Do you enjoy a spot of people watching? This week whilst seeking inspiration for a #blog post, I decided to venture to a #coffee shop. Instead of buying a coffee and heading straight out the door, which is my usual move, I decided to order a drink to stay in. Though there were many free tables, my choice was narrowed to the tables that had actually been cleared. The noise of my chair scraping on the floor as I pulled it back drew the attention from a couple sitting on the ne

Nowadays there are over 6000 #languages spoken #globally but only 600 will remain in 2115, says John McWhorter, a #Linguistics teacher at #Columbia University, #New York. The culprit of this 'mass extinction' is globalisation. Lesser known #cultures and languages will struggle to survive but ultimately more 'powerful' languages like #English or #Chinese will dominate them through #colonisation, says McWhorter bluntly; although a #science fiction scenario where there is only o

The #portrait is of someone imaginary but is realistic to the naked eye - a man dressed according to 17th century fashion. A century that witnessed both the rise of a strong #Dutch Empire, and the birth of its most famous son: #Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rij. The Delft #University of #Technology has unveiled a portrait that could have been created in the 17th Century, but wasn't; and could have been done so by Rembrandt himself, apart from the 'small detail' that it was paint

My family and I are all very international people. We have #visited and lived in lots of different countries, which is why it feels odd that it has been a year and half since I last flew on an airplane. If our plans work out, it will only be another 6 months until we fly again. There are many reasons for this, our relocation overseas, the birth of our second child and work commitments. However we have still managed to get away, most recently to the north of #France for a few

Rome, Open City by Roberto Rossellini is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time! The Italian war movie follows the lives of a priest (Aldo Fabrizi), a pregnant woman (Anna Magnani) and a fleeing resistance fighter (Marcello Pagliero). Shot just after the war in 1945 and set two years earlier during Nazi occupation, it is impossible to watch the film without vying for these characters at its very heart. Rome, Open City is now considered an iconic film of Italia

How well travelled are you? I spent this weekend happily listening to one of my beloved and well #travelled friends. There doesn’t seem to be a stone on this #earth he hasn’t upturned and any conversation can seamlessly shift into an anecdote about some distant land. By comparison I’m somewhat of an anchor, I haven’t had half as much experience of the #world and I often find myself desperately searching for an appropriate response to the parry and thrust of his worldly #tales