I’m checking in at the Qatar desk for my flights to London, it’s my first economy long-haul flight in decades. I’m wearing a jacket and a big friendly smile and about to ask if I can buy an upgrade but

The cajón drum, described as the epitome of simplicity is the go-to option for playing the drums. Its history is quite a story in itself!

The story of my drumming goes back to Zambia. I still have the simple African toy-looking drum my parents bought me as a five-year-old. It’s more than a half-century old. At 16 I joined a band which had four guitarists, and someone had to be the drummer. “Who is the worst guitarist in the band?” One member asked. Well, it was me so I started with a simple snare drum and one cymbal. This was followed by an old five-piece Olympic drum set, and I played in working men’s clubs in the north of England.

I’ve read a lot about what you should be doing on this day to promote happiness. So I thought I’d look at how many people are happy. In a survey on 64 % of the world where stats were available;

Today I visited the London Imperial War Museum. I was last there at the age of 15 having just emigrated to the UK from Rhodesia. I recall the imposing battleship guns in front of the entrance (from HMS Resolution and

We all have favourite songs that in many cases are linked to a time or a place. There is one song for me that has so many impactful one-liners.

“The Road is long,
There are mountains in our way.
But we climb the steps every day”

With Jenna at the helm, we speed out of Belgrade on a misty wet day untypical for September. The journey to Topola is about 76 miles and we arrive ahead of schedule as the car climbs a wooded hill. We passed through Topola, a fortified town in the centre of Serbia with much history, most of it violent. From the Celts, Romans, Greeks and Slavs back in 551 to the attacks in 1804, 1813 and 1877. In addition to civil wars and two world wars.