Notes on…
Look beyond ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ in The Hague
What a fate it is to be hung next to the most famous painting in a gallery. To be overlooked,…
Cruising
By the end of my ten-day Atlantic crossing to New York, a new wellbeing seemed to radiate from me. Lulled…
Cruising
By the end of my ten-day Atlantic crossing to New York, a new wellbeing seemed to radiate from me. Lulled…
Autumn
Each year when I see the first conker of the autumn I think: fire up the ancestral ovens! This incendiary…
Autumn
Each year when I see the first conker of the autumn I think: fire up the ancestral ovens! This incendiary…
La Baule
The reaction of the chap on the door at Le Bidule told me that they weren’t used to seeing English…
La Baule
The reaction of the chap on the door at Le Bidule told me that they weren’t used to seeing English…
The perfect pub
Whenever one of those news stories appears about how many pubs have been forced to close in the last year,…
The perfect pub
Whenever one of those news stories appears about how many pubs have been forced to close in the last year,…
Dublin
What a delight it is to toy with a wooden newspaper-holder rather than a smartphone, tucked away in the cosy…
Dublin
What a delight it is to toy with a wooden newspaper-holder rather than a smartphone, tucked away in the cosy…
The lessons of exam results season
Every year without fail, as the trees start thinking about losing their leaves, the papers are full of the same…
The lessons of exam results season
Every year without fail, as the trees start thinking about losing their leaves, the papers are full of the same…
Antigua
‘Tourism, tourism and tourism,’ said my Antiguan cab driver, when I asked what the country’s main industries were. Still, it’s…
Antigua
‘Tourism, tourism and tourism,’ said my Antiguan cab driver, when I asked what the country’s main industries were. Still, it’s…
Hamburg
‘What was it like growing up in Liverpool?’ a journalist asked John Lennon. ‘I didn’t grow up in Liverpool,’ he…
Hamburg
‘What was it like growing up in Liverpool?’ a journalist asked John Lennon. ‘I didn’t grow up in Liverpool,’ he…
Oporto
‘When he’s away, the thing he misses about Porto is the tripe.’ I was talking to Eduarda Sandeman, wife of…
Oporto
‘When he’s away, the thing he misses about Porto is the tripe.’ I was talking to Eduarda Sandeman, wife of…
Glasgow
A wet walk in a Glaswegian graveyard might not be your idea of fun, but then you might not have…
Glasgow
A wet walk in a Glaswegian graveyard might not be your idea of fun, but then you might not have…
Florence
The British have always been in love with Florence. First visits cannot disappoint. One friend recalls being herded around as…
Florence
The British have always been in love with Florence. First visits cannot disappoint. One friend recalls being herded around as…
Political memorabilia
My first reaction on hearing of Margaret Thatcher’s death in 2013 was: ‘Great — now my autograph from her will…
Political memorabilia
My first reaction on hearing of Margaret Thatcher’s death in 2013 was: ‘Great — now my autograph from her will…
