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Continue reading →: Mani’s Ionian Coast
This is a quiet time of year for Alika and the Mani. Though a few visitors came from the cities for the long Christmas weekend, they came seeking tranquility. The only disturbance was the odd barking dog, and the occasional speeding car; the place is afflicted by seemingly bored young…
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Continue reading →: Portrait In Smoke by Bill S. Ballinger
Bill Balinger, a prolific American author and screen writer, has been credited with being the master of the noir thriller, and one of the foremost exponents of the dual storyline. Portrait In Smoke was his first major success, published in 1950, and was later (in 1956) filmed as Wicked As…
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Continue reading →: Some days on the middle finger..On my the third and last night in Kagio I realised that there was actually someone there other than me. I had seen a fishing boat go out on a couple of the mornings but not watched closely enough to see if the guy stayed in the village. I walked…
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Continue reading →: Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Six astronauts in a space station orbit our planet over the course of a single day, existing in a sort of trance; weightless, outside of time, transfixed and astonished by the “ringing singing lightness” of the countries of the world they see below. In some ways, its the height of…
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Continue reading →: In the Nether RegionsAnd so I reach the terminus for this journey, a fitting zenith here at Porto Kagio, where I can take a few days, reflect, put the van in reverse if only figuratively, and head back north. Off-season Porto Kagio is a delight in the fine weather we have had the…
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Continue reading →: To the Entrance of HadesThis morning I drove down to the tip of the Mani peninsula. From where the road ends it’s a wild four kilometre hike on a rocky path to Cape Tainaron. Here, the eastern Laconian Gulf meets the Messenian Gulf from the west. It took its name from the mythical son…
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Continue reading →: Skeletons In The Closet by Jean-Patrick Manchette
translated from the French by Alyson Waters This is the seventh NYRB translation of a Manchette novel. To some degree, in order of translation at least, he lives off the strength of his phenomenal earlier work, Fatale, The Mad and the Bad, and Three to Kill, though the latter NYRB…
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Continue reading →: To Mani..Mani, the southernmost and middle peninsula of the Peloponnese or Morea, straddling the districts of Lakonia and Messenia in southern Greece, is a treasure trove of Byzantine architecture, Frankish castles and stunning scenery. The isolated aspect of this beautiful area, combined with the independent nature of its people meant that…
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Continue reading →: Mystras – GytheioMy plan to visit the archaeological ruins site at Mystras was thwarted. The ruin of the fortified town is situated on the foothill slopes of the Taygetos mountains just above the new town of Mystras and only four kilometres from the city of Sparta. It served as capital of this…
To live more widely
supera superiora sequi
SafeReturnDoubtful is my alias. Rua is my fox red labrador pup, born 14 Feb 2026 and learning fast..
Where is Rua?
I was so much older then…
Quote of the Week
Alice asked the Cheshire Cat, who was sitting in a tree, ‘What road do I take?’ The cat asked, ‘Where do you want to go?’ ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it really doesn’t matter, does it?’
Lewis Carroll
Safe Return Doubtful 