Happy New Year: 2023
2023 found us in in Texas with old friends. It was a great way to start the year! Our whirlwind of a holiday month started on December 11th with my …
Robblog
2022: Some Summer!
The high point of the summer of 2022 was a trip to Scotland to watch the practice rounds of the British Open at St Andrews. We travelled by car ferry …
Fourth of July: Burning Down the House
It took a while for me to understand the irony of booking a room in the Rostrevor Inn in County Down, Northern Ireland for the 4th of July. It’s a …
Another Year, Another Lockdown.
My old friend Jay Rascoe, known to many as the man behind Guns & Tacos sent me this lovely care package from Houston. The teenagers were overjoyed to see the familiar …
Ireland in Lockdown…Again
Ireland is on lockdown again, this time for 6 weeks until early December. The schools are open, but there was no “trick or treating” this year. Sacrificing Halloween to save …
Sad to See Old Traditions Die: The Austin Hot Sauce Contest
30 years ago, I founded the Austin Hot Sauce Contest. I served as head judge for 26 years. Covid cancelled this year’s party, ending a tradition. Here’s an intro I …
Life As We Know It: Covid Pandemic
Tourism is the dominant industry in the Burren region of Western Ireland. Now the Burren has gone eerily quiet. No bright green “Paddy Wagon” tour busses whizzing along the narrow …
Manchester
Visited Manchester for the first time in January to celebrate Julia and Andy’s wedding. The defining Mancusian experience– I watched Liverpool play Manchester United on TV at the Shakespeare Pub …
Twenty Twenty Vision
The end of a decade is upon us and the English-speaking world is weary of political dramas. So let’s turn our attention elsewhere. The time has come,’ the Walrus said, …
The Summer’s Gone, it’s Fall in Ireland
The days are getting shorter and the temperature rarely breaks 60°F these days. But it was quite a summer. Our 4th of July BBQ was a blow-out. Kelly’s Houston book …