A few days ago we lost the great, gifted writer Jan Morris. Today I’m honoured to remember her in the Guardian alongside Pico Iyer, Marcel Theroux, Kapka Kassabova, Sophy Robert and Hugh … Read More
Sleepwalking into a Perilous New Age
With a few dozen days to go until the US election, and only weeks until the UK’s political insanity casts it adrift in the North Atlantic fog, the lies are … Read More
Coming Down to Earth: a traveller’s lockdown life
How are you doing? The pandemic has touched so many of our lives. I hope that you and yours have suffered nothing more than the inconvenience of the lockdown, but … Read More
As the Wheels Turn: cycling through our ‘post-truth’ age
Cycling moves me. When I first came to the UK, my bicycle gave me a sense of belonging in my adopted home. I belted up Knightsbridge in rush hour, wheeled … Read More
Pravda and Putin in America
Happy New Year, und einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr. Why the German? Because I’ve just learned that “Pravda Ha Ha” will be published in Germany in September by Karl … Read More
Bowie in Berlin
It’s Christmas Day in Berlin in 1977. Seated at the table are David Bowie and the film-maker David Hemmings, along with various partners, children and add-ons like me. At a … Read More
Pravda Ha Ha: Truth, Lies and the End of Europe
If you could, which contemporary politician would you ask to explain himself? Might you ask Donald Trump how he can sleep at night? Would you ask some of the UK … Read More
Berlin: Imagine a City
Why are we drawn to certain cities? Perhaps because of a story read in childhood. Or a chance teenage meeting. Or simply because the place touches us, embodying in its … Read More