Postcard from Bishkek

It used to be said that Bishkek was the “Greenest city on Earth” with its parks, tree lined boulevards, open spaces between the apartment blocks … and even in the garden at our hotel in Bishkek, the Silk Road Lodge, we have over 50 trees of different types, sizes and age. This was largely due to […]

A sure sign that Spring has finally arrived, the first bulbs have started to appear in the garden at our hotel – bright yellow and purple Crocuses, (or should that be Croci?). The Crocus is one of the first flowers of Spring to bloom. As well as being pretty, these harbingers of Spring raise our […]

In the United States, today is Arbor Day – a day when individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees.  (It’s actually a ‘moveable feast’ in that it takes place annually on the last Friday in April) Although Mankind has long had a special affinity with trees, the Celts, for example, held […]

Yesterday, I saw a post on a trivia site that sent me checking the system date on my computer … I felt sure it had to be an April Fool’s joke. I had already fallen foul of one such premature prank on youtube over the weekend … and Maxim had already tried to pull one […]

There is a story that when he became President of the United States, George Bush, (that is the older – George H. Bush – not his son, George W. Bush), he issued an instruction to the White House staff that Broccoli should never be served: “I do not like broccoli. And I haven’t liked it […]

Although it sometimes doesn’t feel like it, (especially this year when Winter has held on doggedly … refusing to be banished and repeatedly revisiting us with cold spells), Spring is in the Air. Spring and “springtime” refer to the season … and also to the 5 Rs :  Rebirth, Rejuvenation, Renewal, Resurrection and Regrowth.  Apart from the lengthening days and the, (usually), […]

The other day I came across an article on the BBC website about Onionomics: the importance of the Onion to Indian cuisine … well, not just cuisine but to society as a whole – and not just the farmers responsible for growing the 16 million tonnes of the crop each year … as the author of […]

The news that Colorado had legalized the sale of cannabis as from the 1st January this year came as a bit of a surprise … although the states residents had voted in a referendum approving the measure as long ago as back in November 2012. Colorado was already one of the nineteen US states that […]

Tonight is known in Mexico as the Night of the Radishes. The festivities associated with this event have been celebrated since 1897 in the main square of the city of Oaxaca and is usually attended by several thousand people. and has been described as one of the impressive Vegetable Festivals around the world. Craftsmen carve […]

The other day I was walking through Gorky Park on my way from my to the hotel, when I got a distinct feeling of dejá vu.  For a split second, I felt as if I was back in the UK. The weather cool and the skies were a little overcast – well, I suppose that […]