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Continue reading →: Aix and pains
The Babička has a rare-as-hens’-teeth ticket tomorrow to the Anselm Kiefer monumental art installations near Barjac, so that was our destination today. We had only 3.5 hours of driving so decided to time it to arrive in Aix—en-Provence for lunch. The Babička is used to tours based around sights and…
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Continue reading →: Garda to Cannes
Our apartment near Lake Garda was a good idea in concept. Clean and modern with secure parking and minutes from the lakeside restaurants, bars and cafés. Two bedrooms to accommodate both travellers and a nice living area. However there was confusion and hassle about checking in, the WiFi connected to…
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Continue reading →: Salzburg to Lake Garda
I shall draw a veil over this journey. Speranza performed beautifully but we had bad luck with extreme weather, heavy traffic, road works and some kind of massive incident on the A12 in Austria that caused a delay of over an hour. We were stationary for all that time in…
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Continue reading →: An extraordinary day in Salzburg
Over morning coffee, Babicka and I decided to do a city tour by bus. After yesterday’s downpours we didn’t fancy a day seeking shelter. When we got to the tour company, we were upsold to the Original Sound of Music Tour. As well as seeing the same sights as on…
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Continue reading →: Salzburg
Things almost got fraught in Prague today. I might have known something was amiss when Babicka said she would get up early to finish her packing. When I presented this morning, ready to leave, she announced that the packing regime for the trip was "simply impossible" and presented a larger…
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Continue reading →: Prague at last
I set off from Ansbach at 0815 am after an excellent German breakfast. The journey to Prague was predicted to be three hours and forty minutes. I was hoping to arrive in time to have lunch with an old friend and didn't fancy my chances of parking near the restaurant.…
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Continue reading →: Germany!
I missed a friendly, exuberant email from my French mechanics last night. The work was finished at 9.30pm and the car was ready to collect. I woke early and was happy to read it. I’d booked an Uber for this morning. I was downstairs, checked out and waiting when he…
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Continue reading →: A quiet day
As planned, today was laundry day. I went out in the morning with a bag of washing, rather than my camera backpack. I was apprehensive about having the right coins and so forth, but remarkably the local laundrette had central wireless control for all its services, complete with contactless payment. The…
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Continue reading →: Les violons de l’automne
I studied French at A level fifty years ago. The only lines of French poetry that have stuck in my mind all those years are these; Les sanglots longs des violons de l’automne blessent mon coeur d’une langeur monotone. It’s from Chanson d’automne by Paul Verlaine, who was born —…
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Continue reading →: More Metz
Fair play to the AA. They extended my hotel booking as promised and confirmed by text message. I was happy to be spared a wait on the line to their call centre and headed out earlier than I’d hoped, Today I was less fortunate in my choice of breakfast café.…
THE LAST DITCH
Your blogger
Tom is a retired international lawyer. He was a partner in a City of London law firm and spent almost twenty years abroad serving clients from all over the world.
Returning to London on retirement in 2011, he was dismayed to discover how much liberty had been lost in the UK while he was away.
He’s a classical liberal (libertarian, if you must) who, like his illustrious namesake, considers that
“…government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.”
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One can only hope his neighbours, fellow lodge members (?) etc give him the cold shoulder.
The problem is that they already know about the blog and some read it. Why is that an issue? If…
Conversationally, I already operate on NATO “no first strike” principles. I am not going to start a political discussion with…
Why don’t you stick with what you are doing on the blogs but simply withdraw from discussion on politics with…
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First post (in case you want to read it from the beginning)
The Last Ditch by Tom Paine 
They are servants. Just not of the public. He gets a full pension because he did his job for his…