My Canadian nephew Daniel recently stayed with me in Mürren Switzerland for 12 nights. It was his fifth visit, as he first stayed with us when he was 9, again at 18 not long before we climbed Kilamanjaro with our daughter Lisa. He returned again when he was 23 and 29. I think we worked out he had spent almost two months in Mürren, although his father and my brother-in-law Wayne has yet to make a visit! Continue reading →

I have had a close affinity with Canada for over half of my life, being married in British Columbia, or more specifically in New Westminster, either an independent town (or small city as defined in Canada) or a suburb of Vancouver, depending on your viewpoint. Continue reading →

At the age of 69 I had considered that my days of Himalayan trekking were long since past  so how did November 25 2018 find me bouncing around in a minibus heading north from the Nepalese lakeside town of Pokhara to the trailhead at Kande for a 12 day return trek into the magnificent Annapurna Sanctuary? Continue reading →

With the exception of two 12 day trips to Spain and three 48 hour visits back to the UK for minor surgery (and follow up) on my left eye, I consider myself immensely fortunate to have spent most of the period from mid June to mid November this year based in the Swiss Alps. Continue reading →

Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal

I am starting this article at Boulogne-Billancourt in the suburbs of Paris just hours after watching Rafael Nadal win the Men’s single title at the French Open Tennis Championships for the 11^th time in the last 14 years.

Of all the sports played in the world today I think that Tennis has a very strong claim for being the home of not just the world’s most pre-eminent sports personality Roger Federer, but also the sporting world’s two finest exponents of sportsmanship in Federer and his nemesis Rafael Nadal.  Continue reading →

I like to think I am a person with an open mind that embraces many interests, but without doubt, two of the most influential factors that have shaped my life during the last 30 years has been my love of walking in and exploring the high Mountain ranges of the world (and in particular the Himalaya and Alps), and also for the music of the Canadian singer Leonard Cohen. Continue reading →

I first came to Ban Nong Weng in 2006 and I am pretty sure I have been here every year since. It is a small village of maybe 300 or so inhabitants in Isaan, the hot, dry, north eastern region of Thailand, that many people believe provides the economic (and perhaps spiritual?) backbone to Thailand, if for no other reason than the fact that, for generations, the people of Isaan  have flocked to Bangkok, Pattaya and cities throughout Thailand in search of employment and provide the labour force for so many activities. Continue reading →

I have a lot of time for the country of Vietnam. It is one of those nations like New Zealand, France and the USA which appears to have a never ending list of varied attractions, both Cultural and Natural to visit and admire. Continue reading →