Thailand
How I ran away to Italy
A quarter of a century ago I somehow managed to get out of Paris where I had haunted a cheap…
The handmade suit I’ll never wear
Someone somewhere must surely have calculated that Bangkok has more doctors and tailors per capita than anywhere on Earth. These…
The wonder of Jon Pertwee and his frilly shirt
When a friend asked if I wanted anything for Christmas I took a deep breath and replied: ‘Well, maybe I…
Letter from Thailand
Many of my friends, stranded by the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes, have temporarily given up their film projects and…
Fascinating but flat: Amazon Prime's Thirteen Lives reviewed
About ten minutes in to Thirteen Lives, Boy came in and asked me whether it was any good. I said:…
'Oculus Quest is really the way': film-maker Apichatpong Weerasethakul interviewed
Igor Toronyi-Lalic talks to the film-maker Apichatpong Weerasethakul about sleep, Tilda Swinton and VR
Why China’s vaccine diplomacy is running into difficulties
Tear gas and rubber bullets hold off the protestors marching to Government House in Bangkok. They’re looking for Prime Minister…
Me, myself and Thai: my cooking lesson from Cher Thai Eatery
Lockdown is hurting everyone except the chickens. I have bought them a conservatory because Philippa, a Light Sussex, looks like…
Bangkok’s unravelling was easy to see coming
Three years ago I sat down to write a novel set in my adopted home city. Placing its claustrophobic action…
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Alcohol is the perfect cure for deafness
New York A busy ten days, or nights rather, with some heroic drinking thrown in for good measure. Hangovers…
Cost of Living at Hampstead Theatre isn’t a bad show – and it contains a star in the making
Hampstead has become quite a hit-factory since Ed Hall took over. His foreign policy is admirably simple. He scours New…
I had no idea how fascinating rubbish could be: The Secret Life of Landfill reviewed
Not the most beguiling of titles, I admit, but The Secret Life of Landfill: A Rubbish History (BBC4, Thursday) was…
Why women are still fuming over my Desert Island slips
It never occurred to me, when I was interviewed for Desert Island Discs back in November, that I’d actually be…
A silky, air-conditioned introduction to Bangkok
Last time I went to Thailand, there’d been something of a misunderstanding about accommodation, and my friend and I ended…
The polyphonous Babel of global music
‘Following custom, when the Siamese conquered the Khmer they carried off much of the population, including most of their musicians,…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said that inheritance tax ‘shouldn’t be paid by people who’ve worked hard and saved…
Portrait of the week: water, water, everywhere
Home The Somerset Levels continued to wallow in floods. The Environment Agency was widely blamed for not having dredged channels,…
