Several of our friends have died this year. It comes to us all eventually; death, that is. As the old adage goes, ‘the two certainties in life are death and taxation’, and the death of family and close friends certainly concentrates the mind. Without being too morbid about the issue, I guess the only way …more

It was just one of those days. You will all know what I mean when I say this, as we all have them from time to time. It was one of those days when something that might have been relatively straightforward in the UK, could potentially turn into an expensive expat nightmare. Most expats will …more

Let’s get it straight from the get-go: I am NOT writing about the Dominican Republic, a Spanish-speaking island that forms part of Hispaniola with Haiti. Never been there. I hear that it’s lovely, though. Dominica (pronounced Do-min-EE-ka), my adopted home, is a tiny rainforest island that is located in the eastern Caribbean between the French …more

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Think of Morocco and you may think of the mosques and minarets, towering over souks where seasoned hagglers promise carpets that fly and lamps complete with genies. Or perhaps you imagine the sweeping Sahara, traversed by camels led by nomadic tribesmen. For an increasing number of European tourists, expats and retirees, however, Morocco means fast, …more

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All nationalities have their own funny little ways of doing things, and the British are no exception to the rule. Indeed, I sometimes think that, as a nation, we tend to go out of our way to be awkward and to do things rather differently from the rest of Continental Europe. This is not deliberate …more

The U.S. news media has bombarded everyone for years with their oft-repeated tales of drug cartel violence and headless bodies littering the roadside. The corruption of law enforcement, the involvement of government officials. It makes their readers’ hair stand on end. I don’t know. I guess it sells newspapers during the day and antacids on …more

These five words are perhaps the five most powerful and significant words spoken by Pope Francis since he became leader of the Catholic Church. Although I am not a Catholic, I do not automatically respect the leader of any Church or organisation, unless they have earned it through not only their words but, most importantly, …more

Recently witnessing a nasty accident on the motorway in Gran Canaria, where fortunately all the passengers survived unscathed, made me ask some questions about the cause. Apparently, one tire had exploded, which was due to the age of the tire and failure of the rubber. For me, this was an unknown phenomenon. Although I am …more