US of E

"Have you lived in Helsinki all your life?" "Not yet." Speak of the Devil and he walks. Not a week has gone by since I told you about our visiting Finnish football club and their wisecracker of a president when I get a text message from Helsinki. They are coming to Germany, twenty-seven of them …

Stoney

The tax man's taken all my dough. He does this every month without so much as a by your leave and then every quarter he also sends me a bill for my freelance work. He's only doing his job I suppose -- although why he had to do it on my birthday I don't know. …

Strangers On A Train

Russian. I can tell that without even realising what language they're speaking. The 11:14 is late. Not that the passengers in our carriage seem to care much. There aren't more than a handful of us and Saturday morning is still in its infancy. I am heading out into the hills behind the nearby town of …

The Last King Of Corsica

There is another way out of my current predicament. It is open only to a select few. As things stand at the moment, no deal has been reached on the rights of UK citizens living in the European Union. There is no guarantee that my application to become a German citizen will be successful. It …

Calamity Dave II

Do you remember my mate Kostas? Kostas is the owner of the Dionysus Grill in Herne, a cheap and cheerful Greek eatery that stands between the railway station and my home. If I've been working late then the smell wafting through the door calls to me like a siren -- and more often than not …