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Keeping Score in the War That Never Ends
A century later, it haunts them still. The last Canadian veteran of the First World War died in 2010, and I would imagine that is pretty much the case in most countries. The generation that fought and survived the bloody battles in France and Belgium from 1914-18 has now passed into the history books. But […]
Franz Liszt Played Here
In downtown Bucharest it seems there is a plaque on every second building, indicating some semi-interesting historical information to be shared in Romanian, English and French. Unable to resist the printed word in any form, I looked at the plaque on Capsa House, and discovered that its claim to fame was a recital given there […]
Is This a Cultural Difference?
I am a big believer in tradition. There is something comforting about doing something the same way our ancestors did. It gives us a sense of continuity, of contact with past generations. I am not, however, a Luddite (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/luddite). I do not fear new technology and have frequently been an early adopter of technological innovations, […]
How to see Europe in Two Hours
I will admit I went under protest. I couldn’t see the point of spending good money to see scale models of European landmarks. But my wife was insistent, and because we were also going to the Atomium, which is right next door in suburban Brussels, we got a couple of Euros off the admission price […]
Seize The Day
I am a news junkie, but I try to scale that addiction back when on vacation. I try not to read a newspaper, or watch television news. But sometimes a story is so big it intrudes on my holidays, like the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. I remember West Point, the Liberian ghetto almost no-one […]
Remembering The Dead
It is a solemn place and a stark reminder that there were no winners in the First World War. Langemark Cemetery is a memorial to young men who fought and died for a cause they believed in. But there are no rows of white headstones here. Instead the markers are black, set into the earth. […]
Charles Who?
As a Canadian of a certain age my biggest memory of French hero Charles de Gaulle is less than favourable. In 1967 he was quickly ushered out of Canada by the Canadian government after he proudly proclaimed “Vive le Quebec Libre!” (Long live a free Quebec) from the balcony of Montreal City Hall. Canadians were […]
The Lessons of History
It was obvious when we were there this summer that there is a certain longing for the past in Romania, at least among those who aren’t old enough to remember the bad old days. Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu was overthrown in 1989. For all intents and purposes that means that anyone under 30 really has […]
Standing In Flanders Fields
“In Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row,That mark our place,” – John McCrae There are no longer crosses in Flanders fields. Those were temporary wooden markers, erected in haste during a lull in the shelling. The incessant, almost ceaseless shelling. The crosses are gone but the graves are still there, marked […]
Broken Relationships
The broken camera made absolutely no sense to me; or to Vivian for that matter. Why would a non-functioning digital camera be the first thing we would see at the entrance to The Parlementarium, the museum that tells the history of the European Union parliament? And why was there a story about how this camera […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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