The Invisible College: Volume I Editing Scheduled for July 2013
Excellent news! My publisher has confirmed she will be starting work on The Invisible College next month.
Oxford Botanic Garden
There are common pleasures to be enjoyed visiting both Oxford and Cambridge. A city centre radiating from the university buildings, constructed in Jurassic limestone and up to seven or eight hundred years old; a compact layout, best experienced on foot, and a university-owned and maintained Botanic Garden, open to all, within easy walking distance of […]
Maasai Mara - Wildlife
Here are just a few photographs of the wildlife to be seen in the Maasai Mara. All were taken in the space of a two-hour drive and a ninety-minute walk, accompanied by our friendly and knowledgeable Maasai guides. In just three days we saw all of the 'big five'. There is such a variety and […]
Maasai Mara - People
A highlight of my second visit to Kenya was the Maasai Mara, the traditional homeland of the Maasai people that spans the border between Kenya and Tanzania. Although traditionally a nomadic people, the governments of both countries have instituted programmes to encourage the Maasai to abandon their semi-nomadic lifestyle. although Oxfam has suggested that their […]
Vanuatu: Paradise on Earth
Light Bislama Vanuatu has 69 inhabited islands and, remarkably, at least 105 indigenous languages, of which over 90 are in daily use. This represents one language for every 1,600 people, the highest language density in the world. The official languages are French, English and Bislama, a pidgin language, widely spoken and seen on official signs […]
Kenya: Lake Nakuru National Park
I had always thought that a safari-style trip would be boring, that you would drive for days in discomfort, seeing nothing in the way of wildlife, aside from the occasional distant view of animals that would run away at the sight, sound or smell of a vehicle and its human occupants. How wrong this proved […]
Reading List: Source Material for The Invisible College
The following is a selection of sources of material for the trilogy. Religions of Rome: Volume II, A Sourcebook, Cambridge University Press 1998, by Mary Beard, John North and Simon Price The translation of the Aretalogy of Isis is reproduced by kind permission of Mary Beard and John North. How To Lie With Maps by […]
Djibouti City
In any country, a visit to a local market is essential, as part of the process of discovery and understanding a little more of how people live. The central market in Djibouti City is a thriving place, stretching down from this mosque (above left), which […]