Mike

AMAZED IN AMALFI

The Amalfi coast, despite being overburdened by tourists, is an amazing place on this planet.  It is a totally built environment, but like parts of Bali or Japan, seems to have struck a very happy balance with the aesthetic of the natural environment.

THE MOUNTAIN HOME OF A SAINT

We spent time in Dharamsala in 2015.  This is where the Dalai Lama has lived for many years in exile from Tibet.  During this time we volunteered with a small local agency assisting Tibetan refugees, we were lucky enough to meet many truly incredible people.

ESCAPE FROM THE PLAGUE

Following the gray years of lockdown and curfew, I managed to escape with a small band of friends to trek to the base camp of Kanchenjunga in Nepal; third highest mountain in the world.  A difficult and dangerous trip, but well worth the effort.

FRIENDLY IRELAND

The Irish are, it seems, a happy bunch, despite a fairly tragic history.  Perhaps they are buoyed by the thought of ‘constancy’.  YB Yeats said:  “Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.”  A very relaxing and entertaining place to be.

IN MAGICAL MOROCCO

I first visited Morocco in 1972, where I lived on a beach for six months with friends.  I returned in 2011 with a different group of friends, miraculously it still seemed as amazing as it had the first time.

CRUISING IN CAMBRIDGE

In 2018 we spent three months over winter house-sitting for friends in beautiful Cambridge.  Walks in the meadows, lunches in the Grantchester pub, and long walks into the center of town for coffee.  A special time.