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
Tag Archives: Travel
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
The Night Train
It’s coming. That birthday. The one that means I actually have to be a grownup. The best possible way to celebrate such a birthday would be to run away with the circus. As a close second, I’m dusting off a writer’s romantic dream: my notebook and I will be catching the night train to Venice. … Continue reading
The Night Train
It’s coming. That birthday. The one that means I actually have to be a grownup. The best possible way to celebrate such a birthday would be to run away with the circus. As a close second, I’m dusting off a writer’s romantic dream: my notebook and I will be catching the night train to Venice. … Continue reading
Thanksgiving, London Style (or, Burninating the Pilgrims)
Expat Thanksgiving, as anyone will tell you, is always a little bit of a challenge. There is the sourcing of ingredients like canned pumpkin, cornflour, and cranberries. There is the logistical challenge of making sure you have enough pans to cook all the multitudinous requisite dishes. (I may have created a Gantt chart for this. … Continue reading
An Opportunity of Kindness
Since my last two adventures were rather distressing, I wanted to remind you that all is not fraught with peril and angst here in London. Though frankly, many things are, and it’s easy for me to forget the wondrous things. I recently referred to my London life as ‘vinegary’ and I stand firmly by my … Continue reading
How Not to Catch a Bus
It took no small effort to push myself up from the gutter in which I was lying. I had seen the bus, I had run for it, and indeed I had caught it. But not before catching my foot on a wayward slab of pavement and flying headlong into the street. I hit the ground … Continue reading
Historicity
I was introduced to this word a few days ago by Philip K Dick’s novel ‘The Man in the High Castle’, and its certainly a concept that springs to life in Stratford-upon-Avon. Most of the UK, in fact, has a palpable sense of identity, of pride, not only in the objects and stories of history … Continue reading
In the Moment
Have you ever had the feeling that you are exactly where you should be in life, doing exactly what you should be doing? It’s a rare enough feeling with me, but one that occasionally strikes with the force of a reassuring lightning bolt. It came to me clearly as I sat on a shaded bench … Continue reading
The Infamous Oxford Toast Thief
Oxford, it seems, is purpose-built to befuddle me. I was there at a research methodology conference for two days (there will be a Serious blog later full of stuff about ethics and visualization of data and things; give me a few days to get the Serious hat back on). As I arrived on the first … Continue reading
In a Merry Hour: Caitlin E McDonald 