We Do Adventure

It's been just over two years since we moved from Mostar to Jajce. Mostar is not short of internationals living there; there are governmental agencies, non-governmental agencies and the United World College that between them draw people from the four corners of the globe. Jajce is different. There are very few foreigners who live in the town and while many of the young people we work with seem to have cousins or aunts or uncles scattered across Europe, or in the States, we found ourselves with a lot of explaining to do. “Where are you from?” “England.” What's that?” is, believe it or not, an accurate translation of an early conversation. At least one young person was convinced London and America were basically the same thing. Another stated categorically that soon the US would be part of Europe, because eventually everyone was going to be part of Europe. This had to be true: their teacher had told them! But all this happened before One Direction. In the last year they hav...

I spent a lazy Sunday afternoon soaking up the delights of the Jubilee Pageant, thanks to the streaming video on the BBC website. The sight of singers belting out Land of Hope and Glory while clearly soaked to the skin was, I confess, a highlight. The commentators predictably commented on Britishness of it, although they can probably be forgiven as such assignments rarely require more than restating the obvious for the umpteenth time. After my fix of rain and Britannia ruling the waves I thought I'd go out and cycle in the sunshine, of which we had plenty today. Unfortunately for me it seems the mayflies hadn't go the memo about the change of month. I took this photo on the return leg of my ride around Plivsko jezero, the large lake just outside Jajce. This is the main road looking back in the direction of Bihać. Everything that looks like dirty spots in the sky or light specks around the sun flare are in fact mayflies. There were hundreds of them. Probably thousands. I was...

Sometimes it's hard to understand something you've never experienced. Up until two weeks ago my only clear recollection of an earthquake was on a simulator in London's Science Museum. That didn't prepare me for what flashes through your mind when your house actually starts shaking, like it did as we were watching Man City dump Man Utd out of the FA Cup. Last night as I lay in bed, trying to drift off to sleep, the house shook again. These quakes, while big enough to show up on the websites that monitor these things, were nothing compared to the quakes we've seen destroy communities around the world in recent months. I know that my little experience cannot really help me understand the tragedy, and terror, of those situations. This morning we woke to a day where around the world people have joined in celebrating one of the best things about the British: their ability to do pageantry. Rowan and I watched the Royal Wedding thanks to the streaming on YouTube, althoug...