Our Genial Host
I like X immensely. He’s our host in Amsterdam, largely because I misread his advert and thought we were renting his entire flat, and in...
Category: People
On Thin Ice – Talking Child Marriage in Nepal
On Thin Ice Everest Base Camp the Lazy Way: Day 18 “Nir,” I open, tentatively. We are on the last-but-one night of our trek, insha’allah,...
Old Friends and Dog Collars
It’s a strange and wonderful thing meeting up with a friend you haven’t seen for a while. Ten years, in this case. There’s that mild...
Gelato in Jerusalem
“Ooh,” Zac says. “Now I need to make a decision. Waffle or gelato. Waffle or gelato?” “No, you don’t,” I say. “This place does both!”...
French Conversation
The resort beach at the far end of town has some rather fine windsurfing on offer, and I figured that, with the water relatively warm...
The Friday Photo: Bedouin Girl
This is Anoud, 2, with her great-grandfather, Mohammed, 93, looking at a picture of him in his British Army uniform from World War II. They...
Voices from Post-Revolutionary Egypt 7: The Working Mother
I sits with her daughter, her son and her daughter-in-law in the shade of a Nubian mudbrick dome, looking out over the expanse of Lake...
Voices from Post-Revolutionary Egypt 6: The Taxi Driver
We screech to a halt in heavy traffic – a car has accelerated across our path. A overtakes the other driver, blocks him in, and...
Voices from Post-Revolutionary Egypt 5: The Businessman
A round, amiable man, J is in his 40s, and runs a business in Dahab, Sinai. He has a small son who lives with his...
Voices from Post-Revolutionary Egypt 4: The Guide
S is 40, and worked as a dive master before he started guiding tourists: he was married in his 20s but it didn’t last. Compact...