12th November 2017

If I should die 

Think only this of me

That's there's some corner of a foreign field

That is forever England

Rupert Brooke

Today millions will attend war memorials. Why oh why do we do this? I'm not talking about remembering those who have died. Heaven knows we must all remember those who have lived on this Earth - otherwise for what purpose their lives? No, I'm talking about sending young men, full of life, into front-line war zones where they are trained to kill and be killed. I know many are the times when mad despots rise to positions of power with murderous intent - Hitler and Stalin come to mind - and they must of course be stopped at all costs. So, what's the solution?  Ask Alexa!  I kid you not. Now is the age to stop all human killing. At last we have the technology to build and programme silicone robots to do the job of killing for us. They should be the soldiers of the future, programmed to wipe out just enemy robots in the field. Just think not only of the human lives saved but also the food, accommodation and salaries no longer needed. We know it can be done. Already countries like Japan have replaced human hotel staff, butlers, car makers etc, and surgeons use robots for delicate surgery, so why not replace human soldiers? On this day, at the 11th hour, make a wish:  stop killing our young men in war for ever.

26 March 2017

This week marks a number of events: 84 years since Hitler assumed full dictator pouvoir powers via Reichstag decree; 60 years since the Treaty of Rome, the founding of the EU; on Friday Trump lost his chance to improve on Obamacare; yet another brainwashed terrorist ran amok in London killing and maiming innocent civilians, and this Wednesday is the day the UK PM presses the Brexit button. So, where to start with all that mess?  For Americans reading this, I can only direct you to read my blog of 19 Feb 2017 and tell the President what he should have done. In France the health system works, so why not copy a winning system? Re Hitler and Europe, I know what my late father would have said:  keep away! Today's EU is moving too far towards an all-consuming federal state. The problem with the Muslim terrorists, unlike murderers of the past, is that they are doing what they do in the name of a widespread and burgeoning religion: Islam. That is what innocent Muslims around the world must deal with. What do I think? Life is never simply black or white, but a melange of things. The world must learn from the past and pick and mix the things that work, like the French health system, and the overarching goodwill of so many good and kind people around the world.    

13th November 2016

For many today is the day of remembrance. Below is a poem I publish every year in the hope things might change around the world.

At early morn' I had a dream
that man would cease his futile scheme
Fighting battles, suicide missions
Murder, hatred, blazing seditions
What man needs is re-appraise
in eyes of beings not so fazed
Yes, don't fight tribe v tribe
as if nothing else but diatribe
But see with eyes afresh from birth
that we're all one tribe - that of Earth!
by Olga Swan

So now we have a Disney character called Donald in the White House! The year 2016 isn't over yet. Brexit was deemed improbable, President Trump extremely unlikely and in a few months here in France the unimaginable prospect of the Front Nationale leader, President Marine Le Pen. That's one of the reasons we're leaving. Even if she's not elected, it's the fact that such a large percentage of the French endorse her policies. I've raged against racism and extreme nationalism all my life, epitomised in my two noir wartime thrillers. Why can't we learn from the past and recognise those early, dangerous steps towards disaster so that people in power can stop it in time?  Don't forget: in the '30s the crowds cheered for a man called Hitler.  After this week's ringing endorsements from far-right people like Nigel Farage and Mme Le Pen for a man called Donald, the world can only duck....

1 May 2016

Bank holiday. Need a breather. Friday I launched my latest novel VICHYSSOISE, about the Vichy government during WWII.  Unlike the Nazis and Hitler, not much is known about the motives of Philippe Petain, the old French leader at that time. Why did he sign that infamous armistice with Hitler? As a writer it's important to me to write about that which I know, and clearly all this happened before I was born. So, soon after we moved to France in 2005 I set about delving into original, French historical texts for accuracy.  It soon became clear to me that Petain was no Hitler, simply the wrong man to be leading France back then. As French friends Gerard and Monique agreed with me yesterday, Petain was too old, too weak, in pain, so chose the 'easiest' option in a misguided attempt to salve the suffering of his people. Do you agree? Get your copy by clicking on the VICHYSSOISE image on the right. Looking forward to reading all your reviews on Amazon in due course.
Blog Extra. All those in the creative arts like to depict what's real to them. So, I've decided that this blog, as well as my usual Sunday slot, should develop an extra wing each Wednesday, covering the work of those who write about different countries. I'm kicking off next Wed with writer Angela Wren who wrote Messandrierre about France.

