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Dougie
Jun 19, 20222 min read
Xylella fastidiosa -- killer bug
It is Sunday in southern Italy. The town is quiet. The beaches not far from here will already be crammed (even this early in summer)....
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Dougie
Jun 18, 20224 min read
Trulli ... everywhere you look you can see a Trullo (sorry, couldn't resist it)
Today we visited the Trulli town of Alberobello, about an hour's drive north of Francavilla Fontana. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage...
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Dougie
Jun 17, 20221 min read
Some days there is only one way to be ...
The chirping of cicadas in 70 year old olive trees is the only sound to disturb the peace. Do cicadas chirp? I am too hot to care. The...
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Dougie
Jun 15, 20221 min read
Ditch the ego. Just write.
You get up early on a day when the breeze has dropped and it's twenty-seven or twenty-eight degrees by breakfast. And your brother asks...
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Dougie
Jun 14, 20222 min read
Not quite Route 66 -- coast to coast on Puglia's SS16
We drove from coast to coast across the 'heel' of the 'boot' that is mainland Italy. From the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea. From...
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Dougie
Jun 13, 20223 min read
The curse that keeps on giving
The English writer Horace Walpole (1717 - 1797) is often credited with writing the first ever Gothic novel. His story, The Castle of...
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Dougie
Jun 12, 20221 min read
Trigger Alert -- nearly naked Scottish guy almost smiles
My brother warned me that life in the Trullo would be rustic ... that's the word he used. Rustic. Did he mention it would be rustic and...
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Dougie
Jun 11, 20221 min read
A kitten came looking for breakfast
I sat in the shade of a Trullo. A kitten came calling for breakfast. Then mum came. Then they came. Then later we wandered down long...
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Dougie
Jun 10, 20222 min read
A short and simple tale. Two brothers meet.
My younger brother provides my verifiable first memory. In a taxi. In the rain. In Aberdeen. I was -- what? -- three and a half years old...
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Dougie
Jun 9, 20227 min read
One door stays firmly shut. Another opens magnificently.
We headed north west today. Not far. Just over two kilometres. All of it -- more or less -- on the roads. It's Rome. My half baked plan...
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Dougie
Jun 8, 20225 min read
When in Rome, do as all tourists do. Get ruined.
My relationship with ancient Rome is marginal at best. We had a very tall history teacher in our third year at Secondary school. He was...
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Dougie
Jun 7, 20223 min read
Au revoir Paris ... Benvenuti a Roma.
Our first Italian train -- Frecciarossa 9281. The 7:20 a.m. from Paris Gare de Lyon to Milano Centrale, arriving 2:07 p.m. Change trains...
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Dougie
Jun 6, 20221 min read
Paris Part Deux -- Not another art gallery
When we decided to cross Europe by many trains I went straight to the very best web site in the whole Internet -- without a doubt -- if...
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Dougie
Jun 6, 20224 min read
Tell me why. I don't like Mondays.
We strolled by the Seine. How hard could our Monday be? We followed the river for four kilometres or so before entering le Jardin des...
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Dougie
Jun 5, 20225 min read
The curse of the east coast mainline strikes again
Taking the train between Edinburgh Waverley and London King's Cross has been one of my favourite journeys since my first trip in the late...
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Dougie
Jun 4, 20223 min read
"the quiet of the day far from the roar of the sun."*
It is in days such as today I find myself. Quiet, simple days where not much happens on the surface. Time passes slowly. I am with people...
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Dougie
Jun 3, 20224 min read
In the immortal words of John McEnroe ...
You cannot be serious! We took a mid-morning train to Edinburgh Waverley. As far as I know, it's the only train station named after a...
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Dougie
Jun 2, 20223 min read
Let Glasgow Flourish
We visited Betty again today for three hours. By the time we said our goodbyes my mother was tired. It was time for us to go. Betty was...
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Dougie
Jun 1, 20226 min read
From the sublime to the ridiculous
Today we visited the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum; Glasgow's finest and my favourite for all kinds of reasons (not all of them to...
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Dougie
May 31, 20223 min read
"gentle breathings, heard in this deep calm"*
Today -- after six years of being apart -- I sat with my mother, Betty, for a few hours. My life and work in Australia kept me far away...
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