For me, New York City always emanates a sense of confidence, of dreams waiting to come true, goals to be achieved, and an endless list of places to see. I had always wanted to visit the city Sinatra sang of,…
2011: A Year in Review
As the year draws to a close, news channels, newspapers and pundits all proclaim their take on the year’s events. This year has seen a lot of riots and revolution; the Asia Society has an interesting visual take on the times. So…
A Summer of Sunshine in Tucson, Arizona
The Stornoway sun has started setting mid-afternoon. Given the constant cloud cover, and the fact that the sun doesn’t make its morning appearance until around 8am, it feels very dark indeed. This wintry weather is in stark contrast to the…
On The Road in the American West
It’s the stuff that movies are made of. The American road trip is something of a legend, an almost-myth set down on screen and paper, like Thelma and Louise and On the Road. More recently the lure of the highway has…
On Being Anonymous in A City
“I love the feeling of being anonymous in a city I’ve never been before” – Anonymous traveller. Anonymity. One of the reasons a lot of people dislike cities. One of the reasons I love them. Only a few days before…
Winter Weather on the Isle of Lewis
This week my current location endured hurricane force winds. Last week it looked something like this: When I lived in China I learned to “expect the unexpected” in everyday life – here it’s helpful to apply a similar mindset to…