I have a weakness. I have several weaknesses in fact, but more than any of the others, this one I find impossible to resist. You can keep your wine. You can have your chocolate. You can save your flowers. What gets me every time is bread. Fresh bread. With a wad of Irish butter. There is nothing tastier. It works. Every. Single. Time. And it’s not just an Irish thing, it’s a Hungarian thing, too. Well, maybe not the butter. Read more
A recent dinner conversation wandered into a discussion of Menorahs. My friends were on the lookout for a nine-candle Menorah rather than the more common seven. As has happened so often that I’m no longer surprised, once the wish had been voiced I went from never seeing any to tripping over them. Well, not quite tripping, but close enough. Read more
Tonight in Budapest, 4 November 2019, protestors marched from Clark Ádám tér to the Constitutional Court where they laid yellow roses in solidarity with victims of domestic abuse. Two particular cases have been highlighted in the press. Read more
Scrolling through Facebook recently, I saw a friend had posted his playlist and at No. 3 was Glen Campbell’s Gentle on my mind. It’s one of my favourite songs, even if I am a self-professed illiterate when it comes to music. Read more
A friend of mine, who lived on the Big Island in Hawaii for many years, made me laugh one time when they said they were looking for a vacation house on one of the smaller islands. I thought it hilarious that someone living in a place so many people see as paradise would be looking for somewhere to get away from it all.
Boldog Farkasnap, himself said to me this morning. I engaged that small part of my brain that tries to translate Hungarian and wondered if I’d done it right. Happy Wolf Day? Really? Read more
As the story goes, when the Russians came through Zala liberating it from the Germans, they passed by the village Zalaszentmárton without noticing it. Nestled in a valley it’s not someplace you’d trip across unless you were looking for it. The road to it looks more like a country lane than a real road and were it not for the signpost, you’d have a hard time finding that, too. Read more
People often ask if I miss the city life, the convenience of living with all sorts of services on my doorstep. The choice of restaurants. The ready availability of entertainment from theatres to cinemas, concert halls, art galleries, and the museums. We have all those in the countryside too, we just have to drive to get there rather than walk or take public transport. Read more
I’m not quite sure what we’ve done to deserve such glorious weather in October. Sunshine, blue skies, and 22 degrees. Shorts and t-shirt weather, as long as you stay in the sun. Absolutely fab. It’s the sort of weather that begs to be walked in. Read more
‘When you first get down here [the village], you’re grumpy as hell. But when you’ve been here a day you’re in much better humour. Remarkable really.’ I’ve noticed that myself but having himself point it out made it all the more real. Read more
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