Hunting Mr Heartbreak – A Discovery of America by Jonathan Raban
A few weeks back I “took ship” in Liverpool, and headed off to find America with the English author Jonathan Raban.
It was pure pleasure – page after page of portrait and insight.
I loved this book for the easy, genius-flow of its writing, and for the portraits of America and her people.
Gelato Village Leicester, England
The trip to Leicester was an impulse – something to do with the heatwave, and meeting Antonio De Vecchi and Daniele Taverna in Turin. All we talked about in Turin was food, and their passion was gelato…so much of a passion that they started Gelato Village in Leicester, England.
I’d never been to Leicester. Now I had two reasons to go.
Zimbabwe’s children – what next?
The sense of dread comes in waves.
How to watch? Where to find the words when the killing starts again in Zimbabwe?
This is an outline in story, a sketch, of the elections (result still contested) held recently in Zimbabwe, and the intention is to try to explain to those who have no connection with the country a little of what is at stake. It is not intended in any way to make light of the efforts and agonies of those involved.
The story is set in a boxing ring, and the prize is leadership of a land rich in elephants, pangolin, gold, diamonds, rivers, life-giving soil…and Zimbabweans.
A pangolin in Zimbabwe with its handler/protector
The pangolin, or scaly anteater – legendary, gentle, and about to disappear.
The front entrance to Porta Nuova train station in Turin, Italy
The first day of Turin Epicurian Capital 2018
This is it! Day one of why I am here, and I am nervous.
A taxi returns me to Porta Nuova train station, neighbour to the hotel that is to be my base for Turin Epicurian Capital 2018.
“It’s time to make some wrong things right!”
The 2 Incredibles – who are they?
Tom Benyon is one, and his superpower, unleashed as the millennium changed, is his ability to honour the forgotten of Zimbabwe. Stubborn and determined bearer of the deep red roundel for ZANE (Zimbabwe a National Emergency), he strides the valleys and peaks of his island home to raise ransom for those held hostage by lack of care. His mission – to bring them care.
Sheep – these two in Lancashire, England
Today thousands of Australia’s sheep await their government’s decision on how, when or if they will be shipped across the ocean to the heat-blazed summer of the Middle East.
View of the Alps shortly before landing in Turin, Italy
The gleam of snow on dark peaks fills the window for long minutes, then disappears beneath a carpet of greens.
As the aeroplane turns on its wingtip, grids of brown appear, stacked close to the lush curves of the Po River.
We land gently.
“Ladies and Gentlemen – welcome to Turin!”
