BlackSeaRoamer

It was difficult to know what to make of the huge Stalin statue in the main square in Gori, birthplace of the late Soviet dictator, in Georg...

One of the most aggravating features of the world of international organisations is the poor breed of people that are all too often drawn to...

Yesterday I went to a performance by the famous Erisioni dance company. It was a tremendous spectacle of traditional dance, songs and costum...

It is so nice to be back in Georgia. Tbilisi seems a bit like a building site. So much construction work. Well of course, elections are comi...

Here is a comment I wrote in response to an article by Daniel Korski for the European Council on Foreign Relations on the EU and Bosnia. Bel...

European leaders have decided, with their choice of two nonentities as the EU’s figureheads, that they do not want the union to be a serious...

Among the novels I have most enjoyed have been those that evoked a culture, a way of life that has passed into history, a world that is alie...

I find Dubrovnik a depressing place nowadays. I remember the first time I stepped through the Pile gate into the old city, all those years a...

What a pleasure it was to be in Montenegro. Perhaps it is mainly due to familiarity, but I am hugely fond of the place. This year there was ...

I love Rucola (Rocket). One of my favourite things to eat. In Albania recently, I ate it (with parmesan, olive oil and balsamico) until I wa...