Places
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47. Baader-Meinhof
I think I spotted my first properly purple Nissan Qashqai, and now it seems they are everywhere. The Qashqai is of course one of the more popular UK cars, I just haven’t seen many in that colour. The Baader-Meinhof effect, I suppose? Continue reading
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30. A Very British Summer
It should be the start of Summer, meteorologically at least, but the rain has other thoughts it seems. Only a few days ago (whilst we were out in America), it was warm and dry out here. Back now, it is a blood curdling 11 degrees C and wet. For the first time in a while,… Continue reading
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29. Of Language and Of Words.
Two conversations – one in person and one over on Bluesky (if that counts) – brought words and language to mind for me today. First off was a work conversation in which a Venezuelan expression, Donde ronca el tigre, no hay burro con reumatismo was used. The wider context was a work project which is… Continue reading
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21. D-Day
And so to the main day. First order of business: breakfast, for which there were at least forty people spread out all over the cafe at the hotel – cousins, nephews, nieces and a fair few friends of the family all making up the lot. Nigerian weddings are a village affair after all. I shudder… Continue reading
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20. Going Southern
Having spent the majority of the past few days waiting out the rain – often tropical out here – the chaps decided they wanted a meal one evening. After going back and forth on options, we settled on a steakhouse, allegedly one of the very best out here. Being the ultimate cynic that I am,… Continue reading
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17. Cheat Code
One small mercy it seems of travelling with little children, particularly a loquacious one, is that they are conversation starters which helps with glum, over worked border agents once in a while. My experiences of travelling to Trumpland before it became that are mixed, with more than one weird conversation around my reasons for coming… Continue reading
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16. Bedlam
Best descriptor of the day! Bags, trolleys, cabs, airport transfers, negotiations about what to watch and when, moaning about airport food. Take the chaos of two adults and two kids traveling, and add to that two teenagers, sprinkle on that inability of Nigerians to travel light, and bedlam underestimates the outcome. Overwhelmed. Continue reading
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15. Heatwave
Stepping out of the door just past noon to get my hair cut, it felt like a wall of heat hit me, in all its energy draining weight. The key driver for the long overdue haircut is the small matter of a family wedding in Trumplandia, for which a full assortment of family will be… Continue reading
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12. St Catherine’s…
Passing through Feltham again, I paused to take a picture of an interesting building: a church spire somehow attached to what looked like office buildings. With the benefit of time on the train, I got a-googling and discovered it’s what is left of St Catherine’s which was closed in 1974, converted into offices in 1981… Continue reading
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11. Re: Upon This Rock
This week Pádraig Ó Tuama poses the question: “What is a rock I’ve got a memory with?” in his newsletter. For whatever reason, the first place the question took me was Nigeria, specifically the northern bits of the small state I trace my origins to. Some of my earliest memories of growing up are of… Continue reading
A Geek's Life 