Letter from Prague | All stories

I used to visit my relatives in the countryside quite often when I was little, stealing apples and peaches, taking long walks, or riding horses with my friends. But, for some reason, I could never relate to the people from the country. They always seemed to be far too backward and simple-minded. Much to my embarrassment today, I must admit that I somewhat pitied them...

For most of my life I lived in the northern Prague district of Bohnice. For many Czechs that place name has a metaphorical meaning of "madhouse". That is because between 1906 and 1911 when Bohnice was still a tiny village north of Prague, a large mental hospital was built there, with small houses scattered around a large English-style park, centred around an Art Nouveau church - all up to the standard of the time.

The chicken had his own, hotly debated reasons for crossing the road. As for me, I crossed it to ring in the New Year (Chinese style).

TG Masaryk, the founder and first president of Czechoslovakia, gave the new state one memorable piece of advice: Nebat se a nekrast (don't be afraid and don't steal). But during the Communist era an equally well-known phrase arose: ten kdo nekrade, okrade rodinu (whoever doesn't steal deprives his family). It sometimes seems to me that the second "philosophy" still prevails, 15 years after the end of Communism.

Our car pulls up to a plain looking building on the edge of a small village. As soon as the kids see it, they come rushing out- we are a welcome distraction from the boredom that weighs down on the refugee camp like a thick blanket.

At the end of last year a significant part of our planet was hit by an apocalyptic disaster. The world media immediately focused their interest on the region. Now, three weeks after the catastrophe, the media are still informing us about the event and its consequences, although the subject is slowly receding from the papers' front pages.

I went to the post office today. With dread. As usual. I had one bill to pay. I had taken the time to sit with it at home, fill out the boxes carefully and prepare the money in advance. The plan was to walk in, pay, walk out. No scenes this time. In the past I have been yelled at for various transgressions- once my handwriting was too big and it was the wrong kind of pen, then I put a dash in the wrong box and so on and so forth... Although I had taken all the precautions to ensure a smooth transaction, my heart gave a jump as I entered my local

As Christmas approaches the hysteria over finding the right Christmas tree is reaching a feverish pitch. I can see it as I lunch at a pizzeria in Prague's Smichov district: one customer after another gesticulating wildly over trees being sold on the corner, the seller running to and fro with a measuring tape. Customers inspect the trees with a keen eye. All manner of common defects are looked for: too tall, too spiky, too shabby, too lop-sided, a tree full on one side and flat on the other.

The Czech commercial TV station Nova is most probably the most popular station when it comes to entertainment. One programme that attracts millions of viewers is a Nova produced show in which the station's presenters or invited celebrities read jokes that have been sent in by viewers. About a month or two ago, I tuned in on a Saturday and heard the following joke read on air:

As a Scot living in Prague, I am intrigued by the Czech passion for all things Celtic. On the metro I often see groups of young men decked out in idiosyncratic versions of Highland dress, and somehow St Andrew's Day seems to be celebrated with more passion here than in Scotland.