Observations

12.04.2008 Observations

Stop this silly security racket

So the European Commission is under pressure to publish its list of what can and cannot be carried onto planes. All this has come to light due to one German passenger being banned from boarding as he was carrying tennis

22.02.2008 Observations

Short pause: off to Copenhagen

Delving into the depths of EU politics is going quiet for a few days as I’m off to Copenhagen with a bunch of Swedes and we’re going to a concert of a rather good Swedish rock band – Kent (and

08.02.2008 Observations

Gearing up for spring – Web 2.0 inline skating in 2008

It’s been sunny and 13 degrees in Brussels today, so time to think of spring and my favourite sporting pastime (well, it rivals cricket!) – inline skating. A friend asked me for some ideas of good skate routes today and

22.12.2007 Observations

For whom am I writing?

So 2007 draws to a close, my second full year of blogging (Euroblog launched in July 2005 – this is the 666th post since then), and it’s time to reflect a little about where this blog is going and what

03.12.2007 Observations

Stupid neighbours

So the door to your shower cubicle falls off. What do you do? The answer from our neighbours upstairs: keep showering anyway! Spraying water all over the floor, causing mould, damage to the wooden floor outside their bathroom, and now

11.11.2007 Observations

Brussels: isn’t it just grey?

I’ve moved from a global city, well renowned for its sights and economy (London), to a rather grey provincial capital where the EU institutions are based (Brussels). But I love it. Most people I speak to in London just cannot

30.10.2007 Observations

I’m a small city boy

I’ve come to the conclusion that life in the big city – London – is really not for me. I’m currently splitting my time between London and Brussels, doing my website work in Belgium yet coming to the UK to

18.10.2007 Observations

Just a coffee

If you just ask for ‘a coffee’ in a different European cities, what do you get? In Brussels the answer is simple – a long-ish espresso type coffee, with a slightly burnt edge, normally served with a biscuit (perhaps a

03.10.2007 Observations

London, Brussels, old job, new job, election!?

The last few weeks have not really been a high point for the blog – basically silence! It’s not that I’ve stopped thinking or reflecting. It’s more that I have not found enough time to sit down and put a

16.09.2007 Observations

Limehouse Accumulator Tower – eccentric joys of London

I’ve always had some strange admiration for Victorian Britain. The sheer yet elegant scale of many of the machines needed thanks to nothing more advanced than coal power. So as today was London Open House day I thought it would

22.08.2007 Observations

This blog is moving to Brussels

I’ve known for a while that I’ll be working as a freelance website designer and EU politics trainer from the autumn of 2007. The main question outstanding was where I would be based. I’m now quite relieved to be able

15.08.2007 Observations

I’m Generation Y, so what do I think?

Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture paints a rather bleak picture of a generation that is economically troubled and emotionally taut – essentially the post-Baby Boom generation. The term Generation Y applies to people coming after them – statistically