I rarely yearn for the homeland or wish that I were there. I haven't returned since the death of my mother almost two years ago, and I find it hard to imagine the circumstance in which I might - other, of course, than a desire to visit my brother. I must admit, though, that I thought differently this past weekend, and likely will be thinking differently over the next couple of weeks. The Olympics opening ceremony was sensational, the public excitement - after weeks and months of the kind of classically British moaning that helps keep me away - was palpable, and the games themselves, doping issues aside, promise to bring that unmatchable quadrennial excitement. Read More
