That is indeed the question in Copenhagen these days. Whether ‘tis nobler … etc, etc … to soldier on in the search for a public toilet (bathroom, rest room, comfort station – take your pick) or to follow your nose to the nearest dark recess for blessed relief. Follow the yellow lit code“Come on Frank,”…
This is my last column – for the time being at least. I’ve done it now for two years and am beginning to miss the thrill. It’s getting more difficult to find something to write about that I reckon my readers will find vaguely interesting. That’s different from saying I can’t find anything interesting to…
It’s normal that I leave the writing of this column until almost the last moment, when some sort of miracle usually occurs and I manage to find something fairly interesting to write about. At least, it’s interesting to me; the rest of you can argue over whether it is or not – and of course…
It wasn’t until the early 1960s, when I was just about to embark on the third decade of my life, that I was confronted with first-hand evidence of serious social division within the UK. And where else would that be, but in Northern Ireland of course. My fellow botany students and I were on our…
I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later: I’ve start getting comments to the effect that my continual banging on about everything that’s wrong about Denmark has worn a bit thin. It reminds me of that 1960s ad for a certain deodorant: “BO [body odour] – what even your best friend won’t tell…
As someone who’s lived in Denmark as long as I have, I like to hear newcomers’ impressions of the country and its inhabitants. Thus I was most interested to read Sarita Rajiv’s column a couple of weeks ago. She, with her fresh eye, immediately sensed on arriving in Denmark that something was not as she…
Denmark is often described as a society of contradictions, and I put that down to the Danish concept of democracy. It’s apparently not enough to elect a government now and then and devolve decision-making to local authorities and such. That’s quite normal in any democratic country. But here it’s taken further – much further. The…
In a few short days I will be 70 years old. There, I’ve said it! This exercise in denial is a regular occurrence; insofar as I am still able to retrieve memories from the black abyss of time, they started when I was 40. Up until then, I was still growing up and exploring this…
As most of the regular readers of these hallowed pages will know, I am what is called in this country a teatermand. This covers a multitude of sins but basically means somebody who is heavily involved in the theatre world in some way or another. However, I am perhaps rather different from my peers in…
I wonder how many readers have already reached for their smart phones and Google Translate to see what on earth Theakston is drivelling on about now (always assuming they have recognised the headline as being Latin). It’s still the silly season, so what can you expect? Anyway, for those of you, like me, who lack…
Greetings from sunny Paleochora, ‘the bride of the Libyan Sea’ according to the official local website. The site is impressively informative and well put together, though the odd typo did make me initially think that they meant ‘the pride of the Libyan Sea’. Not so: the explanation is that the sun god Apollo, according to…
When I find myself in that most common of situations, that of trying to explain to newcomers to this country or to my friends and family in England the differences between the British and Danish cultures, I am often wont to tell them that I come from an ‘after you’ society, whereas in Denmark it…
