Thanks for reading. This blog is an opportunity for me to capture some of the diversity of my writing interests. My muse tend to appear on my shoulder as I board an international flight although not all of my writing is inspired by travel and foreign places. These blogs have been the basis of a novel (Flowers of Baghdad) but there are a few other writing projects in progress besides. Please feel free to leave a comment. Or two.

The Farm (4)

Previous Chapter In 2005 David Paton, good friend, mentor, example, and inspiration died after experiencing an aggressive cancer. I flew to New Zealand to attend his funeral. On the flight back I started writing some notes that were intended to capture something of what David meant to me. Taking a deep breath I thought I…

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Bestest Blog

I am not sure how kosher or otherwise it is to be placing site traffic analysis up on the blog but I thought some of you might be interested in the dramatic difference a very small investment in Bobby’s site has made. Specifically it started with the Premium Blog promotion that was responsible for this…

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Sartorial Splendour (3)

Previous ChapterIn 2005 David Paton, good friend, mentor, example, and inspiration died after experiencing an aggressive cancer. I flew to New Zealand to attend his funeral. On the flight back I started writing some notes that were intended to capture something of what David meant to me. Taking a deep breath I thought I would…

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Taxi Story – The Kurd

Taxi drivers in this city are almost always foreign nationals – if not by citizenship then at least by birth. That makes for some interesting stories and I usually take the opportunity when riding with them to find out a bit about their backgrounds and their families. One stands out and I am thinking about…

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Eel Art

I was explaining to a colleague today how the Pickled Eel came about.It has a lot to do with alcohol.The story is here.In an attempt to “brand” the blog a little – and stop being so darn serious about everything – I whipped up a quick sketch of an eel (with apologies to all the…

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Transformation

Previous ChapterIn 2005 David Paton, good friend, mentor, example, and inspiration died after experiencing an aggressive cancer. I flew to New Zealand to attend his funeral. On the flight back I started writing some notes that were intended to capture something of what David meant to me. Taking a deep breath I thought I would…

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