Both are on the coast of the Mediterranean, both enjoy superb sea-shore climate, but what a difference! — In March 2006 a total eclipse of the sun was due to cross southern Turkey, and I was keen to see one in my lifetime. My wife and I traveled to Antalya, where the moon would completely block the sun. I have described the memorable experience that awaited us there. …

This is how easy it is to convince people you have supernatural powers — I have written about how, many decades ago, I entertained — and confounded — a class of school students for a full week with a mind reading illusion. That episode is described here. I have performed the trick maybe a dozen times. Today I want to describe two other memorable…

I have always been fascinated by eclipses. But I never got to see a total solar eclipse until I was sixty. — My father was a part-time astronomer who had explained to me at an early age the mechanisms of the celestial events in which one body temporarily obscures another. I have seen dozens of lunar eclipses, and even the 2012 transit of Venus across the Sun. That occurs only once in…

I don’t know how it happened. My Google news feed seems to think I am hooked on astrology — Suddenly Google has started sending me regular links to the Chicago Sun-Times horoscope page. Guys, I’m really not interested. And if I was, there is a far better solution! But first some background. In a previous article I described how, in a German TV documentary, we picked a fight with…

It took place far away, but oddly close by — It was twenty-two years ago, to the day. Wife Ingrid, who was at the dentists, suddenly rushed back home and said: “Quick, switch on the TV!” One of the doctors had told everyone in the practice that there was some very alarming news. For the next six or eight hours…

Discussing religious questions with the experts — In the first part of this series I wrote about Christian upbringing in foreign countries, about Catholic kindergartens and schools in Bombay, India. In my very early teens, schooling switched to a new town and a new school. That is what this chapter is about. When my father approached 70…

How I was brought up in religious surroundings, and how it affected my youth and adult life — Before we embark on this trip, I need to give you some background. I was born the son of a German who had fled the Nazis before WWII to the British colonies, and a Portuguese-Indian mother, in the coastal city of Bombay, India. My father was from Catholic Bavaria, my…

After a hiatus of over a year— I was working on two books — I am returning to the Friedel Chronicles — Why the long pause? Well, this is how things developed. As I described in my introductory post, I have a fairly interesting life behind me. When I reached seventy, it seemed that an autobiography would be appropriate. But, said son Tommy, I should not try to flat-out write the book…

Muhammed Ali inspired me to take up boxing in my college days. But it was very different to his fights. — As mentioned in a previous article, in my youth I had three great sporting heroes: Muhammed Ali, Bobby Fischer and Franz Beckenbauer. Nobody else came close to them. …