The day after I wrote the previous post, on 15 November 2014, my husband Mark Arram died. It was as sudden and unexpected as that
Steeped in coffee’s heritage
In a cafe which has a history of serving tea and coffee since 1837, it was interesting that a game developed that was all about recognising literary icons of the past 100 years
Fighting back against ‘poverty porn’
The protest by Middlesborough football club supporters called ‘Red Faction’ is part of “the ongoing struggle against the ‘politics of disposability'”
Heartfelt politics
At Konservokouti they have created a place that acts as a container for all the warmth and heart that seems so characteristic of many Greeks…
We want to go home…
When I told Konstantina that I would be returning to Athens and wanted to visit again, she replied “We don’t want to be here then”.
A waiting game
There’s a sense that people are tired and weary, but also of unfinished business. People are waiting to see what happens at the next elections, whether SYRIZA might get in…
Asylum – a different take among friends
Agota Kristof’s account of her escape from Hungary in 1956 with her husband and child prompted us to think about how different things would be if conversations focused on what could be done to help…
The Greek Crisis – how much do we really know?
I’ve been to Athens three times and realise that I barely know it, have little grasp of what’s happened and why, but when I think about the people I have met I don’t find myself thinking that they deserve what is happening to them or their country.
When things go wrong
When things don’t work out, when they become difficult, dire and complicated, do we simply conclude that hope, and things like those seen and felt in Egypt, or in Azusa Street, were only illusions?
Exploring cafe culture
A friend’s visit and her need to shop her way around London (it’s her job) inspired me to check out some central London cafes this week…