tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post2025218303120003217..comments2024-01-24T11:41:28.022+00:00Comments on A Cuban In London: Pieces of Me, Pieces of HavanaA Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-91890243569418710302011-07-21T18:39:16.311+01:002011-07-21T18:39:16.311+01:00This post had me grinning because I've always ...This post had me grinning because I've always thought of queues as an English institution. I had no idea it was so much worse in Cuba.<br /><br />Which comedian was it who once said that British people look for queues to stand in? And they exported this culture all over the world to the point where we can't go anywhere or do anything without first joining the queue? British people get in queues even when they don't know what the queue is for!<br /><br />This, of course, is all radically different from India where queues are a kind of euphemeral theory as opposed to practice. People queue in their minds, mentally negotiating the situation, then go - ignoring all other bodies who might have a different view. It's like in that Jet li film Hero. You know the bit where the two fighters close their eyes and fight with their minds? And all of a sudden the fight is over and someone is dead. That's the state of queues in India.<br /><br />JaiJai Joshihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04858987106548357551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-59092863948225333062011-07-17T11:02:55.456+01:002011-07-17T11:02:55.456+01:00Many thanks, Rachel and Namastemancy for your kind...Many thanks, Rachel and Namastemancy for your kind words.<br /><br />Gretings from London.A Cuban In Londonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-18943854235507138412011-07-17T01:27:18.826+01:002011-07-17T01:27:18.826+01:00That sentence was supposed to read "The LEFT ...That sentence was supposed to read "The LEFT (not lift)...<br /><br />garrrraaa.Nancy Ewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12116290968007398337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-42479282447584673782011-07-17T01:26:13.110+01:002011-07-17T01:26:13.110+01:00Another beautifully written and insightful piece a...Another beautifully written and insightful piece about a country that most of us will never visit. What I like about your writing is that you were there, it's was your country and you saw the problems and are honest about them - while loving the spirit of the place. Here, in the US we have the right which demonizes Cuba and the lift, which idealizes it. Last week, Anthony Bourdain, a food and travel writer on US TV, visited Cuba. He focused on baseball and pretty much ignored the rest of the country. He pontificated, as he always does - and it was irritating. I found myself shouting at the TV "Go read Senor Cuban in London. NOW THERE"s a guy who has both writing talent and insight." You know, my TV never answered me back. <br />Humph!Nancy Ewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12116290968007398337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-55411450772071686032011-07-16T15:08:53.516+01:002011-07-16T15:08:53.516+01:00This brings back fond memories of my trip to Cuba ...This brings back fond memories of my trip to Cuba - especially the ice cream :)Rachel Cotterillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08969719330048416996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-17592105325578553652011-07-16T00:49:11.981+01:002011-07-16T00:49:11.981+01:00Many thanks to you all for your kind feedback. It ...Many thanks to you all for your kind feedback. It means a lot to me as these are memories of a very personal nature.<br /><br />Have a great weekend.<br /><br />Greetings from London.A Cuban In Londonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-25084441172598435362011-07-15T10:59:56.977+01:002011-07-15T10:59:56.977+01:00Oh! Oh! Oh! Cuban!!
Have you submitted any of your...Oh! Oh! Oh! Cuban!!<br />Have you submitted any of your work to magazines like The New Yorker? <br />I don't want to gush, and as much as I'd love to come up with something completely original to say about this piece I'll just say it's so, so, very good. <br /><br />Do it. Find a bigger audience. You've got what it takes.Deborahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10892637441668897411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-59995667515144822502011-07-14T14:42:39.570+01:002011-07-14T14:42:39.570+01:00You really created a vivid visual image of the lon...You really created a vivid visual image of the long lines, and in the process rendered social commentary as well. Socio-political commentary too? Terrific. I loved this.Judith Mercadohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13739476600999112092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-63371592547780860042011-07-14T09:50:58.362+01:002011-07-14T09:50:58.362+01:00Love the cola stories!Love the cola stories!Eat Hackneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04072739089965370678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-9204399183628347412011-07-14T04:44:12.200+01:002011-07-14T04:44:12.200+01:00What a terrific post -- who would have thought tha...What a terrific post -- who would have thought that I could read so avidly a post about lines? Your writing is completely engaging, full of your trademark wisdom and sly humor. Thank you, Cuban!Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03313726816776097840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-85002233871683276372011-07-14T04:39:26.900+01:002011-07-14T04:39:26.900+01:00When I lived in the US, and I heard people complai...When I lived in the US, and I heard people complain about crowds and queues, I had a similar reactions, 'wait till you see the crowds and queues (and sometimes the absence of queues, which will make you wish that you had queues) in India'.<br /><br />Loved your words describing Cuba. Made me feel as if I was taking a stroll through the streets, pausing once in a while to register what was going on.SGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07439071211238467709noreply@blogger.com