We Do Adventure

So today we read that Casey Affleck has confirmed what some of us suspected all along, namely that the ' documentary ' following Joaquin Phoenix's lurch from an acting career to hip hop experimentation was staged. Fake is a word being bandied about. That seems a little strong given that the clip of him on Letterman that announced his apparent celebrity meltdown did actually happen. However when it comes to the integrity, or credibility, he was claiming it's true Phoenix is left in need of a resurrection. Still, this little Hollywood side show serves as an interesting parallel to the real news here in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It's election time. You can tell because, as much as anything, something like a million political posters have been plastered over Mostar. Rowan and I are not here for any politically motivated reason, and we don't have voting rights for this country, but living here we've obviously interested in the effect of the political situation o...

According to fake T-shirts sold the world over ever city worth its salt has one. They don’t, but this franchise does have a legitimate global presence. Born in London, we’ve found the real deal in Edinburgh and LA, Birmingham and New York. There are plenty more besides, but those I can personally vouch for. Yes, we’re talking about the Hard Rock Cafe ! I’m a fan, as much for the memorabilia as the burgers. We once stayed in the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas – and would recommend it to anyone who wants to find a decent sound system in their hotel room! Today I stumbled upon Mostar’s 'Hard Rock Cafe'. They had gone to the effort of matching the original font on the sign stuck to the sliding glass door but there was no question this was not anywhere near being an official enterprise. There was a reasonable collection of rock posters adorning the walls but not an instrument or gold disk in sight. Still the coffee was cheap and there was no attempt to flog us a knock-off T-shirt!