Christmas markets in Budapest are, in principle, some of the most magical places you can be. In practicality, they’re busy and you slosh wine all over your coat. The snowfall was patchy and half-hearted, like a 50-year-old woman’s attempt at giving up her 40-a-day habit. It came down in a flurry for a few minutes…
If you don’t know where Bratislava is, you’re forgiven. It’s the end of semester. If you sort of somehow recognise the name from somewhere but you’re not sure where, half marks. If you know that Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia in eastern Europe and a charming little place, you can come sit on teacher’s…
I’ve seen more than a few memorable things in my time – Machu Picchu, Petra, the Grand Canyon and New York City from the air – but visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau will live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons. The Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp is an hour’s train ride from Kraków in Poland. I’ll be honest,…
The Pink Granite Coast in Brittany on the north coast of France isn’t real. Or rather, it doesn’t look real. It looks like the set of a bad fantasy film; all the rocks look like they’ve been crafted out of plasticine and then painted. I looked at it and I thought I was in someone…
I was a father for two weeks. Every day for a fortnight I looked into those adorable little eyes and held those adorable little hands and found some comfort and unconditional affection in a terrible, loveless world. I loved them and they loved me and everything felt like it had a purpose and a meaning….
Everyone has a horror story about dealing with a particular company or organisation. A severed ear in your KFC bucket, a seven-year wait for a new kidney on the NHS, too much head on your pint at your local, the list is endless. But some companies are hated more than others. Ryanair, for example, is…
There are trolls in Norway. Real trolls, not those socially-stunted, hate-fuelled nuisances that lurk on messageboards and shout abuse at every rational, reasonable comment and make jokes at the expense of 13-year-old suicide tragedies. No, I’m talking real trolls, 13-foot monstrosities that live in the woods and eat goats. Now, I’ll admit I didn’t see…