The world from my window

There is only so much miserable weather I can take during our enforced stay in Jura on our Beetle drive to Corfu. Still, if we're here for the Juration , while we wait for the dynamo and regulator to be fitted to the old VW by a Renault garage where they speak very little English, there is always wine, history, natural splendour and food. There's a bit of writing to be done, and catching up on admin. And the good news is that the weather is bad, too, in The Enchanted Village. And then there are always books. And what a diverse collection. I have just read The Curse of Brink's Mat , the inside story of the 20th century's most lucrative armed robbery, and loaned to me by ex-detective Nobby Odd-Job. Then it was over to the charming The  Cat of Portovecchio by my friend, Maria Strani-Potts (highly recommended if you want to immerse yourself in a Corfu fishing village in the 1950s), and I've just downloaded School Ties , a novella by...

November is a strange time of year. We've really said goodbye to the summer and we're on the quick, quick, military two-step march to Christmas. Already, in houses, and possibly mud huts, across the land there are discussions about where each one of us will be spending the festive season. Children far too young are demanding presents that are far-too-old for them and materialistic parents are going along with it. Meanwhile, in far-flung corners of the world, children will be happy to receive a shoe box full of bits and bobs which have been filled for them by their more affluent cousins from the western nations. The true spirit of Christmas, in my humble opinion. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, I love it to bits. I'm from a big family and I love giving and receiving presents (and giving most of all). But children get far more joy from simple things or time spent with them than the latest must-have toy or gadget they have been conned into wanting by adverts or o...