Feature

Dubai, UAE I ask you. Who would wish to be a camel? Don’t they look so glum? Whether I go near one, and camel proximity is an occupational hazard in Dubai, I frequently sense the poor creature is depressed. Out here you see dozens of the so-called dromedary or Arabian camels. They are the single-humped beasts that look at you through half closed eyes, chewing thoughtfully and being sure you are not misbehaving. They are distinct from Bactrian camels, the two-humped ones from Asia, who seem to handle cold much better than[...]

Blackpool, United Kingdom Oh dear. We have done it again. We Brits appear never to excel with our seaside resorts. You see, I have just been to Blackpool, one of the benefits – if you might call it that – of being a lecturer and asked to motivate intelligent but hungover audiences the morning after the night before. By the sound of things, I was lucky to have anyone sat in the auditorium at all as the conference dinner, which I had – clearly wisely – declined to attend had finished at[...]

Tripoli, Lebanon We have a Safe Area in our apartment, a place you are meant to run when the proverbial hits the fan. I presume that is when you lock the door, close your eyes and pray the baddies do not find you. It is certainly a daily reminder that however blue the skies outside, however broad the locals’ smiles, for any humanitarian worker there remains a permanent threat and risk. The figures are quite daunting. In the last decade, the risk of injury or kidnap to humanitarian staff has increased tenfold.[...]

Litochoro, Greece Someone died today, in a most horrible way. Death in the mountains is always ghastly, invariably unexpected and frequently plucks a young person from a life of ambition, an existence full of future, and rips a family apart. Today has been no exception. He was from the Balkans – I do not know his name – but he was attempting to reach the summit of Mount Olympus in Greece. In his late twenties, he was climbing with a group of friends. One in particular was right beside him. Then, for[...]

Alexandria, Egypt If I can thank the Army for anything, it has been the ability to withstand a cold shower without too much screaming. The hopping from foot to foot, the occasional sharp intake of breath, the thumping of shoulder blades to keep warm under a torrent of icy water. Each will have a tactic of their own. Mine is never to stand directly under the thing but just to one edge of the water stream. In goes a foot, a quick splash, out it comes, on with the soap, into the[...]

Perth, Australia I thought I was fit until I visited Australia; I then realised I was a beginner. It was 6.15 a.m. on a Sunday morning, a time of day when the UK’s streets are so often bare. It is my favourite time to go for a morning run. Actually it is not so much a run as a stationary jog. You know the sort, where you look like a lifeless, slow-motion, ageing manikin running head down against a non-existent wind. That was me in Perth, Western Australia, as the dawn was[...]