A fine evening, as a Philistine among the anointed. My first exposure to the term “appropriation art” though not, I subsequently discovered, to appropriation art itself. Some of it I think I understand, the visual equivalent of musical sampling. Some I definitely don’t, the artistic equivalent of s...

Some days ... the sky is a clear blue. There's nothing much to do. The weather is bright, but with a gentle nip in the air that invites exploration.

A single chore is halfway across town. A single bus ride takes you down past Garibaldi's men, and even more interesting, his woman, and you resolve t...

The world turns. And at 5 in the morning, I’m cold enough to have to get up and go find a blanket. I manage to fall straight back to sleep. On the walk to the station, the traffic is so heavy that there’s no question of zipping across while the lights are red. And on the platform, the train is late...

Back in Rome after a wonderful weekend with dear friends near Newmarket (of which, more later) by Ryanair, which has the distinct benefit, aside from price, that they don't try and feed you 'pizza'. What better celebration, then, than a pizza. Down on the Lungotevere, the proprietor invited me to jo...

It is not for me to judge perfection. But there are occasions that come pretty damn close, and last weekend was one of them. It all started with a call from my dear old friend Rob. I'll summarize his rambling: "We have a spare ticket to Van the Man at Audley End. It's yours if you want it". Of cours...