I’ll sell it to Bill Gates or anyone else who can afford it

Liechtenstein has a few problems unique to its circumstances as a 60 square mile microstate. Do you bother with airports in an area one-tenths the size of Greater London? What kind of standing army can you possibly cobble together from a population of barely 40,000, even if you had conscription? And what of monetary policy, …

The Wonga Coup

I was turning the pages of the Guardian’s weekend book review supplement, triaging each headline into read, skip or skim. The title “The Invention of Green Colonialism – Putting an end to the myth of the African Eden” was curious – and a mouthful – enough to make the read category. Written by a French …

Munku Boss Pan Matches

I remembered seeing a news headline a while ago that Idris Elba was granted citizenship of Sierra Leone. This week, I went back to the article for a full read. The diplomatic passport received by the British actor, whose father was a native Sierra Leonean, legitimised his role as a brand ambassador for the country. …

El Dorado

It was the year about which Prince had sung a song seventeen years before. I was living in downtown New Haven. A Malaysian restaurant was on the ground floor of my apartment building, the superb food and atmosphere soon turning it into my local. It wasn’t long before I was bringing friends to show off …

Villa Vailima

One of my social media connections had added “he/him” next to his profile name, which I hadn’t noticed before. I mentioned it to Daughter. Many people do it these days, she said and chaffed, you are behind the times as usual. I searched the platform and found more – she/her, they/them even a ze/zir. Called …

Heathen Maiden

Apparently, the pope loves potica – a Slovenian nut roll – so much, he always mentions it when he meets someone from the country. When the world’s most famous Slovenian came calling, a mere mention wasn’t going to be enough, so he levelled up for the occasion. A few months after their inauguration, the Trumps …

The Hildebrand Rarity

In Spring 2018, I was with an ex-colleague at a pub in the City. We were meeting after having lost touch for a number of years. In a manner befitting the occasion, the conversation ran itself along a timeline, starting from when we had last seen one another. After the past – what had happened …

Scooter waterfall

On the first of January, the front-page newspaper headlines gave purpose to the new decade – save the planet from climate change. By the end of the month, it had become apparent the planet had to be saved from a different problem. If leapfrogging over crazed wildfires and calved icebergs into the forefront of public …

Motenguene

During a cross-country family holiday in Holland, we stopped at a town for food. The menu was a benign mix of Dutch fare, burgers and pizza, plus the restaurant’s daredevil dish of meatballs made from worms.  No stranger to the occasional entomophagy, I ordered it. I will give you five pounds each if you eat …

World’s poorest president

Cosmic kite! What planet are you from? Leaving in your wake so many Englishmen, so that the whole country is a clenched fist shouting for Argentina? It was a workday evening when my brother sent a text saying Maradona had died. A few minutes later, a colleague posted on the group chat. Then another colleague …