Your automatic gut reaction is to peep over your shoulder and think, ‘Okay, where are the cameras?’ But out here on these lush green hills rising up from the deep blue of Skaha Lake, the only CCTV eyes trained on you are those of the sleepy horse shading under the leafy cherry trees. During the…
The Sierra Morena wrinkles behind off into Andalusia while the patchwork plains of Badajoz merge with the sky in front. Depending on your perspective, this is either the beginning or end of Extremadura. The Romans would arrive at this crossroads (complete with amphitheater entertainment, good luck finding it open) while trying to catch a ride to…
What’s the difference between an A and an O? Cross the border at Oroville and see how a thin line can change more than just the spelling of a valley. North of the 49th parallel in the Okanagan lies a string of some of Canada’s premier tourist resort cities. Canadians migrate here every summer to enjoy…
The last Sunday in August sees Penticton pretty much shut down as even the geese flock to Lakeshore and Main Street to watch the thousands of competitors in this grueling event that turns everyday muscle into metal. The alchemy in question is in fact a punishing triathlon that includes a 3.8 km (2.4 mile )…
Writing in the local paper. Local issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. I remember watching with amazement, and not just a little discomfort, as the young men in pointy shoes leapt through the air over the huge…
Time ago I took a walk through the many castle ruins that scatter the hilltops of Extremadura, Spain. Where the pictures the paper chose to accompany the piece came from? Well…mine are of Caceres and the bull. I can’t say I know who the other people are? Click over to the piece in the Khaleej…
Writing in the local paper. Local issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. I tell my North American friends that I live inside a castle and I suppose that I’m not technically lying, though I suppose fortress would…
Writing in the local paper. Local issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. For some, the holidays are a welcome time of routine. Of doing what you’ve always done and feeling a sense of security in knowing that…
Writing in the local paper. Local issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. I suppose that they had been slithering along the margins of my subconscious for some time but were recently brought into focus by a picture…
Writing in the local paper. Local issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. It happened while we were overlooking one of the world’s unofficial wonders, sitting under a desperately thirsty acacia tree, swatting away flies and scratching at fleas. A temple…