Stories from all categories
12
Och, my heart's pounding! I just queued in the supermarket next to a man taller than me (rare) with whom I conceived one of those fleeting yet it stains your day - your weekend! - ...read more
4
I was working in a cafe, head down, muttering the words aloud under my breath as I forged down the page writing for hours. The man next to me started to take an interest. I ...read more
6
I went to a new physiotherapist today for my injured hand, and experienced all the Germanness. Me and the therapist, who is 23, have to call each other Mrs So and So, Mrs So. Her ...read more
I came home after a long day, festooned with groceries. The bench on the subway platform was occupied by two girls and their shopping. I said, "Excuse me," in German, and they said, "Excuse me," ...read more
4
This is the lunch I had today, in a Saturday cafe set up by a refugees welcome committee (one of the many) in Berlin. When I ordered, a smiling Syrian woman plump and beautiful in ...read more
6
On the subway a woman suddenly opened her mouth and began to sing. Her voice was tentative and good. She had a little loudspeaker rigged up through her mobile phone and had set herself to ...read more
2
After an exceptionally difficult night and a day of doing difficult work, I said: I need to go out. Let's go someplace we can have a glass of red and a plate of food. I ...read more
In the cafe he showed me the pictures he had taken on his walk here, of a dog skateboarding in the park. "You should animate those into a thumb-book!" I said. Amy Winehouse was singing. ...read more
4
He didn’t want to be President. Not if President means making sticky decisions, and being blamed for things (most of the world calls this ‘adult responsibility’), and being woken at four to read the papers. ...read more