Love and its Magic

I have been lax in my writing since I came to The Gambia and have begun to think it is time to get back to it. I normally write when the muse visits and compels me. It begins with an idea, a thought or a title, which I let gestate in my head and my […]

As foundations collapse

(Picture: My neighbours dressed for their own special day) As we near this Christmas season, when Christians celebrate the birth of Christ, we find a celebration that has morphed into a celebration of consumerism unhinged. It is the pinnacle of sales and profits for those engaged in the capitalist world of retail, the time when […]

On being alone – a world without self

A bout of inner ear infection in September knocked me off my feet for a couple of weeks providing me time and space for thought and reflection. Its been almost two years now since I left Newfoundland and Labrador and journeyed to The Gambia. Even though I had been here twice before for a total […]

A world without fairies

What has happened to the world in which our generation came into –  a world of mystery, marvel and fairy tales – where the good always overcame the bad. This, despite the fact that the world had just gone through the most devastating war in world history. The good guys won, as evidenced by the […]

A time for reflection

Turning 70 in April has been a cause for assessment, reflection and wonder – where did the years go? Life for me these past 40 years has been a wander, some might suggest that I have been lost, and at times I have been, but we all get lost at some time in our lives. […]

In search of stability

It is that time of year again when it’s time to take stock, reflect on the year that we are leaving behind and the New Year about to unfold. It has been a tumultuous year in the world and for myself a year of transition and change and learning with a move to Gambia. It […]

Gambia Return 2017

(Photo: Reunion with the children from the neighbourhood where I lived in 2013-4) A journey begins with the first step, I am not sure how many more steps would be included in the 19,000 plus kilometers it took me to get to the Gambia, but I imagine a few. There were a few diversions.

Change is never easy

(Picture drawn by Tetyana Kudina, Ukraine) A lot has happened in the world since I left Newfoundland and Labrador in mid-December. This is all part of the shifts and change sweeping the world, challenging beliefs and institutional foundations. 

A world in freefall

(Picture: Precious children everywhere – Nyima sitting behind her friend Bobbie in The Gambia) It has been over twenty years that I have been producing this Christmas newsletter and sharing my thoughts on the world and the ups and downs of my own life from many different vantage points and locations. What is evident, as […]