Years before he wrote The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame published a very different sort of book: Pagan Papers, a wry, witty, wide-ranging collection of eighteen irresistible essays. Strolling, loafing, smoking, collecting books and pondering, the author muses on the human condition. What to do about relatives who are in the way? What is the proper punishment for a bookbinder who takes too long at his job? Are ... more...

This article details a short trip to Tripoli and Leptis Magna in Libya, during the first days of the Arab Spring. Libya appeared to be making its first tentative steps towards opening up to mass tourism but then everything changed. more...

This article details a short trip to Annaba, Constantine and El-Oued in Algeria at the end of April 2009. Algeria has effectively been out of bounds for independent travel for over two decades but it is now beginning to open up again. more...

A visit to a hammam bath in Marrakesh, Morocco rejuvenates a traveler on her birthday, two days after the ‘Arab Spring’ protests in Morocco. more...

The complete story from my book of short travel stories, "More Than A Fortnight." more...