Tag: charlemagne
How to wash your hands
Good to know that, in these difficult times of swine ‘flu, bird ‘flu and just plain old ‘flu, there’s always someone there with timely advice.
So just in case you’ve forgotten since you became a busy, working adult, here’s a quick reminder of how to wash your hands, courtesy of the brilliantly-named Medical and Psychosocial Interventions …
Attack of the obvious
I was walking down the corridor minding my own business the other day when I happened to see this sign:
Barcelona
Jaume I of Aragó was one of Barcelona’s many notable figures. Descended from French and Byzantine nobility, his exotic origins were matched by an illustrious childhood spent in the thick of the Occitan struggles.
The thirteenth was the century in Europe that instigated the beginnings of a consolidation of power from which Jaume would personally profit …
Celebrating bureaucracy?
Opponents of the European Union are fond of pointing out what they see as the three grand negatives: democratic deficit, lack of transparency and unwieldy bureaucracy.
Brussels certainly doesn’t do itself any favours with the famously poor quality of its communications, particularly when it makes the occasional, but always highly visible foot-in-mouth blunder.
Take the banner above, …
Something to do with Lotharingia
When Charlemagne died in early 814, he left behind him the strongest empire known to Western Europe since that of the Romans. Barely a generation later, it had been dissolved.
The wholesale division of territories among the royal issue led to weakness and fragmentation. In the case of the Carolingian empire, the sum of the whole …
Elsewhere on MikePadgett.com …
Luxor
Modern Luxor (known locally as Al Uqsur) stands where once stood the ancient city of Thebes. History is everywhere in Egypt but nowhere more so than here. Hidden in the desert mountains beyond the …
- Originally published: 18 Oct 2006 in Middle East
Eastbourne
J and I spent the recent wet Bank Holiday weekend in Eastbourne, visiting Jim Wilding and his son Ashley. The weather did destroy a lot of good photo opportunities. As soon as we …
- Originally published: 5 Jun 2007 in UK
Finishing FarCry
Finishing FarCry last night brought to an end my long struggle with mutant monkeys, mad professors and obsolete computers. It had been almost a year before I could even play the game after …
- Originally published: 27 Sep 2005 in Personalia
Festive photos
Happy New Year, everyone! A selection of images here from the Christmas and New Year period between 2006 and 2007. These include: A visit from Wilding Guest invitees to the Northgate works Christmas do New Year …
- Originally published: 1 Jan 2007 in Personalia
Kika
Director: Pedro Almodóvar Spain, 1993 Déjà vu abounds in Kika, a brief return to the sort of hair-brained frivolity that characterised Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown. Parallels might also be drawn …
- Originally published: 27 Sep 2007 in Film
Who is that guy?
Hello you. I'm Mike Padgett and I work in the technology sector as an Information Designer.
I also enjoy travel, concerts, films and walking.
I'm based in Brussels, Belgium. My current favourite Belgian beer is St Feuillien Brune.