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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.

Now England is out I’m in the mood to write about this Football World Cup. I’m staying focused on the venues, games, organization and results as the human rights issues and abuse of workers is not within my ken. I.e.

Nikola Tesla was born in the Austrian Empire it what is now Croatia in 1856. His father was a radical activist priest of the Serbian church. Tesla studied in Serbia, Austria, Budapest and Paris during which time he was lodging

Every day we are in Colombo, we try and do a walk down the Galle Face Green and the waterfront development area. (see story: Walking tours around Colombo’s highlights and history with The Whinging Pome) Then we return after an hour’s

I had never been a big fan of cricket. As a kid in Zambia, we played French cricket where your legs act as stumps and you use a softball with fielders/bowlers standing in a circle around you. Fast forward to

We hear from Texas, 21 people killed,19 of them kids in yet another mass shooting in the USA. I start another day with a heavy heart and tears in my eyes and I don’t know a single victim and I’ve

Having lived here in Colombo for over two decades, I’m always looking for new places to go. One evening some months ago I was invited to the Monarch apartment poolside, for dinner. To my surprise, I’m attending a Serbian Orthodox