FEAST OR FAMINE

Cleopatra (2011) is set in Alexandria, Egypt, and the Mediterranean, where Cleopatra VII ruled Egypt for almost twenty-two years. She was born in 69 BC and ruled from 51 BC, at the age of eighteen, until her death in 30 BC at the age of 39.     The author does a great job detailing Cleopatra’s professional life – leading the kingdom – and her personal life. Both are fascinating. Her relationship with Mark Antony was the longest, but her relationship with his rival Julius Caesar was the most enduring.    Although Cleopatra is one of the most recognized and influential women in history, the historical facts have often been misrepresented. Her enemies wrote her history. ‘There is no universal agreement on most of the basic details of her life, no consensus on who her mother was, how long Cleopatra lived in Rome, how often she was pregnant, whether she and Antony married, what transpired at the battle that sealed her fate, and how she died.’   The author attempts to separate fact from fict

MARTINA NICOLLS Website Martinasblogs Publications Facebook Paris Website Animal Website SUBSCRIBE TO MARTINA NICOLLS FOR NEWS AND UPDATES    MARTINA NICOLLS  is an international aid and development consultant, and the  author   of:  The Paris Residences of James Joyce   (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

MARTINA NICOLLS Website Martinasblogs Publications Facebook Paris Website Animal Website SUBSCRIBE TO MARTINA NICOLLS FOR NEWS AND UPDATES    MARTINA NICOLLS  is an international aid and development consultant, and the  author   of:  The Paris Residences of James Joyce   (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

The Cellist of Sarajevo (2009) is set in Sarajevo in 1992. It begins with the Siege of Sarajevo. The forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and are fighting the Serb paramilitaries who want to remain attached to Yugoslavia. In this book, the three years of the Siege (1992-1995) are compressed into one month.    A cellist sees the Opera Hall fall and a bomb strike a line of people queuing for bread. The next day, in his tuxedo, he takes his bow and cello to the rubble and plays Albinoni’s Adagio—a sad tune. He wants to do this for twenty-two days: the number of his friends and neighbours killed in the bombing. Every day at four o’clock. One tune.    Kenan is 40 years old and lives with his wife and children in a home that has not had regular electricity or water for a month. Every four days he makes the dangerous journey to fetch clean water in his eight canisters—six of his own, with handles, and two without handles for his neighbour, ‘a woman wh

    MARTINA NICOLLS Website Martinasblogs Publications Facebook Paris Website Animal Website SUBSCRIBE TO MARTINA NICOLLS FOR NEWS AND UPDATES    MARTINA NICOLLS  is an international aid and development consultant, and the  author   of:  The Paris Residences of James Joyce   (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

  John Keats, the British lyrical poet, will soon have a musical; hopefully on the London stage – destination the West End – in 2021.    For the ‘Keats the Musical’ (KTM) project and website, I wrote an article ‘For the love of the lyre and the lyricist.’ In the article, I discuss the instrument, and wonder how it will be used in the musical. The KTM composer Alvaro Nascimento Vierira responded.    Read more about Keats the Musical , and sponsor the event … Read the article For the love of the lyre …    MARTINA NICOLLS Website Martinasblogs Publications Facebook Paris Website Animal Website SUBSCRIBE TO MARTINA NICOLLS FOR NEWS AND UPDATES    MARTINA NICOLLS  is an international aid and development consultant, and the  author   of:  The Paris Residences of James Joyce   (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (20

  India celebrates National Sports Day annually on August 29. It commemorates the birthday of Indian field hockey player Dhyan Chand. He was born on 29 August 1905, joining the army hockey team at the age of sixteen. In 1926, he joined India’s national team, and the Olympic team:  India won the men’s gold medal at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. He also contributed to gold medals in hockey at the 1932 and 1936 Olympic Games. He was known as 'The Wizard.’   This year, 2020, marks the 115 th  birthday anniversary of Dhyan Chand (1905-1979).    National Sports Day aims to raise awareness about staying fit and healthy through sports and activity.      MARTINA NICOLLS Website Martinasblogs Publications Facebook Paris Website Animal Website SUBSCRIBE TO MARTINA NICOLLS FOR NEWS AND UPDATES    MARTINA NICOLLS  is an international aid and development consultant, and the  author   of:  The Paris Residences of James Joyce   (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The