I have been neglecting my duties.
My rants of late have become ever more random, at least in terms of regularity. My excuse is that I am engaged in another writing project, one that has taken up far more time than I expected, while also diverting my creative impulses. My apologies.
I can promise no immediate improvement. My alternative project continues, and shortly I am off to America – my first visit in over three years, incidentally – with a side trip to Cuba – where I will celebrate my birthday – thrown in. Going back to my adoptive country generates mixed emotions. One half of me looks forward to going, the other half dreads it. I hope to be renewing contact with old friends and acquaintances, but I am afraid that I will be drawn into political discourse with those whose views I do not share. That was never a problem a few years back, but by all accounts it is now. Over here in Britain, Brexit has imposed a moratorium on any conversation that smacks of politics for fear that tempers will flare and endanger friendships. I am told that Donald Trump has had the same effect in the United States. I know several instances.
Why am I going to Cuba? Because it is there, is the short answer – there being 90-odd miles off the coast of Florida, which as it happens is also on our itinerary. I know lots of people who have been to Havana and they rave about the place. I’ll find out soon enough if they are right. If they are, I want to get there before it changes back to what it once was, half a century ago: a haven for Mafia hotel-owners and crooked American politicians.
Anyway, all this means that I might be ‘off the air’ for a few weeks. I have a laptop, the technological means to keep ranging, but whether I have the will or the concentration while following a rather hectic schedule remains to be seen.
So, another apology, this one in advance of the offence.
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