BIOGRAPHY
I was born in Johannesburg, one of the generation that was supposed to benefit from Apartheid, and who worked to end it. Always an outsider, I did what I had to do: went to school, did compulsory military service, went to University (Economics and International Relations) then opted out and went to work on a game reserve. In 1976 I joined the Civil Service in order to do something to change my country for the better, and percolated into the Diplomatic service. Here I learnt the joys of travel, of learning foreign languages, getting to know different cultures and cuisines, and of meeting fascinating people. But after 37 years, having lived in Africa, Europe and, briefly, the USA diplomacy was not fun any more. I shook hands with Presidents reputed to be mass murderers and had to be polite to dictators and hit-men, now I could meet with villagers, ordinary people, visit the places I always dreamt of, and go diving instead of enduring dreary receptions. I give in easily to the call of the open road, and love driving, writing about it, meeting interesting people, eating interesting food (on the waterfront of Raiateia you can eat vanilla-flavored fish in coconut milk that is absolutely fantastic) and doing things I could not do before. My hobbies include photography, building a sailboat, and spoiling my grandchildren.
LATEST OPINIONS
Nepal, Caught Between Realities
May 19, 2019
Elections in South Africa.
May 12, 2019
Politics Can Be Fun
May 03, 2019
Kenneth After Idai: More Terror For Mozambique
April 26, 2019
Random Thoughts After The Fire At Notre Dame
April 21, 2019
Of Fences and Gates
April 13, 2019
To A Climate Change Denier
April 05, 2019
When Societies Unravel
March 29, 2019
When Nature Rages Angels Bring Help
March 27, 2019
Message From a Terrorist: Build Bridges
March 23, 2019
Freedom Denied
March 16, 2019
Political Progress or Return To The Past?
March 10, 2019
The Flower Grandchildren Are Angry
March 01, 2019
King Looy and the Duke of Bilgewater and Modern Democracy
February 21, 2019
The Art of the Lie
February 16, 2019
Time For a Joke
February 08, 2019
Is Our Political System Fit For Purpose?
February 03, 2019
We Are Not Alone In An Unfriendly Universe
January 27, 2019
Zimbabwe: Here We Go Again
January 20, 2019
Make Bucks, Not War
January 12, 2019
To Label Is To Limit
January 05, 2019
You Can’t Close Pandora’s Box
December 28, 2018
Two Christmas Gifts
December 25, 2018
Love Your Neighbor. But Who Is It?
December 23, 2018
When Taxpayers Lose Trust
December 16, 2018
Congo Fever Strikes
December 09, 2018
Boko Haram, Rising From the Ashes
December 02, 2018
Forward to the Past, or Making Sense of Brexit
November 24, 2018
Fake news? False Prospectus?
November 17, 2018
In Remembrance of Corporal Willy McHardy
November 10, 2018
And Now for the Good News
November 04, 2018
Rumblings on the Islands of the Moon
October 28, 2018
Congo – Heading for the Rapids
October 20, 2018
Updating, Upgrading Apps
October 14, 2018
An Epidemic, A Breakdown Of Order
October 05, 2018
A Story, a Parable, a Whimsy
September 28, 2018
Politics of Survival
September 22, 2018
China and Africa
September 13, 2018
Slavery in Paradise
September 08, 2018
Tourism: You Can’t Go Back
August 31, 2018
African Industrialization
August 25, 2018
Spring in Zimbabwe?
August 19, 2018
Land of My Fathers
August 11, 2018
Blame it on Ulpian
August 05, 2018
Constitutional Stability in the Great Lakes Region
July 28, 2018
A Story on the Wind
July 21, 2018
Career Politicians, Political Careers
July 14, 2018
Making fun of the Belgians
July 08, 2018
Surprised by Nigeria?
July 01, 2018
Africa Dreams of Democracy
June 23, 2018
Spring in the Congo
June 17, 2018
Monuments, an Unknown Legacy
June 09, 2018
Congo - Mining in Darkness
June 02, 2018
In Praise of Older Women
May 25, 2018
Ebola Outbreak
May 20, 2018
Chinguetti
May 11, 2018
Meeting in the Desert
May 05, 2018
Exorcising Apartheid
April 28, 2018
Hope for Democracy in Africa
April 20, 2018
Is War in Our Genes?
April 13, 2018
Don't Let Me Catch You Praying!
April 08, 2018
Sunset Over Africa
April 04, 2018
We The People, but Not Them
March 29, 2018
Morning, Brother!
March 23, 2018
“Slow Down, You Move Too Fast” (Simon and Garfunkel)
March 17, 2018
