The Woodshop Teacher December 4, 2024 - Douglas Van Dyck Brown taught Woodworking at a Massachusetts boarding school for 50 years. He retired in 2021 at the age of 82. The following excerpts are taken from his biography "The Man in the Blue-Striped Shirt" by Una Suseli O’Connell, published, November 2024. --- “Mr. Brown is clear about who he is. He was… Read More
Whose Life Is It Anyway? November 12, 2024 - As a Swiss passport holder I am legally permitted to travel to the country of my birth and enlist the support of Dignitas or Exit in order to end my life. In 2002 Diane Pretty, who was suffering with advanced Motor Neuron Disease, was denied the right to travel to a clinic in Switzerland. No… Read More
Tipping Over The Edge August 19, 2024 - In England the standard gratuity for restaurant service is 10%. This is generally added to your bill and referred to as a ‘Service Charge’. If you are of the opinion that your server was less than satisfactory, you can request that the charge be removed, or indeed remove it yourself. This is not common practice,… Read More
Remembering Dr. Leonore Goldschmidt May 11, 2024 - Buildings are vessels of history and Folkestone is a town rich in historical buildings. On the corner of Earls Ave and Shorncliffe Road stands a handsome brick and stone-dressed residence, once the summer home of the Boddam Whetham family. Since the late 19th century, however, it has served as an academic institution. In 1895, the… Read More
A Brilliant Disguise August 12, 2023 - In 2007 I attended the memorial and burial of the writer and philosopher, Douglas Edison Harding. My presence at his graveside that day was a co-incidence and not due to any personal connection to the family. To be honest, I had never heard of the man C.S. Lewis once described as a writer of ‘the… Read More
A Renaissance Man June 20, 2023 - The term ‘Renaissance Man’ is rarely used today. It appears to have fallen away in this 21st century of self-appointed authorities and experts. Of course you’d never describe yourself as a Renaissance Man (or Woman). This would be the preserve of others, most likely after your death, perhaps in an obituary or eulogy. A Renaissance… Read More
A Good Man is Hard to Find June 11, 2023 - One of my mother’s favourite television programmes in the 1960s and 70s was The Val Doonican Show. Doonican was an Irish singer, known for his soothing baritone voice, knitted sweaters and signature wooden rocking chair. I think my mother secretly wished she’d married a man like Val Doonican, rather than a man like my father.… Read More
The Footsteps of a Thousand Years May 21, 2023 - On May 17th, 2023 Sotheby’s New York auctioned The Codex Sassoon. Acknowledged to be the oldest complete copy of the Hebrew Bible, it was written on sheepskin parchment more than a thousand years ago. Although the Dead Sea Scrolls are older, they are incomplete. The Codex Sassoon is a world treasure, on which all our… Read More
A Good Brew April 30, 2023 - 'Bless ordinary every day afternoon tea' Agatha Christie The Swiss have long been a nation of coffee drinkers. It is perhaps no co-incidence that in 2001 Starbucks chose Zurich, rather than say Vienna or Milan, for its first venture into continental Europe. When I land at a Swiss airport, before I even check the train… Read More
Catching Your Death April 10, 2023 - In 1973 I went to a Dustin Hoffman double bill at the Cannon cinema in Folkestone. The Graduate was a 15 certificate and Straw Dogs was today’s equivalent of 18+ (R/Restricted Viewing). Nobody had IDs back then and my friend and I must have looked older than our 14 years. Straw Dogs was subsequently banned… Read More