ONE OF my readers – yeah OK, there’s only one anyway, has asked me for a list of my favourite toons, so I thought I’d take time out to oblige him.
In order, and as I write, they are Aberdeen, Scotland – the place where I was born. Florence, Italy – the place where you can never get a beer, just an ice cream. London, Engerland – which is somehow never boring but always quite dull. Muenchen, which is always awake, even for 24 hours a day and you can always get a drink.
Paris, where the waiters love you if you’ve even a smidgeon of colloquial French. Next up is Barcelona, where you always feel like you’re on the edge between reality and dreams. New York is never dull, but somehow never awake. San Francisco has taken me to its heart – goodness knows why. It’s about the size of Aberdeen but with up-hill and down-hill slopes that make Google Maps risible.
Is that 10 yet? Here’s the list so far.
- Aberdeen, Scotlandia
- Florence. Italia
- Muenchen, Germany
- London, Engerland
- Paris, in France
- Barcelona, in Catalonia
- New York, New York
- San Francisco
- Brussels, cos it’s cosmopolitan
- Denpasar, because it’s the route to the rest of the many kingdoms of Bali
And here are my 10 least favourite toons.
- Roma, because it is totally inaccessible
- Reykjavik, because it’s so predictable you’ll see volcanoes and it will be cold
- Belfast, Ulster, because you never know what you are supposed to be
- Manchester, because it’s a shambles
- Halifax, Yorkshire – because it is part of the Cleckshuddersfax triangle
- Miami, because it’s a bit of a shambles too
- Berlin, it gets really cold there
- Hangover (Hannover) because it is the home of hateful CeBIT
- Wankum, ‘cos I never want to go there
- Boston, ‘cos I met so many snotty people there with funny voices
Of course the lists can be added to and subtracted from. But these are a few of my favourite things. ♦
