Joke

I used to share a bedroom with my brother, who was (and still is) 11 years my senior. He liked to share his taste in music on his gramophone, so I was exposed at an early age to the likes of Earth Wind and Fire and Level 42. But in addition to music he had [...]

Susannah York

As you may or may not be aware, Susannah York died over the weekend. Did I ever tell you about the time she held my face in her hands and gazed into my eyes? No? Late summer 1996. I left university with a respectable humanities degree and no job prosepcts, so I ran away to [...]

Art Attack

This is Shawn. Shawn has a scar on his forehead, but he’s no boy wizard. Shawn recently visited Paris and Brussels with his Japanese wife and her parents. While strolling around a Parisian square his wife’s attention was caught by the work of a street artist. She pulled out her camera and took a photo [...]

Fireman’s lift

Last Friday at 1530 at work an ear-splitting electronic screech sounded through the entire building, lasting for several minutes. I was prepared for the noise, just not the volume. I donned my flourescent jacket and set about evacuating all the offices on my floor. The noise was a fire alarm, and I’m an EPI. EPI [...]

“Unaccustomed as I am…”

I’d never considered myself someone who was particularly good at standing up in front of a large group of people and talking, although it was something I had to get used to while teaching English in Italy, and I’m generally ok as long as I have some idea what I’m talking about. Talking last night to a [...]

Could do better

I spent the morning browsing through some old school reports (yes, I’ve kept them all). Looking at them now, apart from the endless “could do better, must try harder, not fulfilling his potential” stuff that at least three or four teachers mentioned every year, there are some surprising (and surprisingly pleasant) comments. Age 9: Physical [...]

It must have been something I ate

Spring, 2000. A bedsit in Dublin. Paola was out at her wine tasting course. I was sat at home alone, reading. I started to feel a little queasy. Thinking back over what I had eaten that day, I remembered the pineapple chutney I had used in my sandwich at lunchtime. We had bought a jar [...]

I remember

I remember a haircut in Norwich. I remember a party in Gypsy Hill. I remember a flight to Milan. I remember a boat trip, a sunset at Portofino, and a kiss at Boccadasse, nine years ago today. I remember the bridges on Venice, a gondola ride, and the early morning train to the airport, where tears [...]

A face from the past

Christmas 1992. I had just come home for the holidays following my first semester at university. The family had gathered for the usual yuletide festivities. Dad quietly announced that he had something to tell us. He had received a rather startling phone call just after I had left for university in September, but he had [...]

Crazy Lady

The Crazy Lady lived in the apartment opposite ours, back in the days when we lived in a slightly more “colourful” part of town, when we were young, childfree, and poor. Crazy Lady had a face like a pug chewing a wasp. She had a small dog (not a pug, and not fond of chewing [...]