Dia dhuit from Erin, Lionel Murphy – bearing a good Irish name and a streak of independence – heard a particular case in the High Court of Australia about an Australian Aboriginal bloke called Neal. Neal had rebelled against authority on his mission in Queensland. Murphy was often the dissenting voice in that conservative bastion and …Read More
Beannú from Ireland, Foodies have no sense of history. They must have had it surgically removed – some time between the nose job and the boob job. We are in Dingle in County Kerry, Ireland. This is a truly beautiful place, drawing visitors from far and wide to enjoy the scenery on one of the …Read More
Top o’ the mornin’ to ya’, Why are the Irish so happy? With crappy weather, widespread poverty and the Catholic church’s ridiculous constraints on daily life, you’d think they’d be the most down-at-heel, sad and forlorn people around. Add to these constant torments, they have a tortured history of poverty, famine and disease. …Read More
Whit like are ye? from Scotland, Speed bonnie boat like a bird on the wing Onward the sailors cry. Carry the lad that’s born to be king Over the sea to Skye. Ever wondered what the lyrics mean? The Battle of Culloden puts them into some perspective, at last. We are in the north of …Read More
Yaki da from Wales, Is there for honest poverty? . . . Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine; A Man’s a Man for a’ that; For a’ that, and a’ that, Their tinsel show, an’ a’ that; The honest man, tho’ e’er sae poor, Is king o’ men for a’ that. In the …Read More
Cyfarchion o dde Cymru, Milly Molly Mandy is alive and well. She has grown up and is working behind the bar at the Garskell Arms Hotel in Much Wenlock , Shropshire. Much Wenlock is your quintessential English village; quaint and evocative of a time long gone. We ambled through the …Read More
Hej fra Söder Sverige, You may find it difficult to swallow, but in Stockholm there is a museum dedicated to the Abba phenomenon. I believe the museum’s catchphrase is: “Become the fifth member”. We have resisted temptation to go there but its existence has rekindled a recurring wonderment of mine ie. …Read More
Hej fra Lappland, We have travelled deep into Sweden, to the far north, to Lappland. Linda took the wheel of the hire car to try her hand at right-hand drive. Hmmmm . . . We hurtled through the countryside on her leg of the long drive. Afterwards, I was in dire need of some …Read More
Hej fra Oslo, We often hear of Oslo and Melbourne topping the livability indices. (The same measures which have Dhaka at the bottom of the list!) What does Oslo have that others don’t? What criteria are included? And what are the relative weightings for the highly-subjective factors which allow them to arrive at such a list? …Read More
Halsninger fra Sverige, We have said farewell to Sweden, and in the process added yet another place to Linda’s Must-Go-Back-To list. That’s a growing list, but Sweden has a lot to offer. The Swedish Tourist Association – an influential body – has a long-standing slogan: Känn Ditt Land (know your country). It’s …Read More