Dear friends, It's amazing what you can fit into a week if you are with energetic and generous friends. Rada and Steve have a beautiful house right on the shore of Lake Champlain in Upper New York State, and although I am not generally an early riser, getting up before six am to view the [...]
Dear friends, Such a lovely week in around Washington DC, staying with my friend Betsy, a colleague from my Geneva days, and meeting up with others from my past, the Ethiopian artist Wasihun (see my most recent journal entry), with Carroll who was UNICEF rep in Myanmar when I worked there for the International Red [...]
Dear Friends, Sometimes it seems as though there is some kind of magic in the air, and Tuesday was one such day for me and for Wasihun Asnake Mengsta. We met first in Geneva in 1991, and now 28 years later we meet again in Washington DC. With Wasihun in his apartment with one of [...]
Dear friends, This is my fourth and last story from my short but most enjoyable visit to Tasmania last month. The island proved to be a chilly as people had said, with some mornings really cool at 14 C while just an hour's plane ride north in Adelaide the temps were sitting in the mid-30s. [...]
Dear friends, Been a bit slow getting this third blog up about Tasmania but finally, here it is - a quick hop through two days with a look at the wonderful Corinda House Hotel, a walk in the botanical gardens, and a day trip to see the WALL then a short hike in the Mount [...]
Dear friends, Some more from my visit to Tasmania last month. From Hobart, it is an easy day trip across to the SE Coast and down the Tasman Peninsula to the Port Arthur Historic site, with some interesting natural features along the coast. We were told by friends to visit Pirates Bay, the Blowhole, the [...]
Dear friends, Last month I spent a short week with my friend Verity in Tasmania and what a great few days it was too. I am sure that none of you need be reminded that Tasmania is the island state of Australia and lies off the coast almost directly south of Melbourne across Bass Strait. The [...]
Dear friends, Most summers I visit Europe but it has been a while since I visited any of the Nordic Countries, so this year I decided to do just that. It was a bit of a nostalgic trip for me as I have previously spent a lot of time up in the north, but also [...]
Dear friends, Lucky me to spend 6 weeks in Europe from mid-June to early August, visiting friends in the UK, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Everywhere the weather was beautiful, the friends welcoming and the weeks passed so quickly in a whirl of delightful meetings, delicious dinners, gorgeous scenery and a few special treats [...]
Dear friends, Another really fun happening in Chiang Mai last weekend when I took a painting class with the talented Chris Chun. He had generously offered a class, even with bubbly and cakes as an extra attraction, as one of the auction items at the Skills for Life Foundation fundraising event some months ago and three [...]