Stories from all categories
'Hello, Department of Pumpkin Soup? I've just reinvented the form and I thought you ought to know. What? Oh, ginger, smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon... Cinnamon. Yes. And some apples. Hard green apples, but I baked ...read more
Ten years ago the EU was still called the EC. When it was first mooted that the UK may leave, a Berliner acquaintance was shocked to learn that I had just heard. "You don't read ...read more
My phone rang just now with a number I don't recognise. A grandmotherly voice said, "Kyle! Congratulations! I'm so excited for you." I said, Sorry, who is this? "You're not Kyle!" "No!" I said, "But ...read more
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Three days ago I posted a picture of my face on a dating site because I am longing to be held. I yearn to be held by someone friendly and calm, somebody who is not ...read more
Adept at dancing in small spaces & a one-man dance party, at any party you care to name. Not for long, though; not always. Sometimes the whole crowd starts frothing. Sometimes I slip through alone ...read more
I want to wish everyone a beautiful festivities, in whatever shape you find them, the end of the year is coming and a new round of seasons upon us like a fresh page with the ...read more
I went to a Sunday afternoon gathering of people I didn't know, who regularly host discussions of thoughtful topics. In a little while I was deep in conversation with two women, one of us Chinese, ...read more
Paying for my breakfast at the counter I noticed another customer, reading the paper intently, with his finger (forgive me) driven up his own nostril. It was gone to the first knuckle, earnestly swiveling. He ...read more
In a little Hungarian cafe I found a tourist map of Budapest. It very much resembles the summertime map of Berlin. All-night "party with a capital P" hotspots, hostels with wifi, a Sunday farmer's market ...read more