The Eastern New Mexico University library offered The Guardian in 1969. It was thrilling to know what was going on in the world. There were articles about demonstrations in Paris and Germany. Their slant was totally different to what I was reading in New Mexico at the end of the 60s.
I rediscovered the GW in Fez, Morocco, where I served as a US Peace Corps volunteer teaching English. There was a small kiosk near the French market that sold it. If I didn’t have enough money, nobody minded me standing there reading. The GW kept me informed on what was happening from an international perspective. I read about the Green March to the Sahara and saw it happening around me when the police rounded up the unemployed, homeless and sex workers and shipped them south to Laâyoune.
I looked forward to the films reviews and when I journeyed to Paris each summer I tried to view the films discussed, and Gary Younge’s analysis of what was going on in the US in the late 70s and early 80s was greatly appreciated.
I enjoy the book reviews and editorials. Polly Toynbee’s pen is sharp and incisive. I have learned to enjoy the British cartoons with John Major in his underwear, Tony Blair’s big ears and now David Cameron wearing a condom surrounded by fat cats. Some consider these drawings crude, but I like them.
I kept the subscription when I moved to Japan and married an American expat. We lived there 10 years and then moved with your subscription to New Zealand. Now, you normally arrive every Saturday morning. That is a great moment.
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