Today is Fat Thursday in Poland. (Tłusty Czwartek to the Poles.) A day of over-indulging yourself with greasy, fatty, calorific donuts to your heart’s content. All bakery shops will be stacked mountain-high with them; most work places will be offering platefuls of the melt-in-your-mouth delights to their employees; practically every shop window will have a [...]
The story I’m about to relate might at first seem a tad inappropriate, in view of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. But it’s a true story. And if you can’t be honest in the light of everything that the word ‘liberation’ stands for, then what’s the point in having been liberated in [...]
With the start of a new year, I’ve been thinking a lot about my relationship with you. Yes, you, my once-beloved inner demon. You’ve given me some of the most euphoric moments in my life – hope, excitement, promises for a golden future; but time and time again you’ve fallen short of your promises. And [...]
Imagine this scene. You’re in beautiful, historic Budapest with three of your mates on a pre-Christmas weekend break. You’re all male; you’re bright, cool, fun-loving, young English lads. You enjoy a night out: drinking, meeting new people, eyeing up the talent. You also enjoy sightseeing in the afternoons, after you’ve sobered up and arisen from [...]
As a writer, it goes without saying that I have always been an avid reader. And the older I get, the fussier I become with my reading, and the harder I am to please. But that does not seem to be the case with many other readers. The astounding success of a number of contemporary [...]
At this time of year, when so many people are celebrating Thanksgiving, it’s a good opportunity for us to pause and think about what we have to be thankful for in our lives. Now please don’t say Yuk! – I know what I just said might sound like a truism, but very often it’s the [...]
The other day I found myself on a Ryanair plane to London, with two and a half blissful hours of peace in front of me. Yippee! - I thought giddily to myself. No internet to interrupt the long, imminent reading session that lay ahead! I snuggled down in my seat (‘snuggling’ is something that’s pretty [...]
