Change of scenery

I have written but occasionally over the past twenty-four months. Twenty-four months working with Anastasia Mourogova-Millin on innovative concepts designed to attract financing-at-scale to invest in  urban nature and bio-diversity. We have now re-defined our working relationship. I continue to believe in the ideas she is pioneering.  However, we are at different stages of our working […]

Lisbon’s seven hills and waterfront make it visually spectacular. The second oldest capital in Europe, the city has energy. Busy streets and squares, full restaurants, and vibrant night life – the city pulsates. And, the population seems young. All signs of a city on the rise? Earthquake A 1755 earthquake destroyed 85% of the city […]

(Short read – less than three minutes) What do you do when on vacation? Do you go to the beach and drink rum punch? Or, see how many places you can visit in Europe in fourteen days? Maybe run from museum to museum to museum in Paris? Take a cruise – I know – many […]

Have you missed me? I have just finished a four-week trip to  Paris and Strasbourg. I started to write this newsletter three or four days ago in Strasbourg. At the outset, I meant to discuss the disgusting invasion of Ukraine by the gangster, Vladimir Putin. But, for such a difficult topic I need to be […]

Happy New Year! or in Scots Gaelic, Bliadhna Mhath Ùr! Phonetically, Blee-a-nah Va Oor!  The History of Hogmanay Immediately following the Protestant Reformation in 1640, the Church of Scotland (the “Kirk”) declared the Christmas celebration a Catholic / Papist fabrication. Thus, the Kirk banned the Papist Christmas festivities. And that ban survived until the late […]

Learning to live well on this fragile planet is far more important than dreaming about the next one. Tim Jackson, Professor of Sustainable Development, and Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP), University of Surrey. Tim Jackson, The Alternative UK, July 24, 2021 Essay – the Plutocrat Space Race Fear of […]

Developers have their eyes set on Montréal’s Chinatown, a tiny  but very accessible area of the city near the central business district. This distinctive neighbourhood just a short walk from Old Montreal, University of Montréal Hospital Centre, and McGill University, anchors Montréal’s Chinese community. Additionally, it is an area of the city where people congregate. […]

The Doha skyline

In December 2019, we spent two weeks in Vienna. We wanted to visit its famous Christmas markets. Also, I had to see what made Vienna the world’s most livable city. Vienna has now topped Mercer’s Quality of City Living Index for ten years in a row. It is also a perennial leader in both Monocle […]

We had rented a cottage near St-Gilles  in the Occitanie region of the south of France.  Our flights there and back were through Charles-de-Gaulle , so we decided to break up our trip  with four days in Paris before going south. We took another four days on the way back. We had spent time in […]