I have the good fortune to live in an unusual little corner of London overlooking a decommissioned dock that is now used for training small children to sail, adults to kayak, and other healthy maritime pursuits. On hot days it attracts merry bands of revellers seeking a way to cool off, diving merrily into the … Continue reading
Tag Archives: family
Barbecue: Hospitality Felt Round the World
This is a story about small-town entrepreneurship and national journalism with a global reach. Shakedown BBQ of Grantville, PA is a small place with a big heart. There are only about six tables, all of which were occupied when I arrived with my aunt and her boyfriend on a chilly day shortly before Christmas. In … Continue reading
Diary of an Expat Lady: Winter Edition
A few years ago I discovered E. M. Delafield’s Diary of a Provincial Lady and various sequels. With its whimsical epistolary style underscored by deeper ruminations on feminist social themes of the 1930s and 40s, Delafield’s writing is a clear forebear to Bridget Jones’s Diary and similar works. Her influence is also the reason that … Continue reading
Never Mind A-Levels, Yashika. Sit the SATs.
There are times where I wonder why, in a climate of growing fear and mistrust of immigrants in Britain, I choose to remain. Last night as I watched the unfolding furore over Yashika Bageerathi’s deportation was one of those. Yashika was until last night a nineteen-year-old student at Oasis Academy Hadley in London, preparing to … Continue reading
The Christmas Spirit (Second in the London Christmas Series)
It wouldn’t have been a proper holiday without a frisson of worry about the travel arrangements. My parents arrived on the 23rd, propelled here faster than usual by gale force winds. On the night of their arrival we went for a festively champagne-fuelled meal at Dishoom, an Indian restaurant in Shoreditch. We brought Christmas crackers … Continue reading
Haworth
As you will already know, dear devoted reader, my second book is coming out in the autumn with McFarland press. This book is a volume of collected essays by scholars from around the world and I feel deeply privileged to have been part of this project. We are nearing the end of the marathon now, … Continue reading
Anglo-American Relations
So I just sent my application off to get my visa renewed. I have to do this every few years and I always hate it, even though compared to a lot of people who want to stay in this country, my path is pretty straightforward. And I’ve been lucky enough to have quite a bit … Continue reading
Giving Thanks
I went home for Thanksgiving for the first time in five years. It was also the first time in about six or seven years that my mom’s whole side of the family had been together. There’s nothing in the world like that all-togetherness. I am so thankful for living abroad, but also for the freedom … Continue reading
Remembering
I’ve always had very mixed feelings about Remembrance Sunday, partly because I’m a pacifist and I feel ambivalent about glorifying military deaths over civilians and others affected by war. But more importantly, I’ve never felt that I had anyone personal to remember. But as I watched the ceremonies this morning I realized that there was … Continue reading
In a Merry Hour: Caitlin E McDonald 