The Church of St Thomas and St George, from the altar of which I preached (after a fashion) at the weekend, is modelled on a Venetian original but owes its existence to the Civil War. During the Battle of Dublin in 1922, a previous St Thomas’s, on Marlbor... See more
Before entering the Abbey Library of St Gall, you must first put on a pair of slippers from the collection provided outside the door. The slippers are all the same size – extra-large – so they easily fit over your shoes. The trick is to keep them there. I... See more
Ireland is a small country where, according to legend, everyone knows everyone else. But I might never have met the late, great Tomi Reichental, Belsen survivor and a resident of Dublin for more than 60 years, were it not for a random chain of events that... See more
Visiting Zurich for the first time last weekend, I made the obligatory pilgrimage to Fluntern Cemetery to pay my respects to Mr Joyce. As depicted in bronze by sculptor Milton Hebald, the author of Ulysses sits by his own graveside, smoking and reading a ... See more
I was newly arrived in the city of St Gallen on Sunday night when my phone crashed. Worse, the Franco-Italian adaptor that had worked in Zurich could now not seem to make itself understood by any of the local plug sockets, in my hotel or elsewhere. So, wi... See more
