Linda and I sometimes wonder what will happen to our house when we’re gone. Our son will inherit it, and his children after him if he leaves...

It’s common practice for governments (national, provincial, municipal, parish) to pledge their expected future revenues as security for borr...

 Everybody saves for retirement, some more carefully than others. Some of us rely on government pensions to sustain us in our retirement, s...

(The sixth in my series of travel stories for the granddaughters – November 1964)  The old peasant woman, comfortable in the passenger sea...

“Any man’s death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind.” John Donne, English priest.  This Easter, coming up, it’s worth taking a lo...

Last Tuesday at 11.30 in the morning, somebody in Switzerland was reading my “Checkpoint Charlie” posting of last December. Fancy that. I do...

It’s always interesting reading about countries whose names have been wiped off the map. Anybody who has ever collected postage stamps knows...

(Travellers’ tales, fifth episode – January 1965)  The Orthodox-and-Catholic tomb was identified by the mother of the first Christian Empe...

Visiting my son in Guatemala just after the second US invasion of Iraq, we met up with a young Canadian couple from Vancouver. The man didn’...

Sharp-eyed visitors to this site will have noticed the link (below, right) to “Expatria, Baby”. It’s the blog of a young Canadian woman, Eri...