an award-winning broadcast journalist, international media trainer and consultant, and writer
Since I moved from the bus to the subway I've missed watching the street go by, but there is a whole new show to watch. As the subway trains are so broad - no banging your head on the curved roof by the door like the tubes - there's nearly always room enough to watch what's … Continue reading Subway stories
This week New York has bid farewell to two icons. Along with the rest of America, and probably the world, the city has seen the last Oprah Winfrey show. On Wednesday, the last of her daytime chatshows, one of the most watched tv programmes in America, was broadcast. There have been round 4,560 episodes of the programme, … Continue reading End of an era
The weather has finally cheered up. But in a twist that I didn't expect here, it's gone from cold and windy, to scorching! I spent the day in work looking out at blue skies above the skyscrapers, actually chilly in the air-conditioning, and then popping out in the heat to get iced-coffee and lunch. So … Continue reading Weekday wanderings
Well - I DID make it out last night - eventually! The Queen of Manhattan and I walked up the road, in our high heels, to a French bar with live jazz. It was amazing - wicker chairs, linen napkins, a guy playing the saxaphone, and a stiff, very stiff, g and t! The M15 bus … Continue reading Weekend wanderings 2
Today the world was supposed to end. So far it hasn't - although I AM a bit fed up... According to Christian radio broadcasters, the world was going to be consumed by earthquakes, which would start in New Zealand and work across the world - making May 21 Doomsday. Groups of believers have been handing out … Continue reading The end of the world
I have been spending a lot of time with the intern at work. She is a raven-haired statuesque twenty-something of Russian/Turkmen descent. We discovered over a dinner of sushi and cocktails the other night, that her father is from Vladikavkaz, in the Caucuses, the last place I taught when I was in Russia, and her mum … Continue reading East meets West
The story that is gripping New York at the moment is the arrest of the former director of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, on charges of sexual assault and rape. It's alleged he attacked a chamber maid at the high-class mid-town hotel where he was staying. He then left for Paris, but was arrested on board his … Continue reading DS-K OMG! IMF’d…..
An advert for dog food (organic of course) has just referred to "pet parents"...and apparently you can buy "dog strollers" (pushchairs) here...
Today is Vesak, or Buddha's birthday, an anniversary traditionally celebrated by Buddhists across the Asian world. And among the celebrations around the world were several events at the UN headquarters here in New York. So this evening saw me at the opening of an exhibition or Buddhist art in the foyer of the General Assembly … Continue reading Buddha’s birthday
I've been out on foot this weekend, wandering the length of Manhattan. The Queen of Manhattan was out with various of her 'casanovas', as she calls her series of male friends, all of whom have been rejected as potential 'lovers' - "I told him, daarling, forget it, itz not going to happen", but all who … Continue reading Weekend wanderings