Simon Varwell's Blog, page 9

July 29, 2016

Tramping The Long White Cloud

This is the thirteenth in my occasional series of “Books on the Horizon” – travelogues I dream of researching and writing, though probably never will. My “Books on the Horizon” are an exercise in creativity, idle whimsy and – through any reactions I get – testing the water.

Readmore about theseries in this introductory page, and see the ideathat inspired it–The Impossible Books of Keith Kahn-Harris.

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Tramping TheLong White Cloud: An end to endwalkthrough New Zealand

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Published on July 29, 2016 04:00

July 28, 2016

The United States of Beer

This is the twelfthinmy occasional series of “Books on the Horizon” – travelogues I dream of researching and writing, though probably never will. My “Books on the Horizon” are an exercise in creativity, idle whimsy and – through any reactions I get – testing the water.

Readmore about theseries in this introductory page, and see the ideathat inspired it–The Impossible Books of Keith Kahn-Harris.


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The United States of Beer: Travels toAmerican microbreweries.

Yeah, I know, the title’s rubb...

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Published on July 28, 2016 04:00

July 27, 2016

Anything But Guinness

This is the eleventhinmy occasional series of “Books on the Horizon” – travelogues I dream of researching and writing, though probably never will. My “Books on the Horizon” are an exercise in creativity, idle whimsy and – through any reactions I get – testing the water.

Readmore about theseries in this introductory page, and see the ideathat inspired it–The Impossible Books of Keith Kahn-Harris.

Anything But GuinnessTITLE

Anything But Guinness: a journey through Irish craft beer.

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Published on July 27, 2016 04:00

July 26, 2016

Between Vast Oceans

This is the tenth inmy occasional series of “Books on the Horizon” – travelogues I dream of researching and writing, though probably never will. My “Books on the Horizon” are an exercise in creativity, idle whimsy and – through any reactions I get – testing the water.

Readmore about theseries in this introductory page, and see the ideathat inspired it–The Impossible Books of Keith Kahn-Harris.

Between Vast OceansTITLE

Between Vast Oceans:Drivingthe Trans-Canada Highway

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Driving the Trans-Canad...

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Published on July 26, 2016 04:00

Cork’s microbreweries

Cork riverside

Followinglast year’s blink and you miss it trip to Cork, the Republic of Ireland’s second city, I had the good fortune to return three times in past months.

Those trips allowed me to see more than the inside of hotels, meeting rooms and taxis, and instead get a good flavour for the place.

End Dublin rule in Cork

Cork stretches along the banks of the River Lee, boasting a distinguished old university and a couple of striking cathedrals.

But while it is an eye-catching city, it hasa slightly weathered feel about the...

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Published on July 26, 2016 01:35

July 25, 2016

Bypassed

This theninthmy occasional series of “Books on the Horizon” – travelogues I dream of researching and writing, though probably never will. My “Books on the Horizon” are an exercise in creativity, idle whimsy and – through any reactions I get – testing the water.

Readmore about theseries in this introductory page, and see the ideathat inspired it–The Impossible Books of Keith Kahn-Harris.

BypassedTITLE

Bypassed: Travels tothe forgotten victims of success

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A slightly melancholic set of...

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Published on July 25, 2016 04:00

July 19, 2016

The Wake, by Paul Kingsnorth

The Wake, by Paul KingsnorthNow and then, a book pops up that is extraordinary in its nature, subject and style – a true original. And The Wake, by English author Paul Kingsnorth, which I finished a while back, is one such book.

Taking those three points of extraordinariness in turn, the nature of the book is that it was originallycrowd-funded. Asking people to commit to something financially in advance – a business venture, a book, a film or whatever – in return for various perks seems to be an increasingly popular way...

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Published on July 19, 2016 07:48

June 15, 2016

I hate the EU

Flags and stuffI hate the European Union.

I hate it for its dithering, ineffective, negligent and callous approach to security and humanitarianism in its own backyard.

We saw it during the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, when fascism reared its head and brought war to Europe on a scale not seen since the 1940s. Indeed in Kosovo in 1999, I saw with my own eyes the devastating effect that this had. Far from the European Union realisingthat this, the threat of war in Europe, was precisely the moment...

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Published on June 15, 2016 12:00

May 10, 2016

Glenesk

Mount KeenBack in March, I went hillwalking for the first time inprobably over a year. The last time I went, I was appallingly unfitbut this time I was in better shape having committed myself to getting fit, and I am glad that it paid off.

We were staying with some friends at a modest lodge in Tarfside, a small village near the end of Glenesk, a long, winding road through the Angus foothills to the south of the Cairngorms that seemed to go on forever. Angus was not a part of the world I knew well – I’v...

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Published on May 10, 2016 12:54

April 23, 2016

My 2016 vote

Politics seems like a blur these days. At times a horrifically depressing blur. Hence the fact I’ve not blogged anything for a long time about Scottish politics. Since the referendum, in fact.

Much has happened since then, including the Tories’ surprise victory in the 2015 General Election and the forces of hell that unleashed, the SNP’s surge, Corbynmania and of course the EU referendum (more on that last onein anotherblog post coming soon).

But one other thing that has happened since then –...

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Published on April 23, 2016 13:50