We cross the border from California into Nevada—rampaging fires having forced a last minute change of itinerary— passing a gas station with attached brothel and a mobile tattooist on a graffiti splashed parking lot before arriving at our overnight stop. .........more
A fuzzy aura surrounds Baby Jesus: not so much halo, more white angora. He and Joseph have been knitted from assorted scraps of 3-ply and are roughly twice the size of Mary, a Barbie-like figure swathed in silver tinsel. All three, however, are dwarfed by the bizarre centrepiece of this Nativity, a plastic pig carcass, suspended from a frame, belly slit open, innards picked out in sickly shades of grey and purple. .........more
In the mizzle of an Edinburgh morning Saltires swirl; chants of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ are flung rhythmically back and forth across the grey streets by impassioned, but good natured crowds ; politicians polish their sound-bites and wave their tartan-trimmed promises. But we, sequestered in a medieval walled town high in the Tuscan hills, are a world away from referendum fever, surely?.............more
‘I’m lookin’ for a gun-slinger,’ I announced self-consciously rapping the door. No response.
Was it a wind-up? The concierge had winked in what I took to be a conspiratorial manner as he handed me the slip of paper and mouthed ‘password’ but perhaps he was just having a joke at my expense. ‘I’m lookin’ for a gun-slinger’, I repeated, more forcefully. .............more
‘I’ve arranged for you to have supper with some French evangelists. They’re really looking forward to meeting you. I’ll text their address. Got to go, my flight’s being called’.
‘Who? What?....’ but I was spluttering to dead air. What on earth was my brother playing at? He knew today was our last in San Diego. And now, an evening with some contacts of his I’d never heard of..............more