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The World is Watching
It seems like everyone has an opinion on the September 18 independence referendum to be held in Scotland, except me. I probably should have paid more attention to the upcoming vote, but really, why should I care? My family left Scotland in 1843; I may have some distant cousins still living there now, but I […]
Something Rotten in Parliament
One of the fun things about a vacation, for me anyway, is traveling to locations that can bring history alive in a new way, places like Dunwich, a village in Suffolk County on England’s North Sea Coast. I had never heard of the town before our English hosts, Peter and Charlotte, suggested we drive there, […]
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 […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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