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I am sitting in a Ministry of Culture seminar about film making and it has all the hallmarks of a rotten event: a huge queue at the registry desk (but nobody saying hello), nowhere for coats, coffee servers arguing among themselves, an electrical fault that the secretary of state loudly complains about, doors that squeak horribly every time someone comes in (and there was a constant flow of latecomers), a loud buzzing noise from the speakers and technical problems with the presentations.
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Click here to see Rupert’s photos of Edinburgh

When I went to Edinburgh recently I expected to see high street shops selling off their stocks at huge discounts and “everything must go” signs.  But I was surprised to find that it looked like “business as usual” and I didn’t see any boarded up windows,  stray dogs,  rubbish blowing down the streets or any other signs that capitalism had failed.   My plan of getting a cheap jacket from a collapsing retail giant were foiled.

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One benefit of the current economic crisis is that financial news is now interesting; we’re all trying to find out why our banking system crashed and why the whole system is so vulnerable (at least I am).  Until recently I would rarely read an article about business but now it’s like reading adventure stories.

Eventually I worked out my own theory of what is wrong with our economic system.  The key word in understanding the crisis is leverage. read more…

On the one hand my credentials for writing about magic would appear to be good: I come from Scotland, a country which promotes itself as a land of mystery, magic and legend. On the other hand Scotland’s claim to be some sort of home to ancient magic is based on big marketing budgets rather than reality, as Scotland’s witches were burned and drowned and our legends were suppressed for generations. Many Scots would blame this (as well as their other problems) on the English, but who are we to complain considering that it was us who destroyed the Celts and totally eradicated the Picts. read more…

When I was in Montenegro recently I checked into a small guest house and asked if they had internet. “Of course we do” boomed the big cheery lady who runs the place, but when I tried to get online it didn’t work. I asked for help and she went to fetch the Siberian who was living with his wife on the floor below. “He knows English” she cried as she hurried down the frozen stone steps.

A small, alert and friendly young man came in and tried to help me connect. But it still didn’t work, and we ended up on the outside terrace which was the only place (apart from his room) where the wireless signal actually did work. We sat there for hours, despite the rain and cold, and I learned about Siberia.  read more…

By Sean Mc Allister

Returning to Dubai was a big thing for me.  I was here in September last year looking a film idea for the BBC. Then, it was still booming. Now it feels on the brink of going bust. My cab driver from the airport was moaning that he’d only had 3 jobs in 4 hours. Crazy for a Friday night. He’s thinking of going back to his family in Egypt. After 14 years here he says he’s never seen it so bad. As I get out of the can he whispers, “Dubai is finished”.  Maybe that’s my story. read more…

Did almost half a decade of Communism rob us of our sense of beauty? Did not owing property make us lose all interest in the aesthetic of living space? Or maybe the constant worry about tomorrow makes you immune to our surroundings? These are the only arguments that somewhat comfort me for the ugliness that is all around us: buildings, window shops, streets, restaurants. People in Romania don’t seem to care much about making a space (private, public) nice.

Walking into a beautiful building or strolling on a pretty street can be so relaxing. It can take your mind off your daily troubles. It can make a trip to the grocery pleasant. It can soften the horrors of waiting in line for useless paperwork at the Mayor’s Office. read more…

In my view the best way to travel in Eastern Europe is by train.  It is cheap, interesting and relaxing.  But why, you might be wondering, would anyone want to travel across the Balkans in the winter, especially such a cold one as this?  My mission was to sign a piece of paper in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro.  The job itself took about 20 minutes, most of which was spent hanging around, but getting there took me two nights on a sleeper train and getting back another two nights.  I got the train from Bucharest to Bar, via Belgrade. read more…

We should be grateful to the Russians and Ukranians for the warning that central Asian gas supplies are insecure.  We must heed the warning and start moving more urgently to renewable sources of energy, as this is the only way for the EU to have energy independence.  The Kiev - Moscow row about gas bills has been going on for years and is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon.

As passive consumers of Central Asian gas all we can do is understand the situation, learn from this crisis and start investing in alternative sources of energy.  We must not take for granted a regular supply of gas.  Interruptions will become increasingly common, if only because the investments are not being made in new production and transport infrastructure.  The recent read more…

When I saw Romania’s army marching through Bucharest last week it struck me how out of date Romania’s military is. The brass band music and gendarme uniforms are from nineteenth century France, the authoritarian voice-over and elderly commanders are from Soviet Russia, and the 50 ton tanks are WW2.  None of it is useful against modern day threats.

An out of date army is designed to resist territorial invasion whereas a modern army is a flexible unit which can respond immediately to unknown threats.  Unfortunately read more…