Showing 241 - 250 of 311
Red tape
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 20/05/2013
» Few people who have pulled up stakes in Country A and put them down in Country B know what they have let themselves in for. They may expect different customs, mores, traditions and have a basic knowledge of the language. But the red tape involved in integrating will try his (or her) patience to the extreme.
Killing Churchill
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 27/05/2013
» Seven decades gone, the swastika back to being a benign Eastern symbol, the European cities rebuilt, the current generation has no memory of how close a thing the Nazi New Order was. Particularly in 1940 when France had fallen, Berlin and Moscow were allies, Washington was neutral, and London stood alone.
A religious relic
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 03/06/2013
» If the founding fathers of old are to be believed, it was God who told them to bring into being their respective religions. In return, they were to obey his commands without demur. To demonstrate how serious and powerful He is, He left incontrovertible, magical evidence of His existence.
Guilty husbands
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 10/06/2013
» Prolific author James Patterson turns out a minimum of two novels a year, either on his own or with someone from his stable of co-authors. His speciality is crime fiction, and his literary creations include several sleuths _ police detectives and private eyes. Popular characters are repeated. For those that don't catch on, it's a one-off.
An expat's views
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 06/05/2013
» I don't know if it's true about other countries, but people who have been to Thailand for any length of time between two weeks and 20 years feel impelled to write a book about it. From what they have seen, heard and experienced they believe they understand the Kingdom and its denizens. And if they have learned Thai, they know that much more.
For Dog Lovers
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 08/04/2013
» Dogs were domesticated in ancient times, archaeologists, historians and cave drawings agree. They were bred for different purposes, not least racing, and also for protection, to round up livestock, hunt foxes, pull sleighs, fight one another.
Was it necessary?
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 15/04/2013
» Films about Prisoner of War camps, usually with the note that they are based on true stories, are invariably filled with dramatic licence to spice them up. It is the dramatic licence audiences most remember. Steve McQueen's motorcycle chase in The Great Escape, William Holden ducking out of the barracks in Stalag 17, Robert De Niro playing Russian roulette in The Deer Hunter.
Stalking the stalker
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 29/04/2013
» Everybody has a not-so-secret desire to be a celebrity, but few realise that it's not all wine and roses. It is hard work getting to the top and even harder staying there. The money is good, with lots of people wanting a piece of the action. Rivals mean to elbow them aside. Paparazzi are in their faces, groupies in their beds.
Rogue agent
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 04/03/2013
» If crime thriller novelists are to be believed, CIA agents rival politicians and lawyers as the least trustworthy professions. Intelligence salaries and pensions are so low that they accept bribes from America's enemies to turn a blind eye to their heinous activities. Some, such as Aldrich Ames, are caught. How many are not?
That word again
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 11/03/2013
» I was taught in school that the most commonly used letter in the English language is "e" and the word most often spoken or written is "the". However, from what I learned in the real world I must disagree. Actually, "eff" is the most basic, essential, keyword _ employed as noun, verb, adverb, adjective.