God Is Watching Us

It's hard to believe that this T-bone in the road was once a capital city. I'm back in Germany in the village of Odenthal, three streets at a junction near the industrial town of Leverkusen. I'll give you the history lesson in a minute but I need a sit down first. Getting here by public …

The Usual Suspects

I will never get closer to one of my all-time heroes than I am right now. I have crossed the border into England and am currently standing in the lobby of the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. It's a hideously expensive place full of high-backed leather armchairs and polished mahogany and as an …

Welcome

I have never seen so many golf bags in my life. I am sitting in the international arrivals lounge at Glasgow airport. So far planes have come in from New Jersey, Philadelphia and Toronto. I am waiting for friends arriving on the flight from Orlando. They'll have a great time in Scotland. Everybody does, especially …

The Dissenters

"Have you heard of the Reformation?", the lady asks as she takes my money and hands me an information leaflet. I explain that I come from just down the road. She understands my answer and I understand why she asks the question. This is Scotland in August. The group waiting to take the tour are …

Idolised

Ask a British person living in Germany what they most miss about the UK and there is a fair chance that the reply will be: "a good curry". "You just can't get a decent curry in Germany", is how the argument goes. It's a hypothesis which has much in the way of merit: Indian restaurants …