28th February 2016

Merkel and the battle of EuroCo.......
Ironic really. Mama Merkel, in her moment of subliminal zeitgeist, opened all the floodgates to let in impoverished refugees. Only to find that thousand upon thousand arrived, perishing and struggling to find the European land of milk and honey. And then what happened? EU countries started closing the 'biblical' Schengen gates, thereby wrecking the very utopian ideals that the EU was founded on.
And then came Celtic Britain with its ancient head in the sand, reliving old, colonial glories. Why should we listen to 27 'insignificant' others?  Didn't we fight Hitler to maintain our glorious past?  Didn't we fight to help Warsaw, Brussels and Paris from the jackboot of Berlin? So, says Britain, it's time we left. We're all right Jack.  Never mind that we've been free from war in Europe for over 70 years.  And France?  A certain Mme Le Pen is rubbing her hands in glee. If Britain votes out, that'll leave her free to campaign for exactly the same situation for la gloire de la France, and for herself of course.
.......and the walls came tumblin' down.

19 July 2015

Interesting week. Who'd have thought that a small, insignificant socialist called Hollande could - just maybe - have saved the whole of Europe from disaster by helping Greece.  75 years ago another small, insignificant socialist called Arthur Greenwood persuaded the British war cabinet to make the right decision:  not to appease Nazi Germany.  It was 1940 and the newly-elected Winston Churchill was chairing an urgent meeting.  At the table was Lord Halifax, a man supported by the King - who thought that he rather than Churchill should be PM - who said that the best plan for Britain, one that would save many lives, was to negotiate with Hitler.  However, up stepped insignificant socialist Greenwood who said No, never. Europe would be finished.  TG he swung the vote the right way.  In their way both Greenwood and now Hollande could well have saved Europe from absolute catastrophe:  not by fighting on the beaches but by saying the right word to the right person at the right time.  Something worth remembering.

21 June 2015

C'est un fosse que sera franchi lorsqu'on aura l'audace de le tenter. (Just a ditch to be crossed when someone has the nerve to try it.)   Bonaparte 1803
Thursday saw the banner headline in Le Monde, aimed at the UK: 'Just as in 1815, Brexit is your Waterloo.' I agree. It's been a week of commemorations. Not just Waterloo (200 years) but also 800 years since the signing of the Magna Carta. Both are significant water(!)sheds historically, as is this week's anniversary of de Gaulle's 1940 speech in London. Should the UK have held commemorations of Waterloo at all?  Until all nations eliminate glorying in past battles against current allies, encouraging nationalism, no progress towards world peace will ever be achieved. Have we learned nothing at all from history?  Of course, I understand only too well that sometimes evil dictators like Hitler have to be stopped at any cost. (If we hadn't stopped him, I wouldn't be writing this piece now!) But, past land-grab battles - especially against current allies - are best left to history and the different mindsets back then. What should be commemorated are anniversaries like last month's 106th birthday of Sir Nicholas Winton, who organised the rescue of 669 Czech children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. His knighthood was one of the very few I actually agree with and which was richly deserved. Happy birthday Sir Nicholas!

3 August 2014

The bells of Notre Dame were pealing on Friday. Not only did they commemorate 100 years since the start of WW1 in Paris but also the assassination of anti-war socialist Jean Jaures in a Paris cafe just before the war. What would he think of the world today? So many people losing their lives. But, things are murky. Historically, countries went to war to get rid of a tyrant, innocent civilians and soldiers being the inevitable casualties. Everyone accepted that, with no modern blow by blow analysis by incessant media intrusions. Just imagine if the world had told Churchill to stop fighting the madman Hitler because of innocent German casualties. But now? How on earth are we to get rid of insane terrorist organisations, whose sole purpose is to proselytise the whole world to their way of thinking, if everyone complains (however understandably) when there are casualties displayed in the media every waking moment? Neville Chamberlain would tell you. You can't negotiate with terrorism in any form. They'll just grow stronger and stronger, eventually taking over the whole world. The only way is to eliminate them completely. Netanyahu knows this from centuries and centuries of his people being attacked. Jaures had the best intentions, but the best way to deal with a festering boil is to lance it quickly and let the poison out.

11th December 2011

Oh Mr. Cam'ron, what shall I do?

I wanted to leave old B'ham to go and join EU,

Take me back to London as quickly as you can

Oh Mr. Cam'ron, what a silly girl I am!

