Members of the Greyhares' generation have lived through two seismic monetary advances. In 1993 it was the introduction of the free movement of goods and capital across Europe's Common Market. Six years later we witnessed the introduction of the Euro-Zone's common currency - the euro. Now we are facing a third and, for the individual,…
Russian unorthodox
It is often said that underground theatre thrives where there is state oppression. And, by all accounts, Russia is currently a country where oppression is rampant. Censorship, freedoms curtailed by draconian laws, a harsh penal system, widespread corruption, centralised power - altogether not a pretty picture. So when Russian performing arts came to London last…
Beyond words
Humankind has the luxury of language. But despite all the sophistication that words can offer, it is often images rather than language that touch our emotions. So, while the most eloquent description of a painting can leave a reader cold; standing staring at that selfsame picture can have the person in tears. And the effect…
All’s well that ends well
Near misses seem to be part of my life. Around six years ago it was cycling accident. It was raining and I drove into what looked like a shallow puddle. Minutes later, I found myself on my back with a passer-by asking questions, blood coming from my forehead, my crash helmet broken, the bike frame…
The sausage dog and Mrs Toad
What a summer of poisoning it has been! At an international level we learned that President Putin had started employing tasters to check that there was nothing untoward in his food. In the UK, the government announced its plans to hold a public enquiry into the death by radiation poisoning of the Russian secret agent…
Communication gap
Several years ago I was in a taxi heading for Moscow airport. I spoke no Russian and the driver no English, but that was no obstacle. Soon we were chatting away about football - what else? The topic of our conversation was Manchester United. One of us would mention the name of a player -…
Pfizer go home
Our house guest's question came out of the blue. Anne, who comes from France and has known me for years, suddenly asked why I had stopped railing against the pharmaceutical industry. Were the companies suddenly behaving themselves? I replied with some inner satisfaction that since my retirement I was a changed man. Instead of living…
Potted Irish
Ask me to read an article quickly and then to recall the key elements and it would be beyond me. Spelling too is very testing, and taking in the facts presented in class or when revising (nowadays in French) takes me ages compared to the time others need. With the aid of tricks learned over…
The unforgotten sound
Without prompting, one of the dinner guests tapped on his glass, asked for quiet and launched into a monologue. His chosen subject - the uniqueness of sounds. He talked about them in terms of their commercial value. He was, he declared, speaking as a marketing man. There was no way of checking his assertions, but…
Double vision
The train was almost empty when my journey started. A few stations later I looked up to find a woman sitting opposite. Though she looked familiar there was a problem. For years I have got into muddles when meeting people, so I needed to be careful. Here was a pretty, young redhead who I thought…
The Joe Collier Blog 