Terre Rouge, Terre Noir

Conversations ebb and flow, and are always punctuated by drink and food, but a master chef, through his menu and timing, will, like a composer, deliver a performance of such variety and complexity that it, in itself will inspire, entertain and orchestrate the experience. Dinner guests become actors in the theatre of the table, directed by the chef. Continue reading →

Learning the Japanese Work Ethic at Takefu Country Club

Beautiful brown birds of prey would swoop and glide alongside the caddy carts we’d drive. The air was clear and fresh with the sea being a few kilometers down the winding road to the sea. And in the morning the mist would gather in all the bunkers, making it seem as though parts of the course were floating on clouds. To complete this wonderful ambiance, soft classical music would waft around the course at a volume just loud enough to hear, but something like the wind, would come and go. Continue reading →

Beautiful Anarchy in the UK – Stonehenge Free Rock Festival

For a duration of four or five weeks every summer between the years 1974 and 1984, it was possible to experience life in an environment without law, essentially anarchy, and to do so in the heart of modern Britain. This state within a state was the Stonehenge Free Rock Festival, and I am privileged to … Continue reading →

Two Days in One as a Postman in a Country Town in Yorkshire

The happiest people I ever worked with were the postmen of the market town of Ripon, North Yorkshire. I worked there for one delightful summer in 1988. As it was the summer, the days were long, so long in fact that I had two days in one… Continue reading →

Walking Wounded in a War Movie

Soldiers rushed past me firing their AK47s at invisible foes, while explosions went off left and right, and I staggered forward, my head also exploding with pain with every bullet fired and bomb burst. Trying to get away from the main action I moved around behind some buildings… Continue reading →

Down and Out in Cardboard and Paris

After the rude awakening, we stashed the cardboard behind an air vent, and walked to one of the parks where we completed our night’s sleep. Only a couple of hours later though, the stiffness of the benches became too much, so we got up, splashed some water from the fountains on our faces and headed off to get some breakfast. Continue reading →

Triads, Walkie-talkies and Blackjack

And so it was that, at more or less the same moment, we four emerged through four different doors, to the taxi area, and stood equidistant, all wearing the same designer suits, Rolex watches, Rayban sunglasses, and carrying identical designer holdalls full of walkie-talkies, while looking anywhere but at eachother! Continue reading →

The Dishwasher and the Beggar

I would walk out onto the street, the start to run, yes, after 12 hours working, I would run, and run fast, sometimes leaping. I really was on a natural high, full of energy, and my wallet full of cash. Continue reading →

Scarred For Life

As I biker I got to know Tokyo’s streets better than many natives, and I had an equally extensive knowledge of places to have a good time. In short, I could fashion my weekends to the maximum entertainment. And that meant that that if the MDMA was still flowing through my bloodstream in the early … Continue reading →

Stepping back into 1930s England

The operation was done with military precision. We would line up along the perimeter of a wood, or over some moorland, equally distanced, await the order to move forward, then when it came, with the blowing of a whistle, proceed at the same pace… Continue reading →