The written thoughts of a traveller.
Touring with Rock ‘n’ Roll bands; exploring Europe and the world; flirting in bars… and some naughtiness.
Oh, and all with a trombone. Enjoy..
Why is it that I can’t walk past a “To Let” sign without yearning to scrawl an “i” in the middle? I don’t know, Barnaby, why can’t you? I don’t know either, so we shall proceed with Dublin on the U2 tour. What? Dublin again? That was ages ago. Yes, I know, but I
‘I’m Colin and our driver today is Harry,’ says our Irish tour guide. ‘Are we ready now, Barbara?’ he continues into a bingo-sized microphone. I wonder if I might have booked a tour for the elderly. Harry, an old mariner from Estonia, glances repeatedly at “Concentrate! Anticipate!” taped onto the driver window. Gosh, don’t glasses
Krakow is Poland’s second largest city, and certainly its jewel. This is a beautiful city – Google it – deserving more than a long weekend to do it justice. A snippet from Introducing Krakow reads: ‘accordion players ply trade next to old trouts selling bobble hats and bagels.’ That should whet your appetite. Need I
The Kentish horsey honey rang the other night. Wonderfully reversing the status quo, she said: ‘I want Mr. Right Now, not Mr. Right. I’ll get it when I can.’ To set the quote off nicely, I include the chest of another woman entirely. Tourism Anyway, I promised a little report on Dublin, so here
Now that the U2 tour is finally over, I bumble up to Suffolk to return the truck to Transam Trucking’s yard. It’s in a small village that only just features on road maps, and where the denizens still use beads for currency. They look on with wonder at modern innovations like the pound coin. Radio
Don’t bother trying to check into an Italian hotel without a passport. Surely the intrepid reporter didn’t commit this rudimentary faux pas? Yes, just last week, I popped up to Lake Maggiore in northern Italy for a couple of nights. I rang the ostello in Verbania to secure a room, arriving at 9pm, just in
Writing an attention-grabbing headline is one thing; designing a website is quite another. The latter requires more skill, dedication and patience than you can possibly imagine. Yes, my IT man’s doing it. Eschewing the wanton women that line Amsterdam’s canals, we’re spending five hours incarcerated in a Novotel hotel room, staring at a screen. ‘HTML?
Namibian shoots out of his truck this morning, like a gnu successfully evading a lion only to drop dead from exhaustion. Despite drowning his meals in salt, he still gets leg cramps, resulting in rapid, athletic movements… …followed by stertorous breathing and dejected collapses. My doubling up guffawing does little to improve his mood. Though
I had a slightly odd evening in Berlin recently – “random”, I think the youngsters would call it. It started when I met Marie, who is really called Tanya, at her friend’s flat off Friedrichstrasse. You’re frowning so let’s engage reverse gear and incorporate some back story: A couple of weeks ago I asked my
“Barnaby’s thoughtful musings on his voyage through life. You are not alone as you travel that valley my son.”
Father Pius Smith, Hastings.
