It's always a pleasure at this time of year to visit friends on the Gulf Coast of Florida, where for many years I have given lectures on economic and global affairs to the Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning (SILL).
Hundreds of mainly retired people attend the lectures by authors, academics and public officials and also the musical events and workshops that SILL arranges. It is a hugely impressive operation, a kind of relaxed university for retired people, and all run by volunteers. SILL has also become a haunt of fans of the Bruno novels and amid questions about Putin's politics and the euro crisis, the post-lecture questions usually include queries about Bruno's relationships with Pamela and Isabelle.
Just down the coast from Sarasota and Venice, where I lecture, is the island resort of Boca Grande, the centre of tarpon fishing and the bars and community buildings feature pre-1914 photos of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, fishing together in suits and ties. Boca Grande is also home to the Sleuths, a book club for mystery lovers, many of them Bruno fans, who hosted me at a delightful reception on a beach-side estate as the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico.
After the sun of Florida, the next stop will be the snows of St Moritz, where the Waldhaus hotel of Sils Maria is organising a special dinner menu based on the Bruno cookbook, which gives me all day to ski with family and friends from my German publishers.
Hundreds of mainly retired people attend the lectures by authors, academics and public officials and also the musical events and workshops that SILL arranges. It is a hugely impressive operation, a kind of relaxed university for retired people, and all run by volunteers. SILL has also become a haunt of fans of the Bruno novels and amid questions about Putin's politics and the euro crisis, the post-lecture questions usually include queries about Bruno's relationships with Pamela and Isabelle.
Just down the coast from Sarasota and Venice, where I lecture, is the island resort of Boca Grande, the centre of tarpon fishing and the bars and community buildings feature pre-1914 photos of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, fishing together in suits and ties. Boca Grande is also home to the Sleuths, a book club for mystery lovers, many of them Bruno fans, who hosted me at a delightful reception on a beach-side estate as the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico.
After the sun of Florida, the next stop will be the snows of St Moritz, where the Waldhaus hotel of Sils Maria is organising a special dinner menu based on the Bruno cookbook, which gives me all day to ski with family and friends from my German publishers.
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