Category: AWAY FROM THE DESK
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Looking back on Belgrade, Serbia
Summer in Serbia does not exactly sound like paradise but it was a great experience. It’s been a political hotbed for decades; they have a penchant for overthrowing governments and it was the command centre for the Yugoslav war. I expected an austere militaristic vibe in Belgrade, but I found a relaxed café culture and…
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Looking back on the Amalfi Coast, Italy
It’s a variety of perfection and its reputation is entirely deserved. I stayed in Maiori but got to know the whole coast, including Positano and mythical, mysterious Capri. My favourite memory was a walk from Maiori to Ravello along the Lemon Trail through the hills. Those hills were steep, the staircases were exhausting and I…
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Looking back on Lisbon, Portugal
When I was in Brazil in ’22 the locals couldn’t believe I hadn’t been to Portugal. They had a point, it’s a cheap 2 hour flight and I was 4 decades old at the time. For many Brazilians it’s the only place they have been outside Brazil so they were baffled. My parents were obsessed…
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Looking Back to Bosnia & Herzegovina
The siege of Sarajevo is carved into my memory, apparently it was the longest siege of a modern city since WWII. For years snipers watched the streets, and for years people in Sarajevo had to run from building to building to avoid snipers’ bullets. Can you imagine? Before the civil war Serbs, Muslims and Croats…
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Merry (Mad) Christmas 2024, a reflection on the Big Day (and Year)
I have not posted for three months, and for good reason: it’s perhaps been the most stressful and busy three months of my adult life. Well, there were at least four more challenging occasions now that I think about it, but it has been pretty extreme nonetheless. I would not normally dream of posting on…
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The Privilege of Working in the Heart of London
Since arriving as an employee in the heart of London’s financial district I have done little more than catch a tube into Old Street, walk 5 minutes to the office and then do the reverse to get home. My office might as well be in Slough, Swindon or anywhere else because I’ve ignored its surroundings.…
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Hamilton
Such is it’s acclaim there’s no point in me adding my own two cents. A masterpiece. I was reading that it was seven years in the making – that’s just in terms of the writing and development. Two and a half hours of entertainment gold takes years and a global village to deliver, not to…
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Hunstanton – day at the beach #2
I was committed to going to the beach if hot weather came along on a weekend. For the second time this year it obliged so I kept my word and headed for another beach on the England’s east coast. It was pretty with a small dose of “Skeg” – a cross between Frinton and Clacton…
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Clacton on Sea
Hey, I completely forgot that Clacton is now the centre of Faragedom on Earth. If I knew that I would have probably still visited but it did send a shiver down my spine to think that that racist, smug crocodile is the kleptocratic MP for this town. It wasn’t an overtly a racist or hateful…
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Barber Institute of Fine Art
As part of a flying departure from the University of Birmingham I spent an hour or so enjoying the Barber Institute of Fine Art. It’s an incredible place featuring fine works by world famous artists (e.g., Turner, Monet, Van Gogh, Magritte, Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec). There was also a special exhibition by Claudette Johnson, a current finalist…
Dr Martin James 