Jan 16The Gambia: A week in a land of Bumsters, pap and insane colonial bordersThe more African countries I armchair explore, the more astounded I am that the continent continues to function despite the post-colonial trauma, and The Gambia is an interesting case in point. From the 10th Century onwards, people lost their lives, families, homeland and history to the European and Arab slave…The Gambia4 min readThe Gambia4 min read
Jan 9“Prioritise people over things” — a week learning lessons from GabonThe Gabonese Republic is highly-forested and squeezed between Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo. It was the Kingdom of Orungu until the French invaded and named it part of French Equatorial Africa. It achieved independence in 1960 and now has a population twice that of Birmingham. “Little Big Man”…Gabon4 min readGabon4 min read
Dec 11, 2022France: An attempt to become a vegan French man living in BirminghamOK, I knew from the beginning that France was going to be a challenge, the French are our best friends, our worst enemies, they beat as at football and they don’t, in general, take kindly to vegans. It is also hard to shy away from the cliches we’ve been brought…France5 min readFrance5 min read
Nov 20, 2022Finland, Finland, Finland: It’s the country for meEveryone loves Finland. Santa lives there, it has the youngest world leader, Monty Python sing about it, and Finnish People are the happiest in the world. But why is this freezing cold land of reindeers so damn appealing? Well it certainly isn’t their national dish, Karelian pie, a rye dough…Finland4 min readFinland4 min read
Nov 6, 2022Fiji: Where the British manage to bring disaster both when they arrive and when they leaveMy visit to the Melanesian isle of Fiji was another reminder of just how little I know about the world. I’d expected a tropical island paradise with a brutal colonial history, but I hadn’t expected the post-colonial experience to be so damning. These volcanic islands have been inhabited for around…Fiji4 min readFiji4 min read
Oct 30, 2022Ethiopia: Where absolute power corrupted absolutelyThere are certain countries that loom so large in my imagination that I think I’ll never be fully complete until I’ve visited them. Ethiopia is one of those countries. I guess it has something to do with its legendary ability to remain uncolonised by the marauding Europeans despite the germs…Ethiopia4 min readEthiopia4 min read
Oct 22, 2022Eswatini or Swaziland: the importance of a nameIf I was the last absolute monarch in Africa and “my people” had a life expectancy of 58, and a HIV prevalence rate of 28%, I would like to think I would put healthcare and poverty at the top of my list of things to change. But not Eswatini’s King…Eswatini4 min readEswatini4 min read
Sep 30, 2022Estonia: Tiny, technological and spoilt for choiceThe first time I visited cheap, friendly, medieval Tallinn I was coming from money-sucking modernist Helsinki. I had no idea what to expect so was relieved to find a number of fine vegan restaurants; a beer shop that kept paper bags bull of unusual bottle tops for collectors like myself…Estonia4 min readEstonia4 min read
Jul 28, 2022Eritrea: Trying to find some truth in the absence of a free press…Like too many African states, Eritrea’s borders were imposed during the Scramble for Africa in around 1870. But unlike most it only took its name in 1890 — pretty recently when you consider that it hosts human remains from nearly one million years ago, was invaded by the Ottomans and…Eritrea4 min readEritrea4 min read
Jul 16, 2022Equatorial Guinea: A Spanish speaking African nation that hides its charms from the internetThe further these armchair travels take me, the less I understand the world. For example, why does the internet offer 23 million stories about Liz Truss in 0.51 seconds but only one film about Equatorial Guinea? And why, given that this is a country of 1.5 million people each with…Armchair Travel4 min readArmchair Travel4 min read
