A few weeks ago, I was waiting for a hotel lift so I could descend for breakfast. When the door finally slid open, I saw a fat middle-age man with a suitcase, and a young woman standing behind him. I stepped forward. “Nein!” Barked the fat man, waving his arms in front of him to […]
Less Fear, More Anger and Pink Freud… what I witnessed in Ukraine
We drove across central Kyiv early on a Sunday morning. I remember being surprised by the hush: the night before the bars and restaurants had been pretty packed. But now the city was near silent, just us and a few street sweepers with their wooden brooms, though the streets already looked clean. We parked up […]
Mirror mirror on the wall – where the fukarwee…..?
My mum has these funky friends across the pond in Canada who like kayaking. One day they set off with a bunch of pals, to paddle down a local river. When they eventually stopped to rest, the group realised they had kayaked miles from where they’d intended to go, and were completely lost. “Where the […]
Beware Gaza Ice-cream
Yesterday, I heard a familiar voice on the radio. It was an old friend of mine from Gaza. Her name is Najla Shawa. She was being interviewed from Gaza city by the BBC World Service. The presenter introduced her like this: “Now we are going to talk to a Palestinian mother in Gaza. Najla is […]
