I blame the weather! Despite the fact that I can virtually see the Tropic of Canc… Capri… whichever one is the northern one… from my window, it sometimes gets a tad chilly around here. Every day, around 4:15 p.m., along with 90% of the local population, I receive a text message via my mobile phone […]
I’m in deep shock! I had to come home and lie down. I may need psychiatric treatment. Post-traumatic stress disorder, I reckon! It all started off so simply. An old friend was in town unexpectedly and only for a very short time. She called me and said “Quick! Come to meet me. We can have […]
Ask almost any Chinese person what inventions China is famous for, and they will dutifully list the famous four: gunpowder, paper, printing and the magnetic compass. Ask them for anything they have invented in the last 500 years and they look at you blankly. But they are too modest. They have invented one of the […]
I've been trying for weeks to remember to pick up a slightly unusual light bulb for one of the fittings in my kitchen. I walk through Light Bulb Alley two or three times a week, but always seem to be day dreaming and find myself half way home before I remember. Finally, this morning, I […]