Updated 6 Oct 18 People often ask me about my list of travel essentials*. So here is a list of my ten favourite gadgets, compiled from observation, necessity and a good few years of travel. I often travel for work, and for more than a month at a time. I do travel light, and my bag is too small to have more than 20kg in my luggage – allowing a bit of space for ‘acquiring … [Read more...]
Back when it all began …
I would describe my earliest memories as ‘dirty & free’, as in the type of dirt that makes your Mum embarrassed because it may reflect on parenting techniques. My sister had a collection of caterpillars that she carried around in her pockets and forgot to tell Mum about when Mum did the washing. I think my brother could safely say that he always wanted to be a farmer … [Read more...]
Book Review: The General in His Labyrinth
“José Palacios, his oldest servant, found him floating naked with his eyes open in the purifying waters of his bath and thought he had drowned”. And so begins ‘The General in his Labyrinth, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. First published 1989. Simon Bolívar, a brilliant military tactician who liberated much of the continent of South America from centuries of Spanish rule, died at … [Read more...]
Book Review: Full Tilt by Dervla Murphy
If anyone ever asks you to drive three donkeys and a foal for twenty four miles through the Karakoram Mountains, be very firm and refuse to do so … This is the advice given by Dervla Murphy in her book ‘Full Tilt’, written in 1965. The book is a record of her journey by bicycle cross country basically from Ireland to India. On the way she went through what was then … [Read more...]
Kolkata, Darshan! – Five Kolkata movies
The influence of the Indian film industry has been felt throughout the world Rather than try to talk inexpertly about it, I've gone for the expert - movie buff (and colleague) Parikshit Kumar for this guest blog on movies that have Kolkata as a theme. Arguably, the art and cultural center of India, Kolkata, has been the backdrop and heart of many popular Hindi and English … [Read more...]
