One of the odd things about travel is that the simplest task can become oddly complicated. Part of this has to do with the fact of being on my own, Jane currently in Israel. But there’s more to it than that. I am fresh from what should be a straightforward transfer of voice recognition software to my laptop. One of those little IT tasks that didn't get completed at home. I spent two hours on the phone last night going back and forth between different departments of the same software company. Read more [...]

Funny what we think about while traveling. Of course, in my case, whatever I'm thinking is affected by the underlying facts of my disability. The latter being more in my face, let us say, being more on my own. And what hits me in the face, as I am facing up to being face-to-face with my disabled being? That this is a strange era of vacuous action. The former adage 'look before you leap’ has been replaced by something else. Maybe leap and look later. Or leap and don't look at all. Or maybe leap Read more [...]

It isn't everyone's idea of a holiday. Thing is, I am at an age that entails proximity to death and dying. Not to mention disease and decline. So, that's what this trip is partly about. Visiting friends and family, many of whom are old, and quite a few of whom are sick. Why else would a California visitor get on the #36 bus for New Cross? For me, there's not much in New Cross except Barbara, Ed and the kids. Mind you, 'the kids’ are now in their 30s and involved in international development, Read more [...]

Any stay in a nice hotel entails moments of formality– unless you're severely disabled, which turns the whole thing on its ear. Take Sunday morning. With Jane on a 10-day tour and training in Israel, what happens to me when it's time for breakfast? After all, it is the custom to appear in a hotel dining room fully clothed. Okay, maybe not Hawaii. But definitely the Paddington Hilton. Which is fine, unless you sleep a bit later and find yourself pushed for time. And that's the thing about doing Read more [...]

Did the day really begin at 4:30 AM? No, the real answer is 4 AM, when I began to worry about getting up at 4:30 AM. Was Jane worrying too? Hard to say. For her the emotions were decidedly mixed. She was heading to Tel Aviv, the start of a 10-day training/pilgrimage sponsored by Grace Cathedral of San Francisco. Anyway, at a staggering hour, there we were up and staggering about our London hotel room. We have been here for five days, after travels about Gloucestershire and Devon. Jane and I are meeting Read more [...]