A full moon rises over a snowy Aberdeen. The merciful, white blanket covers not only streets and gardens, but also the litter at the side of the road. Last week I found a lot of plastic while running (it turns out this new sport is called plogging), but I can’t motivate myself to go out …
Screaming in the tunnel
We are back in the country where bicycles are a respected mode of transport. In Gillingham, our street was packed with cars taking children to school every morning, but here the rush hour mainly takes place on the bicycle path. This morning I heard a lot of noise and saw that it came from children …
Ever closer union?
For me, the European Union has always been a fact of life. At primary school in The Netherlands we got a Euro-passport to prepare us for the introduction of the euro. It contained a quiz to find out if you were Dutch, European or a world citizen. I can not remember exactly what my outcome …
New energy in Paris
The protagonist of the book Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver is looking for change. Since she became pregnant at seventeen years old, the course of her life has been determined by other people. The arrival of thousands of Monarch butterflies in the mountains around the little village turns her life upside down. She becomes involved …
Corbyn and the bicycle
Last week Jeremy Corbyn was elected the new leader of the British Labour Party. This election has occupied the nation for months. It is of course an internal matter, but Labour is the largest opposition party, so the outcome determines who will be the leader of the opposition. It turned out to be Corbyn, a …
Sentenced to action
I would like to take a moment to cheer for big news from our small country, The Netherlands. A court ruled today that the government should do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Of course it is actually very sad and frustrating that this was necessary. It is 2015, all over the world ecosystems are …