24th June 2018

The house opposite has white and red England flags in the window. I’m surprised the police haven’t been round to arrest our neighbours for racial incitement, as threatened with pubs all around the country supporting our team in the World Cup today. Of course, some English fans have been rowdy in Moscow, but it was ever so. But what’s the alternative to nationalism? 110 years ago the British author Israel Zangwill wrote a play called The Melting Pot, received well in Washington, applauding the merging together of the peoples of America. But in Europe there is no melting pot. Just look at Germany or Italy, where the policies of the last 10 years have produced political meltdown. Instead of  what Merkel wants - fusion for Europe under her supreme direction - it’s heading for fission, an explosive European future, with Brexit the igniting spark.  So, will England win their game against Panama today? Possibly, but will they win the Brexit war?

17th June 2018

Ever feel like running away from the 9 - 5 rat race?  Where would you go - somewhere warm where you could relax away from people, traffic and all your worries? 13 years ago we did just that, and at first it was a wonderful adventure. But then Brexit changed all that. The annoying thing is that, if British expats living in the EU 15 years+ had been allowed to vote, Brexit wouldn’t even have happened! But now the EU is crumbling and essential truths are emerging that Germany has, all-along, been skewing things in its favour, to the detriment of smaller countries. Should we still have moved away from friends/family all those years ago? Come to my FB online party to launch the book that reveals all, and tell me what you think. When? This Wednesday-Thursday, 20 June. Time? Any time from 10 am UK time. How? Just click the link below on the 20-21st and add your views in the comment box. Cost? Free. Guest author opinions covering the US, Israel, Portugal and Africa. Prizes, music from Billie Holliday, Sinatra to Slade, and a quiz. See you Wed-Thurs!
www.facebook.com/events/1766387210093900/

10th June 2018

I see that even Simon Cowell has ditched his mobile phone. As a writer I’ve always embraced social media. It’s given me wonderful opportunities to reach out to a global audience, even when living in the depths of rural France. But...
Back in the ‘80s when the internet was developing, the concept was totally alien to me. Growing up in a capitalist society, I understood that if you wanted something, you had to pay for it. And if you wanted more, you paid more. That was the world of basic economics. A trader provided. The consumer paid. But then someone offered you the world for free.  Suddenly you could communicate, grow an audience, advertise, do research etc and it didn’t cost a penny. Or so I believed. But only now do I understand. We are actually paying the highest price of all, selling our souls to Big Brother.
.....be very afraid.

3rd June 2018

Mamoudou Gassama, 22, left his home in Mali and trekked across Burkino Faso, Niger, Libya and Italy to arrive, undocumented, in France. Whilst most illegal immigrants in France hide from the authorities at a time of rising restrictions against them, Mamoudou didn’t think twice when confronted by a domestic situation in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Now labelled Spiderman by Parisian mayor Anne Hidalgo, the video of him scaling, singlehandedly, up 5 storeys to rescue a 4 year old dangling from a balcony, has gone viral. The child’s father had not only left his son alone whilst shopping, but also delayed his return by playing Pokemon Go on his cell phone. Whereas in Britain Mamoudou would have probably been deported, in France he was awarded citizenship and given a job as a firefighter. At a time when across Europe, innate hatred of immigrants created Brexit and also the new government in Italy, one man - plus the power of digital tech - reminded everyone of the word Fraternite. Bravo Mamoudou!

27th May 2018

Make no mistake. The clock’s ticking for Europe. Its only hope is if a miracle happens and Britain stops the exit before the ref blows the final whistle. Don’t just take my word for it. Great minds like French philosopher Bernard-Henry Levy say the same “The EU will collapse because when the body is deprived of its brain and heart, its spirit dies.” And I thought the French didn’t like the British. He says the British were asked a stupidly simple question about a very complex problem - at best foolishly irresponsible, at worst sinfully illegal. If next March arrives without a second referendum, the die is cast. Already cracks in the EU are evident, with first Greece and now Italy on the brink of pulling out due to bankruptcy. And all the while Germany prospered. Was the whole EU project flawed from the start with the cards stacked heavily in Germany’s favour to the detriment of everyone else? Faites vos jeux, Mesdames/Messieurs.

20th May 2018

The wedding of the year. Bar none.  A royal soap opera par excellence. The BBC camera panned to:
    Prince Charles and Camilla,  as Harry and Meghan were asked Do you forsake all others..?;
    Harry’s face when the congregation were asked if there was any reason why the marriage should not take place (i.e. is your ‘real’ father present, potentially negating your royal status?);
    Harry’s previous girlfriend, looking unhappy at how things might have been;
   Philip’s face at the ‘jokey’ shenanigans of the American bishop;
   Victoria Beckham arriving without a smile for anyone, appearing to disdain anyone she perceived to be of lower status than she;.
   The bride’s mother sitting all alone, regal in her dignity, but with scarce a greeting from anyone.

And yet it was a wondrous spectacle. The choirs were wonderful, the mediaeval setting amazing, the couple handsome and very much in love, cheering crowds. Sunshine all around. Undoubtedly it’s what England does best. Could America do it or France?  No! Wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

13th May 2018

The French are puzzled...No, not about Eurovision but about when Harry meets Meghan next week. The one thing the French envy about Britain - and it is probably the only thing - is the royal family. Ever since the last tumbrils rolled up to the Bastille in the 1790s, they’ve bemoaned the fact they no longer have a royal head of state. They, like the Americans, love the splendour and pomp that only a royal family can bring. So, all French eyes have been fixated on the wedding next Saturday. But, what’s this they read? That a family worth £400 million can find no budget for feeding the 2,000 peasants so carefully selected to fill the otherwise empty grounds of the chapel at Windsor. “Bring your own sandwiches” decreed the embossed royal invitations.  What? said the French, the land of le bien manger. Where’s the royal cuisine?  Quel catastrophe! Even Marie Antoinette would have provided cake....