1st November 2024
Spanish Flood Flashback
The ongoing emergency in the province of Valencia, where upturned cars clog the streets and…
8th September 2024
Magnificat
The museum did not open until 3pm, and so I people-watched for a while. A…
25th March 2024
Salomé
I have dreamt of you, veiled Salomé. Your breath is on my skin - sweet…
14th October 2023
Honey, Darling?
Londen. Londyn. Londres. Londinium. There are many Londons. I guess an invitation of travel is…
26th August 2023
Tick Tok
The church tower in Lake Issarlès, high in the Ardèche mountains of southern France, rings…
24th August 2023
Come To The Quiet
Everything interesting is difficult. Let me translate this thought to Latin, to lend it more…
22nd August 2023
Fire
So that a donkey may drink, I spent the afternoon in the pursuit of phantom…
19th August 2023
La France Profonde
I am sitting on the banks of the Allier river, which marks the border between…
15th August 2023
The Clank Of Pétanque
In travel, any pace is the perfect pace. Each choice of transport brings its own…
13th August 2023
One Year Later, But Will She Care?
I am in south central France, close to the rising of the Loire. Across the…
20th January 2023
A Tour Guide Considers His Lot
As he advanced towards me, three geese followed up the rear, in steady meter behind…
14th August 2022
McGregor’s Army
I have met two barbers in the space of twenty four hours, which is surprising,…
12th August 2022
Grief Is A Faltering Donkey
At the bottom of one of her leather saddle packs, as I prepared to hand…
10th August 2022
Walkabout
Like most people I really like, I thought he was a pain in the arse…
6th August 2022
Her Perfect Place
I will send her Bushmills. I woke up to the idea bouncing in my head,…
3rd August 2022
Alone
He was a tall man, in the autumn of his seventies, with a jowly face…
1st August 2022
Brian Is In The Kitchen
Travelling with a donkey, as Joseph and Mary learnt the hard way, makes for slow…
1st August 2022
What Happened In Pradelles
Pradelles, in the Haute-Loire, had its moment in the sun 500 years ago when a…
30th July 2022
Postcards From The Sedge
I walked into a restaurant here in Langogne at 3.30pm, when lunch was clearly over,…
29th July 2022
Exclusive: Kaïcha Sacking Fiasco
Kaïcha has a meltdown at Landos, 7kms from her point of departure, 24 hours after…
27th July 2022
No Room At The Inn
It’s official. We’re a couple. I’m tempted to change my Facebook status, but I’m not…
26th July 2022
First Date With Kaïcha
The night before meeting Kaïcha, Christophe started loading on the bad news. She simply can’t…
25th July 2022
Following Robert Louis Stevenson’s Ass
A donkey awaits me in the south of France. The trail we will take together…
6th August 2020
Conspiracy Of Truth
When I first met Dixie Longate, somewhere between Marseille and Rome, I was bent on…
8th March 2020
Clara In Valencia
As we walked down the sunny side of the street she described her student life,…
24th February 2020
Why I’m Sacking TripAdvisor
In brand-building, it can be fun and instructive to have enemies. We understand better what…
9th February 2020
Shoah: under the watchtowers of Auschwitz
The German words encountered in the world’s most notorious concentration camp are predominantly those of command…
6th February 2020
On The Road To Auschwitz
Because it cost them everything, it will cost me nothing. 1.1 million people were murdered…
11th December 2019
Volcano
At its most fundamental, a volcano is a crack in the ground. Depending on the…
1st October 2019
Jessye In Paris
I am sitting at an Illy Café in the centre of Paris, some metres off…
22nd June 2019
London, In The Heart Of June
I am sitting in a cafe that sits in a Garden Square. It is run…
2nd May 2019
Meaning Of Mystery: The Lost Girls Of Panama
Chapter 1: Changing Habits I have drifted in my leisure-time media consumption, both in form…
30th April 2019
Malta’s Fault-lines Of Love
It is 10am, and I am sitting on the balcony of Crust in St Julian’s…
6th January 2019
India’s Secret
Stalin has brought me coffee. My kind of coffee. Because Stalin is my kind of…
9th January 2018
Going Bollywood
On explaining my dance plans to a friend a few months back, he encouraged me…
2nd January 2018
Twelve Hours In India
The first twelve hours in a country are hardly the basis for any decision beyond…
30th October 2017
Palermo Mio
It is my destiny never to get to the bottom of it. I no longer…