Last swan song for all us expats?  26 nations of Europe are not only forming a ‘fiscal union' , leaving Britain alone outside, but also will merrily sign away all sorts of treaties. No say for Britain, inevitable referendum.  And we all know what the result will be.  Out of the EU for good. 

Will this be the Domesday scenario: 

No longer able  to move and live freely in any EU state, regardless of income?

No longer able to vote locally or receive local health care cover?

No longer able to receive any local welfare benefits, or local state pensions for those who've worked in the EU?

Difficulties in withdrawing/accessing money in the EU state?  

Would life still be comfortable for we British expats just in the EEA instead?  Doubt it.  My paranoia's already setting in. Sure I'm getting strange looks from the Frenchman over the road. But there again, he thinks les anglais are all mad anyway.  War time thoughts are looming yet again.  Should David Cameron have been Neville Chamberlain waving his paper of appeasement?  And is our Nicolas Monsieur Daladier all over again, ready to appease Angela 'Hitler' in her grand plan?

Pack your bags ready.

3rd April 2011

It's Mothers' day - at least in the UK. In France, it'll be 29 May, and in the US - not sure. Confusing. What's a mother to do when one child's in England, the other in America? Some would say good job there's no mother-in-law day - the greetings card industry would have a field day!
And then there's the political worry about another woman here in France: Marine Le Pen, President of the NF party.  She's already won a lot of regional votes. She's known for being a Euro-sceptic and hates immigrants. What if she becomes French President next year?  She could throw all we expats out. Trouble is, as with all young females, she's photogenic and comes across well on TV. She's mild-mannered and apparently entirely plausible.  My worry is she will entice the French with her artificially-sweet, saccharine words and then?  A natural progression is to think back to Germany in 1933. The youthful Hitler snared the poverty-stricken Germans with encouraging words about food and jobs - and indeed, in power, fulfilled all these promises - but then, all that glory and popularity pushed him to reveal his true, evil hard core.
Today may be a day for women but, especially in politics, beware the wolf in sheep's clothing. Sometimes, better to stick to the devil you know.

16th May 2010

What a week. The UK has the youngest PM for over 100 years and the first coalition government since 1945. The good news, already, is that UK state pensions are to have a bigger guaranteed increase each April whichever of incomes or 2.5% are the greater.
And what's this I read in the news? Sarkozy threatens to leave the euro, and German savers hoard gold. Nothing new there then! The Greeks are rioting and can't understand why they can't continue to retire at 45 with full pensions, even though their government has debts of billions. And what does the EU do? It responds in the same way world leaders responded to their bankrupt banks – lends them more money. The road to ruin, I say. All the while, across Europe, voters are asking why they should be asked to pay for the rescue package, worrying they might be next. And don't forget the on-going bankrupt state of the US housing market.
It's all getting worse. If the euro breaks up and others try to devalue their currencies, we'll be back to the economics, or even the governments, of the '30s! Beware another Hitler knocking on the door!
What was it my mother used to say? If you haven't got it, don't spend it.

4th October 2009

I see that, surprisingly, Ireland has voted resoundingly in favour of the EU's Lisbon Treaty in a re-run referendum, overturning a previous No vote. I say surprisingly because I thought that they would follow the standard English mindset: 'over my dead body...'. And yet, there are many people applauding the Irish today - including me. Somehow you get a clearer picture when you move away from entrenched opinions. The ancient nomads only saw the whole of Mt. Sinai when they moved further away.
Talking about the Middle East, did you read the astounding news that Mr. 'I'm in a dinner jacket' , controversial leader of Iran, was born Jewish to Jewish parents? Apparently his family decided to convert to Islam when he was a boy, changing their name and religion in the process. As I understand it, those who convert to Islam must decry their former religion. So, the Iranian leader, rather like Hitler before him, has Jewish connections. There are other similarities too: both had a previously misunderstood, pathological hatred of everything Jewish. But now, all is clear. Guilt, Guilt, Guilt! If I had my way, leaders of all nations should have a psychological clean bill of health approved before they are allowed to be elected. But then, when did non-democracies ever listen to reason?
So, let's hope that Ireland's truly forward-thinking vote will progress to a fully-democratic world where isolated, psychologically-disturbed, leaders are consigned to the wilderness where they belong. Even if the new EC president is likely to be our own Tony Blair..........