Berner Oberland 2002, part 1
Introduction Before we start . . . We met up at Zurich airport – Chris, John and me. John and I were an hour and a half late thanks to Easyjet, so we’d missed our connecting train that would have … Continue reading →
Tony
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
A rather odd book. I’ve only read two of Ishiguro’s books – this and Remains of the Day – and it left me wondering if all his pricipal characters have a deep-rooted personality flaw. It’s certainly true here. The most … Continue reading →
Driving Over Lemons by Chris Stewart
After reading the book I’m certainly looking forward to my visit, but I don’t think I’ll be in the queue to buy the farm next door. Stewart is careful not to give away the exact location of their farm – … Continue reading →
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
A planned visit to Provence in April prompted me to read this book some 12 years after it was on the best-seller lists. It’s hard now to see what the fuss was about – maybe the TV serialisation was more … Continue reading →
Not Won in a Day by Bennett, Jack
As ticklists go, visiting the highest point in each state in the USA is one of the more bizarre. Those who follow this obsession are Highpointers. Jack Bennett is one such who, having completed the USA round, turned his attention … Continue reading →
Tibet’s Secret Mountain by Chris Bonington & Charles Clarke
Subtitled “The triumph of Sepu Kangri”, the book chronicles Bonington and Clarke’s reconnaissance of this mountain and their attempt to climb it in 1998. The climbing content is limited – the book is more a travel book about the remote … Continue reading →
Beowulf by Seamus Heaney (trans.)
Having scoffed at David Whyte’s references to this Anglo-Saxon poem, I thought I’d better read it. Strong shades of Tolkien, which is not surprising, as he wrote possibly the most influential critique of the work in the 20th century.
Continue reading →Berner Oberland – July 2001
Things didn’t quite go according to plan on this trip. Our original plan was an 8 – 9 day traverse of the Berner Oberland, with some significant summits on the way. Then there were Plans B, C, D, . . … Continue reading →
French Revolutions by Tim Moore
Funny and entertaining account of an unfit bloke cycling the route of the Tour de France. Very much in the "We’d never done any white-water rafting in bear country before, but we thought we’d give it a go" genre, but … Continue reading →
The People’s Lawyer by Philip Ells
A young English lawyer’s experiences on a 2-year volunteer assignment in the remote Pacific islands of Tuvalu. Forget the idea of an island paradise – the traditional way of life has all but disappeared, and it doesn’t seem to have … Continue reading →