-
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.…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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 —…
-
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.…
-
Continue reading →: Metz day #2
“Breakfast near me” typed into Google Maps this morning yielded several better prospects than yesterday’s mediocre fare in my hotel. I was delighted with my choice — a brunch spot favoured by young French families. The only disadvantage was it made me feel old! Polite young children sang along quietly…
-
Continue reading →: Metzing about
I put the automotive issues to the back of my mind today. It's the weekend in a country that still celebrates it and there was no chance of any update on Speranza anyway. I had some online duties to perform first thing and then headed down to breakfast – slightly…
-
Continue reading →: Verdun to Labry and then Metz
I awoke this morning in the most dilapidated surroundings I have seen since I foolishly booked my family into a Communist-era holiday cabin in Mazuria in 1993. I shall spare you the details, gentle reader, and simply remember how grateful I was to have somewhere to be last night after…
-
Continue reading →: Alternator update
It was a mistake to leave my bags with the car. The AA did not call as promised to report on next actions. When I called for an update they reported the car had been moved to a garage 32 miles away that had agreed to evaluate the issue and…
-
Continue reading →: First drama
Ok I didn’t even make it to the autobahn this time! Pulling away from the Aire de Verdun St Nicolas Sud on the A4 in France I got an alternator failure warning light and a dramatic burst of smoke from the engine compartment. Not good. Not good at all. The…
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.”
Socials
Subscribe
Receive content by email
Latest comments
My cars are just tools although I do get attached to them and have fond memories of a couple of…
I did get to ride in her and she did add cachet for me with my neighbours by being in…
It would have been easy to fulfil an open desire so why keep it secret? Surely the whole advantage of…
My secret desire was to be taken for a spin in her. Alas!
ARCHIVES
Blogspot Archive Mar 2005 – Sep 2006
TypePad/WordPress Archives Sep 2006 – date
The Great American Road Trip of 2013
The Great American Road Trip Posts
First post (in case you want to read it from the beginning)
The Last Ditch by Tom Paine 
I’m going to go millennial and rent what I need when I need it. If that doesn’t work for me,…