Culture

Doha International Airport. I told a story recently and the person to whom I related it was so amused that she told me I should write it down and possibly even publish it. She thought my verbal stories were in complete contrast to my written ones, which were usually written in a serious vein. I’m not sure if the humour generated will transfer to print but I’ll give it a try. Oh, and I dedicate this article to Damian, a good friend, who will know why when he reads the fifth pa

Today’s story is inspired by a former colleague and a good mate, who when reading one of my blogs a few weeks ago, said whatever you do, don’t write about the time we got deported from Belarus. Unbeknownst to us both, I had done it two years ago, but it bears repeating….. Phase 1: It is said that to make a mistake once is forgivable, twice is careless and three times is unforgivable. I am therefore on my last chance in relation to Belarus. I have managed (almost) to get mysel

The Great Terror in Russia and how it influences thinking to this day: I believe that you cannot comment about a country or a society without knowing something about where it has come from. In Russia’s case, not to examine what was perpetrated on the population during the Soviet years would be to ignore the elephant in the room. When I lived there, I did many road trips around the country. Once, I was visiting the towns and cities in the Golden Ring and in a small town called

Brendan in the early days. I saw an item on TV recently about the erection of a statue in a place called Sixmilebridge, Co Clare, in Ireland, to Dr. Brendan O’Regan. Who was he, many would ask — probably one of the greatest Irish innovators of the 20th Century or indeed of any time. The erection of a statue is hugely deserved but it cannot even begin to quantify what this man achieved or do justice to his legacy. I’m not too sure as to what positions Brendan held in Shannon A

Largely because of Russia’s attack on Ukraine and President Putin’s seemingly total disregard for human life and human rights, Russian people in general have gotten a bad press in recent times and have had to keep their heads down. But there is another side to Russia, one which I encountered on a daily basis when I worked there full time. I am still in touch with former colleagues, most of whom abhor what is being done in their name. Back in the day, I wrote a book about Russ

I am not an apologist for Russia or Putin. Far from it; like most of my Russian friends, I abhor what they are doing in Ukraine. But I have spent some time in the country and I have some understanding of their culture and character. This article is an attempt to explain to people where Putin and his ilk come from and why they act as they do but it is under no circumstances justifying the carnage and chaos that has been inflicted on an innocent nation. Firstly, let me relate a

After two weeks on Medium, I think it’s time for some Truth and Plain Speaking: I had a job one time which involved a lot of writing; preparation of briefs; making cases for projects; updating boards of directors and similar. I had a boss at that time who encouraged me to use plain words. It wasn’t his own invention, in fact the original book ‘plain words’ had been written by Sir Ernest Gowers in 1954, apparently in an effort to encourage parts of the British Civil Service to

The Excursion I awake to glorious, blinding sunshine. My jet lag of the previous two days is now banished to memory. A quick look from my seventh floor balcony shows me that the snow has almost disappeared and Spring is finally here. I have been living in Novosibirsk for over four months now and I have seen most of the city on foot. Having recently acquired a car, it is surely time for an excursion further afield; time for me to resume my travels in this seemingly never endin

I have written before about the seeming imbalance of articles on Medium since I started contributing. Ever since I wrote an article on Ukraine, I have been bombarded on a daily basis with articles about the war – in fact, at times, it appears as if there aren’t any other articles on there at all. There are of course but the danger in reading too many cynical accounts is that you risk becoming infected with their rhetoric. The ironic thing about most of them is that it is obvi

Main Entrance. I was born in the countryside and although I have spent a lot of years living in and around different cities, I am still a country person at heart. I am most at home in the countryside, preferably when there are a few mountains, lakes, forests or even the ocean in the background. Maybe it’s a liking for the outdoors or fresh air or an appreciation of beautiful scenery. Whichever, I can never see the point of visiting museums or even cities just for the sake of

I was recently reading an article about the 1960’s and the space race between America and the then Soviet Union, latterly the Russian Federation. For those of a younger age group, the US and the USSR were the two super-powers that emerged after World War 2. They then engaged in a competition to build-up an arsenal of nuclear and other weapons which could have destroyed our world many times over. Back then, they were also engaged in another competition – the space race. Ever s

I have been fortunate to visit over eighty countries in my lifetime and I still try to visit at least two new ones each year. It was a little difficult during the covid pandemic but despite the restrictions, I managed it. People have asked me to write something about places I have visited and to give my impressions. I’ve decided to start with South Africa as I have visited quite recently and it’s fresh in my memory. In fact, I have now visited the country on two occasions. I’

Blyde River Canyon I looked at my Medium profile a couple of days ago and realised I had five new followers. As I haven’t written anything in a while, I thought, better do something if people are following. So, where to begin…I have visited many places and later regretted that I didn’t record my thoughts at the time and do a travel blog. I am therefore going to start with my most recent trip and over the coming months, work backwards. I have now visited Cape Town three times.

The Three Rondavals I've done travel blogs on South Africa before but this time, having just spent six weeks there, my longest time yet, I can probably do a more in-depth look at or analysis of the country. I'm calling this article ‘where worlds collide.’ It may sound dramatic but it's not. The message I'm trying to get across say is that it is probably the only country I have visited which has strong evidence of first, second and third world elements to it. We all know the h

Altai Mountains - Siberia I read an article by a fellow writer this morning which stated that Russia is experiencing profound demographic issues and that this is effectively the root cause of their invasion of Ukraine. There is merit in this assertion. Russia, as the leading actor (Dictator) in the Soviet Union was a powerful nation, some would say a superpower. But since the break-up of that failed entity, Russia’s population has declined significantly and continues to do so

Pavlovsk Park near St Petersburg in Autumn I have tried to explain here before how Russian society works and how the system always requires and generates a strong leader, who is generally accepted and supported by the majority of the population, regardless of how they may act. Sometimes an anecdote or a practical example is the best way to explain something so I hope the following tale may make some sense of the current situation. I have many good friends in both Russia and U

New Mexico - another seemingly endless straight road I don’t think you would describe this as a travel blog, but the reader can be the judge of that. I get bombarded with articles on Medium, most by Americans. Nothing wrong with that of course, but many of them are critical of other places. I have to say at the outset that these writers are not stating that the US is perfect although there is an inference that perhaps things are better there, and maybe they are. I have trave

I’m not sure whether this will fly as a Medium story but having seen that people write about every subject under the sun here, I’ll write it anyway. I was writing recently about cultural differences between Irish and German people and it reminded me of another encounter which this time took place in Turkey. It was quite hilarious at the time but may not transfer to print. I was in Istanbul undertaking a review at the airport and I had been in town for just over a week. My Ger

Donough O'Malley - Ireland's pioneering Minister for Education I saw an article recently which listed and compared the world's top economies. There were two listings, the world's biggest economies and the world's richest economies. In terms of the world's biggest economy, the obvious largest was the United States, followed by China and so on. Naturally, Ireland didn't feature in this listing at all as it only went down to about number 20. But in the other list, which was the

Slea Head, Dingle Peninsula During a brief visit to Co Clare last weekend, while we were enjoying the beauty of the Burren, my partner said, ‘why not do an Irish travel blog?’ It’s a great idea and I will, but not today. What follows is mainly a critique on the Irish tourist industry. Also, to do an Irish blog, the problem is where to start? As I know Ireland so well, I am going to resist the temptation today to get into specific locations as it would not be fair on the many