Defiance

-
I entered this world in defiance.
My mother refused to abort me, in defiance.

In childhood, I refused prejudice fed me, in defiance.
At school, I insisted on questioning, in defiance.

In battle, I denied my enemy victory, in defiance.
And one day, hopefully, I will leave this world

In defiance!

Popular posts from this blog

Where are the Prussians?

-
Image
Growing up in the latter half of the 20 th Century, depending on where you happened to be in the world, it was often neither popular nor PC if you were saddled with a niggling identity that included the historically taboo epithet “Prussian”. Recent online debates on the subject have added it to the agenda in the minds of many, across the full spectrum of the political landscape. Today, anyone prepared to offer a cut-and-dried answer to that question is either a fool or historically illiterate. From a purely de jure historical perspective, Prussia was effectively abolished in 1932 and ceased to exist in 1947. Therefore, while many born after the latter date may claim to be “Prussian” by clear ancestry, descending from the original Prussian tribes has long ceased to be a prerequisite. The first time I heard the term “Prussian” was from my father who, as a liberal (reform, if you prefer) Jew fled from his birthplace of Königsberg to the Netherlands in 1933 and thence t...
more >>

The joys of driving a “taxi”

-
Image
In many countries, taxis are very distinctive, such as Germany where they are all a standard off-white, or the UK where they’re black (or covered in advertising) but generally look like an Austin Marina on steroids. In the Netherlands, there is no colour distinction, so for practical purposes, dark colours are favoured. While most taxis have an illuminated roof sign, “executive taxis” can often only be identified by their blue number plate, a subtlety that escapes many tourists and even locals. There are several obvious reasons why C or E-Class Mercedes Benz station wagons are the “preferred model” for taxi drivers anywhere from Amsterdam to Moscow, the least of which being that you can sit in the thing all day and not look like a question mark when you get out. The same reasons of preference apply if you prefer motoring trips to flying. The space is also handy after one of my quarterly visits to Sainsbury’s in the UK for Fray Bentos pies, Bovril or C...
more >>

Excuses, excuses...

-
Image
In the Netherlands, there is a significant and politically powerful (at least they command a lot of votes and hot air) contingent on the right that firmly believes that if shops open on a Sunday, the Wrath of all Seven Heavens will be visited upon the Fourth and Fifth Generation. Then to the left, there’s a group of politically toothless socialist dinosaurs, desperately searching for a raison d’être since their political goals were achieved and surpassed 20 years ago. Equally out-of-touch with the realities of 21st Century 24/7 global retail commerce, they are resolutely convinced that anyone working on a Sunday (or more than three days a week for that matter) must be being “exploited” with a gun held to their heads. This in spite of independent reports from supermarket managers that their (consenting adult) part-timers were eagerly queuing for double-rate Christmas Day and New Year’s Day shifts. Money rolled in all directions and the check-out queues were twice as long as usual,...
more >>