Category: Fixed Abode

In these challenging times, certainty and security go out of the window. We cannot predict what will happen; however, the worst-case scenario might lead to a breakdown of services and possibly a breakdown of law and order. It is a good idea to consider the services we rely on: electricity, water, gas, internet connection and […]

The earth is big, really really big, it is humungously big, in fact it is the biggest thing we can actually touch. While we may be rather ambivalent towards planet earth, for electrons it is home. As we already know the electron was named after the Greek electron which, of course, means amber. Amber? Yes, […]

It has been very hot recently, far hotter than most of we long term Bali residents can remember. Air conditioners are working harder than ever. Many of us are finding our air conditioners are breaking down more than they used to, why is this?   As far as we can tell there are two reasons. […]

Here is a wonderful titbit of information that will make you the hit at the annual dinner of the Denpasar Toastmakers Club. Did you know there is no such thing as “cold.” Cold is in fact a worldwide con created by exuberant salesmen who want to sell fridges to Eskimos. You see “cold” doesn’t exist, […]

I recently met a couple visiting Bali. The man was not happy, “I’ve got Bali belly” he said. “It was that warung we went to last night”. “It’s usually the water that gets you” I replied. Years ago, I had learned the hard way. When I first came to Indonesia in the 70’s I was […]

On May 4th Adam Sky, a well known DJ, died after falling through a glass door and severing an artery in his arm. We don’t know the circumstances of this tragic incident but it does raise important questions for us all particularly those many people who own or stay in properties with full pane glass […]

If ever there was an invention that made life more comfortable it must be that contraption we all use every day and is widely attributed to Yorkshireman Thomas Crapper. In fact it was Sir John Harrington who invented the first flush toilet way back in 1596, he built one for Queen Elizabeth 1 (thronemakers to […]

Those immortal words from Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” come back to me quite often these days. “Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.” He was, of course, talking about being surrounded by sea water, a fate being suffered by more and more houses in Bali. Make no mistake we are facing […]