heavy blocks overnight
Where my mind is today.
More on power. When we moved in, we chose to keep EDF as our electricity company. They were already supplying the house, and we had liked them back in France, so why not? For the first time, we have a smart meter that tracks our power usage and keeps us
There are a few of these mystery switches on baseboards in the house. I have no clue what they do. For an immigrant from Canada, English power is baffling. Here are the plugs to the left of the kitchen stove - sorry, the hob. The two UK plugs on the
First off, let's be honest. This by any measure a beautiful country. The fields and streams and skies look just like they do in the paintings and movies. And, for reasons I haven't quite figured out, there are fruit, berry, and nut trees everywhere we walk.
I have driven a car in England. I have shifted with my left hand, and learned how to align myself in the middle of the lane while sitting on the right-hand side of the car. I did though scrape the passenger side wheel-rims against the curb multiple times. Ultimately though,
And why I'm now reading the Iliad. We're in a small town outside of Cambridge, cat-sitting for a week or so. What has struck me most is that we're in a house with absolutely no books of any size, shape, or description. To me,
As I write this, we're cat-sitting in Cottenham, north of Cambridge. Near month-end we'll move into our semi-permanent rental home in Grantchester. As is usually the case when moving, the surprises are in unexpected places. For instance.... Food - The quality and price of food (store
Today my darling wife Susan launched her new blog, telling the tale of our journey from Vancouver to Cambridge. She is a wonderful writer, and a far better photographer than I will ever be, Trust me, this is one that you want to subscribe to. https://my-year-at-cambridge-university.ghost.io/
We're in London for a few days before heading to Cambridge for a month of pet sitting, followed by our permanent residence for the coming year. Today's challenge: how to log into my VanCity bank account. The problem is two-fold: I had set it up to
Technically, I've lived twice in Appalachia. Once in Kentucky - well, actually over the line in Virginia - and once in Nova Scotia. I don't mention any of this on government forms. In classic North American culture you're born in a town, grow up
Seriously, folks, this is just a little test to see that Ghost is functioning the way I think it should. If you could leave a quick comment below that will reassure me that everything is working as hoped. Thanks! Barry ps - Next weekend we leave for England, so might
A very, very long time ago I actually worked for Granville Island, as a janitor (and self-taught forklift driver!) in the Public Market. It was a fun job, working with a wild and varied group of people who had no interest in being janitors. Today we're camped out
It comes closer every day.... I have always loved the Holy Model Rounders. It was a couple of decades later that I understood the Appalachian traditions that were behind their lovely, quirky tunes. And I've played this song just before every move in my life - so more