ASIDE RESORTS – THE AGREABLE AND THE GHASTLY  Quy Nong  A fishing resort where the water bounces with coracles like St Columba’s – the one he used to sail to Iona.  We are in a marble workers hotel  – v. grand indeed, and where everyone is young enough to be our grandchild and friendly and speaks no English, except for the receptionist a bit.  Are we the only guests?  Man in Saigon said they were taught Russian as 2nd language.  We meet Ronnie Reynolds, an American who has been travelling for five years because it’s cheap – he has been in the US army, the Foreign Legion...

JERUSALEM    Below is what I sent to my sister Lavender (her husband Charlie being Jewish wanted to know how it went) :  Jerusalem is beautiful – partly because all of it, even the new city, is all built in creamy gold limestone. I stayed at a Lutheran guesthouse in the Armenian quarter of the old city, spotless & with a garden with views over domes, spires, minarets and satellite dishes.  Here is the view from my room at night.   The other guests – they only stayed a night or two – were pilgrims in groups, a few Americans, quite a few Germans since it is German owned, orthodox...

From central Glasgow, walking through Kelvingrove Park up river to Milngavie, I stayed at a seedy but ok b & b in Renfew St – Paki owner and Polish girls, he v. nice & efficient but oh, these people of the east and south do not smile as much as they do in their own lands.  Leave bag for carrier to take to Milngavie for tonight.  The euphoria of walking in early morning sunshine through Glasgow, the trees, the great Stewart fountain, the sweetness of people who always greet, young women, old women, quicker greetings from men, long directions from old man with beery breath – now, my...

Fly into Dubrovnik, airport surrounded by spires of cypress & domes of pines.  Zig zag along coast, misty & scenic & stippled with islands, to old city.  Fight our way through tourists beside the walls who have just poured out of dozens of buses – 3 or 4 cruise liners each holding 5 – 6000 people have docked today, says waiter where we collapse for coffee.  They shuffle like caterpillars after leaders who hold aloft flags or furled umbrellas.   They bring in no money at all, says waiter, they get everything from the ships – bottled water, food,  souvenirs.  Tall, small, young,...

Years ago Jessica found this lovely thing in her garden and asked me what it was.  I hadn’t a clue, but eventually we found it’s from Peru, Nicandra physalodes, named after a Greek poet Nicander.   Web pictures show small blooms a pallid mauve shade among a mass of dull green foliage.  In America they wrote, ‘scrawny flowers and not very striking,’ and ‘do not think of cultivating this horrible invasive!!’   We felt outraged!  Nicandra belongs to the nightshade family, and its other names are Apple of Peru and the Shoo-Fly plant.  Whether it actually shoos flies away I very much...