Notes on…

A kind of posthumous existence: a death mask of Keats, sold at auction for £16,100 in 1996

The Romantic poets

28 May 2016 9:00 am

People can be mightily protective of their Romantic poets. When I worked at the Keats Shelley House, overlooking the Spanish…

A kind of posthumous existence: a death mask of Keats, sold at auction for £16,100 in 1996

The Romantic poets

26 May 2016 1:00 pm

People can be mightily protective of their Romantic poets. When I worked at the Keats Shelley House, overlooking the Spanish…

‘His operas offer a straightforward experience’

Verdi

21 May 2016 9:00 am

Verdi has a peculiar if not unique place in the pantheon of great composers. If you love classical music at…

‘His operas offer a straightforward experience’

Verdi

19 May 2016 1:00 pm

Verdi has a peculiar if not unique place in the pantheon of great composers. If you love classical music at…

The demise of bullfighting has been predicted for 100 years, yet it lives on

Bullfighting

14 May 2016 9:00 am

Looking at the programme for the feria of San Isidro in Madrid this month (bullfights are being held on 31…

The demise of bullfighting has been predicted for 100 years, yet it lives on

Bullfighting

12 May 2016 1:00 pm

Looking at the programme for the feria of San Isidro in Madrid this month (bullfights are being held on 31…

Gentlest and sweetest of dogs

Clumber spaniels

7 May 2016 9:00 am

For the first time in more than 30 years we have no Clumber spaniel. We have had five: Henry, Judith,…

Is my plant Pinterest-ready?

Indoor gardening

30 April 2016 9:00 am

A year or so ago, I inherited a cardboard box filled with plants. It was an offshoot from an enormous…

Is this LA?: Dilapidated deco in Downtown

Indoor gardening

28 April 2016 1:00 pm

A year or so ago, I inherited a cardboard box filled with plants. It was an offshoot from an enormous…

Strange fruit: Bosch mixes scripture and folklore

The delights of Hieronymus Bosch

23 April 2016 9:00 am

If you hope to inspire an appreciation of Renaissance art in your children, look to Hieronymus Bosch. Ideally, your children…

Strange fruit: Bosch mixes scripture and folklore

The delights of Hieronymus Bosch

21 April 2016 1:00 pm

If you hope to inspire an appreciation of Renaissance art in your children, look to Hieronymus Bosch. Ideally, your children…

Pack mentality: it’s amazing what people reveal

Tarot reading

16 April 2016 9:00 am

It’s 8.57 on a Friday evening and I’m at home, waiting for an obscure American radio talk show to come…

Pack mentality: it’s amazing what people reveal

Tarot reading

14 April 2016 1:00 pm

It’s 8.57 on a Friday evening and I’m at home, waiting for an obscure American radio talk show to come…

Is this LA?: Dilapidated deco in Downtown

Downtown Los Angeles

9 April 2016 9:00 am

There’s a certain kind of Englishman who falls hard for Los Angeles. Men such as Graham Nash, who swapped the…

Is this LA?: Dilapidated deco in Downtown

Downtown Los Angeles

7 April 2016 1:00 pm

There’s a certain kind of Englishman who falls hard for Los Angeles. Men such as Graham Nash, who swapped the…

Unchanging: Florence’s skyline and the Arno

Florence

2 April 2016 9:00 am

Once, it seems, Sandro Botticelli played a trick on a neighbour. Next door was a weaver who possessed eight looms.…

Rebuilding phase: shipping-container shopping in Christchurch

Florence

31 March 2016 2:00 pm

Once, it seems, Sandro Botticelli played a trick on a neighbour. Next door was a weaver who possessed eight looms.…

A vast stage set: St Petersburg

St Petersburg

26 March 2016 9:00 am

Looking across the wide Neva from Vasilyevsky Island, the Palace Embankment shimmers in the river, suspended between water and sky.…

A vast stage set: St Petersburg

St Petersburg

23 March 2016 3:00 pm

Looking across the wide Neva from Vasilyevsky Island, the Palace Embankment shimmers in the river, suspended between water and sky.…

Convivial: the Reading Room

The London Library

19 March 2016 9:00 am

Some rogue has been writing in my bedside book. A fastidious hand has crossed out misspelled words and written neat…

Convivial: the Reading Room

The London Library

17 March 2016 3:00 pm

Some rogue has been writing in my bedside book. A fastidious hand has crossed out misspelled words and written neat…

Rebuilding phase: shipping-container shopping in Christchurch

New Zealand

12 March 2016 9:00 am

On my first night in Christchurch, I woke at 3.32 a.m. to what felt like an explosion. My bed was…

Rebuilding phase: shipping-container shopping in Christchurch

New Zealand

10 March 2016 3:00 pm

On my first night in Christchurch, I woke at 3.32 a.m. to what felt like an explosion. My bed was…

High mountains, deep pockets

Courchevel

5 March 2016 9:00 am

The last time I stayed in Courchevel it was in a tatty roadside chalet a long way down the mountain.…

High mountains, deep pockets

Courchevel

3 March 2016 3:00 pm

The last time I stayed in Courchevel it was in a tatty roadside chalet a long way down the mountain.…