I Vote for Immigration
This started out as an email to my family, who are debating furiously on email about the EU referendum, immigration … and the Armageddon which will happen tomorrow if the wrong side wins. (more…)
Romany Gypsies in Romania & Bulgaria
By Eion Gibbs
Walking through Holland, Belgium, France, Italy and Slovenia the word gypsy didn’t enter my thoughts once. This doesn’t mean Traveller communities don’t exist there, it’s just that they’re so far removed from everyone’s daily lives that there was no cause to call them to mind. (more…)
Irish Travellers and Romany Gypsies
This article was written by Eion Gibbs, whom I met in Bucharest in April 2015. He was at the tail-end of a great walk across Europe, from the Hook of Holland to Istanbul, a ten-month epic in the footsteps of Patrick Leigh Fermor. After the furore I caused by expressing my opinion about the Romany Gypsies (in this article), I asked Eion to share his experiences of meeting this minority along the roads of Central and Eastern Europe. To my surprise and delight he offered me this article first, about his impressions from the UK… (more…)
The Republic of Moldova — First Impressions
There is something rather alien about arriving in a new country like Moldova, where you don’t know your way round, you don’t have any of the local currency and you don’t know anyone. (more…)
Why Live Abroad?
By Silvana
Some time ago Rupert asked me to explain why I live abroad and what are the advantages of travelling. After a while I thought maybe I’m complicating my life too much. Maybe I should stop living in a foreign country (Germany at the moment, France before that) return to Romania, get a job and a husband and lead a normal life. I know my parents would be thrilled. I don’t want to convince you to travel or live abroad, just explain how it changed me as a person and why I keep doing it. (more…)