Category Archives: Advice

Some advice for Paris, particularly FOOD

Because I’ve been lucky enough to live in Paris twice – four months in 2014 to 2015 and three months in early 2016 – I am sometimes asked for advice. And I freely give it. From my Dad, when I … Continue reading

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Travel advice: Italy – A visit to the Gargano

It’s April 2023 and I recently found this blog post from 2019 that I never posted! I think I drafted it and then was planning to match it up with photos once at my home desktop … and then never … Continue reading

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2023 update: Do you Vélib in life after love?

My favourite thing to do in Paris is to ride around on a Vélib, the almost free biking system. I wondered how much it had changed in seven years, as I’d heard a lot had changed. New operators. Competition from … Continue reading

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Some advice on switching web hosting

So, I previously wrote about why I switched from Site5 to Hostinger for web hosting. From what I can tell, Hostinger is reasonably priced, has excellent customer service and has good reviews. BUT if you are thinking of switching web … Continue reading

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I switched web hosting! Part 1. Leaving Site5.

So, my yearly web hosting expires in February. I’d finally noticed that for the last many years, the price for web hosting on Site5 is much higher than other competitors. My problem was that I got it, and then just … Continue reading

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How to refill a long lighter

(Originally posted 14 December 2017): Does anyone else have this problem? I’ve never liked cigarette lighters. I spin the little metal dial, get the flame up, and then when trying to light my tea lights (which is the main reason … Continue reading

Posted in Advice, Consumer, Home | 39 Comments

Book Review: Byron Katie’s Loving What Is

Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life by Byron Katie My rating: 4 of 5 stars In November 2015, I seemed to have marked this book as being on my shelf, and having read it, and I … Continue reading

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Product review: Nanobag (reusable shopping bags)

When I shop, particularly for something new, or from a source that I’m unfamiliar with, I usually try to find reviews. What I want is to read a convincing voice that says: yes, you are making the right decision. Or: … Continue reading

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Why we like the writers we do … or not

The pages of the print-out are dated 13 January 2009, in fact, more precisely than that: 12:01pm. It’s an article that I liked in Salon.com from 2002. I suspect that years after I first read it (I was reading a … Continue reading

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COVID-19 lockdown cocktails

Um. We’re in lockdown. COVID-19. This would seem to be a good time to have a cocktail. Since what else are we going to do? (Rhetorical question: don’t answer it). So, the biggest success so far has been pre-mixed negronis, … Continue reading

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