Quest for a pepper grinder

Yesterday was Monday I’m told, but I feel quite out of time, as though the week has been going on for a very long time. It turns out taking my weekend on Friday didn’t actually feel much like the weekeend, or maybe it did and in that case it should be Friday tomorrow, but it […]

Day the second

We didn’t go for a stroll after all, as it felt rather odd and unethical to be out when it was forbidden to actual Turks. Instead I did a good bit of work, and we did some planning for the flat (including a pinterest board (!)), ate biscuits with our tea and turned the heating […]

Morning in America

The GF said today that the Trump’s tenure has been rather like having a car alarm go off outside one’s window – the especially vile sort of alarm which changes tone and type so you can’t ignore it. Now, the alarm’s been turned off, and it really feels like that blessed first few minutes of […]

This is America

I have just watched Trump’s speech. Even if, at this point, Biden wins the presidency, this was another moment that marked the end of America. Maybe the moment. This election has also made it quite clear that when my American friends said that Trump’s is not the real America, that was nonsense. This is the […]

Off his head

This is a rather late reaction to the news of the moment, but Trump getting COVID is really quite something. I watched two videos following his release from hospital. One, when he went onto the balcony and took his mask off, and looked like he was struggling for every breath and might come falling off […]

Abort, abort

Yesterday afternoon we went to Eyup, an old mosque and graveyard which lies further up the Golden Horn than we’ve been to date. We got a ride to the foot of the cable car that takes one up to the top, to find a really, really long queue. We waited about 30 minutes, during which […]