"Listen, our guns have stopped." "Maybe the war is over. Maybe it’s peace." "Oh hurray! The big knobs have got around the table and yanked the iron out of the fire." This exchange from the last few minutes of the final episode of Blackadder Goes [...]
One of the most famous novels in Norway is called Gift (meaning Poison. Oddly, it also means 'married'). It was written in 1883 by Alexander Kielland and is a deeply critical social commentary on the educational system. Cramming and memorising was the order of the [...]
The most popular Instagrams in July come from the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Sweden, Germany and Spain. Let's get to it: 11. Antwerp mural. Much as I adore Tin Tin, there's more to Belgian street art and murals than Hergé's intrepid journo. Here's a wall in Antwerp. 10 [...]
This month's most popular Instagrams are from Northern Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Germany and Sweden, and include three World Heritage sites. Here we go: 11. Until last month, I hadn't been in Antwerp in more than 20 years. What a wonderful city! One of its many [...]
When I began a sporadic little series Cats of the World a few years ago, this hot pink spandex cat on a bike in Brussels is not the type of cat I had in mind. Cats are indeed photogenic creatures, and so is this kitty. [...]
Brussels is a city in its own right, beyond being the capital of Europe. There's yummy chocolate, first-rate beer, fabulous architecture and groovy street art, and there's TinTin. What more could one want?
I've been to the capital of Europe countless times. I even lived there for a few months after uni, while I was contemplating what to do with the rest of my life - amongst friends persuading me to join them in diplomatic/bureaucratic service. Idly contemplating, [...]
