Author Archives: Jane Laurie

1001 things to do before you die…. How many years have I got left to fit them all in? Instant culture, instant tan, then a weekend of beer and oblivion in Prague to recover: I feel frazzled just thinking about … Continue reading →

It was very early morning, with a full moon still bright above the mountains. We were sitting drinking coffee with Yorgos* the shepherd. He was from a small Albanian village, and had been working illegally in Greece for nine years. … Continue reading →

We could see nothing for miles, not even a shepherd’s hut. Only mountains and forests. How different from our own crowded island! Here there was space for wildlife to prosper,  remote from human contact. What I loved most were the … Continue reading →

“Nature is changing,” the old lady said. “There’s been a plague of squirrels and they ate all the walnuts before we could harvest them. Usually, they’re killed off in the hard winter snows, but now they’re a real problem. And … Continue reading →

They say the scars of war take three generations to fade. Maybe a civil war takes even longer. In the north, there were reminders everywhere of the German occupation and the civil war that followed. Once, walking along a remote … Continue reading →

“We made a lot of mistakes when we changed to the euro, and some people made a lot of money. Now they say we must pay off the debt. That’s fine. If we owe money, I’ll contribute to paying it … Continue reading →