And, meanwhile, American politics has taken my attention again, after I had happily relinquished it for a few weeks. Trump is being impeached for asking the Ukrainian president to, effectively, investigate a political opponent in return for access. Yesterday he doubled down on this on live television, saying that damn right the Ukrainians should investigate […]
Appalling, terrifying
The UK government, that is. Really, really worrying.
Armadillo in the sky
Last night, as I was finishing up some billing and drinking tea in the porch, there was a crash in the undergrowth just in front of me. An armadillo appeared to have plummetted from the sky. It collected itself and bustled away, leaving me wondering if it was what had been scrambling on the roof […]
New class
Today I had two sets of classes: one with my first Spanish teacher and a second with a different one I am trying out this week. It’s not been the most successful run thus far, but I think the second teacher will do for my time in Puerto Viejo. I was extraordinarily lucky, I think, […]
The most beautiful there is
Urdu poetry is the most beautiful there is for me; strange, given that I am much more at home in English, read much more in English, yet Urdu goes to the heart like nothing else. I remember the pang of pride I felt at my Ivy League university when I was introduced to an extremely […]
Turning tide
British politics offered a brief moment of hope today as the ethical Tories finally rebelled again no-deal Brexit. They’ve been chucked out, and some, at least, should be given medals for the courage of their convictions. Ken Clarke, Dominic Grieve, David Gauke, maybe a few others. On the other hand, Boris and Rees-Mogg both showed […]
On horseback
It was cold and wet and rainy this morning, enough that we nearly turned tail. Instead we gingerly mounted our horses and set off. I hadn’t been on a horse since I was about 13 and that time I fell off. Before that, I rode a few times aged around 9 and fell off. I […]
Hand of the stone
We took a taxi to Curi Cancha reserve, asked for a map for a 3 or 4 hour long walk, and off we went. To begin with there were a few people around, a Chinese family with some of those really immense cameras all pointing up into a tree. We tried to see what they […]
Three cities
In the morning, we walked across to the fish market, which I had read was the place to have lunch in the city. It was a short walk over very large but quiet roads along the glittering Pacific. The market itself – the wholesale market was being washed down, but along the front was a […]
Thoughts on two articles in the Observer
The music was very loud again last night and did not stop till 4. There is something about the way that sound echoes in our street, it is very loud indeed so it made for a very uncomfortable night, again. Anyway, I woke up at 7 so feel quite underslept, plus there is no milk […]