Brief encounters

Very short extracts from faraway travels: Estonia, Ethiopia and India

Passengers for Estonia

Passengers for Estonia. A baggy face...

Frozen Slush

The approach to Tallinn...

Its Own Flag

A wooden house under snow...

Solid Water

This is the last of the frozen sea...

The Future of the Past

We climb the steps of a vast Soviet architectural failure...

Mostly Ears

The walls of the house are grey-green...

Border Guard

'Are you interested in shotguns?' he asks...

Gentle Wolf

'Are there wolves on the island...?'

The End of the Island

He gives us directions to the end of the island...

Winter War

The lights of Helsinki are just visible...

Hand-first

The girl beside me on the plane...

Canada

A very dark man...

Obama Pool Hall

Outside the Obama Pool Hall...

He Never Came

A dozen men sit gloomily...

It Is Connected

The Israeli speaks fluent Amharic...

Permission

‘How would I get a magazine printed?’...

Washington D.C.

‘This, my baby – in Washington D.C.'...

Alchemists

The darkness of the unlit room...

Happy

A former member of the Derg regime...

The Baboons

The baboons methodically comb the ground...

I Destroy Trouser

Do you have one black trouser...?

Old Bastard

The old bastard in the piassa...

Someone Has Died

I wake up to the sound of a woman...

Old Bastard Retraction

The old bastard in the piassa...

The Pepsi Cop

Every day, whatever the weather...

White-skinned Brother

Sheltering under an awning from the rain...

The Trouble

A very calm and respectful old man...

Mean Girls

On my way up to the bar...

YNG

He’s affectionately known as YNG...

ONG

Old Naked Guy is a different matter...