Author Archives: Michael House

“On arrival, we finally struggled through Security, collected our goody bags (Kyrgyz flag, orange baseball cap, four glowing sticks to wave, programme of events), and took our seats in the stadium. We had superb seats near the front, just behind the press corps. We were then treated to 150 minutes of spectacular light-shows, gymnastics on […]

“Someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to make Iraklia walker-friendly. I set off to climb the island’s peak, Mount Papas (420 meters, or 1386 feet). If that doesn’t sound high, try it. I keep on the main street through the village, ignoring signs for Profitis Ilias, the famous caves (see below) and […]

“Donoussa had no roads until the 1950s. The Greek state gave the island funds to join the port at Stavros with the island’s two other main communities—Mersini on the south-east coast and Kalotaritissa in the far north. The workmen were paid 14 drachmas a day. The work was completed in 1955. Mersini is a delightful […]

  The Polemicist By Michael House LONDON England—(Weekly Hubris)—December 19, 2016—Not one of my readers in 20 (assuming I have 20) will know about the wonderful UK radio comedy show of the 1960’s and 70’s, Round the Horne. Four very funny men and one very funny woman produced skits and sketches years ahead of their […]

“The atrocities of March served to take off our front pages here in the UK headlines from the worst week Prime Minister David Cameron has had since he took office. Things had got so bad that Labour leader Jeremy Corbin, Britain’s Bernie Sanders, actually moved ahead in the polls, despite the daily bombardment of lies […]

“’F*#K The Plebs: Let’s Party!’ should be the next election slogan for the Conservative Party in Britain, whether under Dickensian villain George Osborne or Boris the Buffoon Johnson, pig-poker David Cameron having signified that he will not fight another election.”—By Michael House Polemicist on Holiday By Michael House, FRGS KINGS SUTTON England—(Weekly Hubris)—10/19/2015— “F*#k The […]

“During those three weeks, I: met two kings and dined in their palaces; spent the night in one palace; watched a devil-dance in a Buddhist monastery; paid $100 for a beautiful made-to-measure suit which was ready in 36 hours; watched two marmots fighting on a bleak hillside in Zanskar; ate a picnic lunch under a […]

Polemicist on Holiday By Michael House, FRGS Michael House, recently named a Fellow of The Royal Geographic Society, characterizes himself as “a criminal defence barrister, traveler and travel writer who lived in Greece for three years in the 1980s, and has never fallen out of love with the country.” His major expeditions comprise trekking in […]

The Polemicist by Michael House, FRGS Prohibition didn’t work with alcohol and it’s not working with drugs.” KINGS SUTTON England—(Weekly Hubris)—3/19/12—A brave and wise senior police officer has called for the decriminalization of all illicit narcotics and an end to the UK’s failed “war on drugs.” Richard Brunstrom, the Chief Constable of North Wales, made […]

The Polemicist by Michael House, FRGS KINGS SUTTON England—(Weekly Hubris)—2/19/12— Day 8, 25th December, continued. In the evening, after a 360 kilometre drive, we arrived at the Mountain View Hotel, Lalibela. At 8,745 feet, it has majestic views over a wide and deep river valley. The four-story structure is recessed from the bottom to the […]