a collection of short literary or philosophical extracts
Not all ideas fit neatly into the pages of a book. When I see, hear or read something that moves me—a news story, a snippet of conversation, a musical phrase, a storyline or cityscape—I capture the thoughts it provokes by jotting them down. From art and sports—whether Wimbledon or the World Cup—to politics, love and war, all topics have the potential to spark my imagination.
“Rapa, poom, poom, poom.” “Rapa, poom, poom, poom.” We can hear the sousaphones pumping from ten blocks away, off Frederick Street, Nassau. It’s Junkanoo time in The Bahamas. “Hurry up, kids — and...
When my kids were kids, our favourite time of day was reading to them at bedtime. Coming from England, I inundated them with The Wind in the Willows, Peter Pan, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,...
My mum—“She Who Must Be Obeyed”—divorced when I was five and took me with her to England. My dad remained in Tanzania, working for East African Airways. Every school break, Dad sent me free tickets...
Fat Charlie, the Archangel, sloped into the room. “Have I got good news for you! A job that’ll pay you five thousand dollars a month.” To his associates, Charlie was regarded more as a grey angel —...
Last Monday, I went to get a haircut. Beside me sat a little boy perched on a wooden plank bridging the arms of the barber’s chair. It was his first haircut. How did I know? Because his parents were...
My favourite dates come from Sukkari, and they were running out. Time to buy some more.Off-season in Calgary — that is, after Ramadan — you can only purchase them from Basha International...
At one time, Calgary, Canada, boasted the largest Scrabble club in North America. It was all due to Siri, who started it with a group of six British ex-pats like me. Siri became an evangelist for...
My first morning at Griffith Miles Sully & Co. was spent peering over a pristine desk, robbed of its usual mess of working papers and the obelisk of files piled this way or that — the epitome of...
At my previous firm, where I’d started in accounting, punctuality had been drilled into me. Consequently, I arrived at my new employer, Griffith Miles Sully & Co., shortly before 9 a.m. Instead...
“Sorry, we don’t employ trainee accountants.” Thus began my twenty-minute interview with Mr Griffith, the senior partner of Griffith Miles Sully & Company. I was desperate. My current employer...
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Emil Rem, an eccentric accountant becomes a writer of eccentric characters, in exotic locales—each chapter taking us on a trip into his fascinating twisted world. Born to a close knit, middle class Muslim East Indian family in Dar-es-Salam, Africa in the 50’s, he is then moved to Maidenhead England at the age of five. The next twenty years are spent shuttling between England and East Africa, wearing a St. Christopher’s cross one minute and attending church, to wearing a green armband and attending Muslim religious classes in Africa the next. Moving to Canada, marrying a woman from the Philippines and having two boys only adds further texture to his stories.
