Falling in love again. That’s what the sultry Marlene Dietrich sang, way back in the nineteen-thirties. 70-plus years on, she might as well still be singing the same words. I mean she’s right, isn’t she? We fall in and out of love again and again and again. Or is it just me? – in which [...]
Here in Poland, tomorrow is the beginning of a new school year. That's a brutal landing back on earth for all us summer-addicts who work in education. It doesn’t necessarily mean that we hate our jobs or don’t want to go back to work; it just means we don’t want summer to end. The word paradise comes [...]
Coming to the end of a good novel is rather like coming to the end of a good relationship. I suppose the main difference is that a good novel remains good right until the end, whereas a good relationship ...? Hmm. Logic says that it can’t be ‘good’ anymore by that stage, otherwise it wouldn’t [...]
My guess is that there are quite a number of people out there who have secretly been enjoying lockdown. And who are now feeling a little saddened that things are gradually getting back to normal as restrictions ease and country after country slowly but surely prepares to return to normal life. Of course there are [...]
This morning when I woke up, I randomly thought, 'Oh no, it’s three weeks since I wrote my last blog post! I have to write another one – and SOON!' I jumped out of bed in guilt-ridden panic. And then I stopped. And thought to myself, ‘Hang on a minute. Why exactly am I feeling [...]
In these pandemic times of rising fear and uncertainty, I thought I’d try to infuse at least one small drop of positivity into the worldwide panic that is spreading as fast as the coronavirus itself. Right now, at this unique time of history in the making, virtually all corners of the globe are united in [...]
A year and a half ago I came back from an international school reunion in Vienna and felt so deeply affected, I wrote a blog post about it. Now, eighteen months on, I’ve just come back from a smaller but equally moving reunion (same school, different location) and ... well, here I am again, writing [...]
