When I was young I used to run cross-country. I was part of a great team. We won races. We took home trophies. I was not, however, a great runner. I was the makeweight in a team full of talent. My brother Bill, on the other hand, was a proper sportsman. He played cricket and …
I’m a very possessive person. Not that I don’t like to share my stuff. Come round to mine for a barbecue or a cup of tea and it’s ‘mi casa es su casa’. You want to borrow a book? Fine. Drive my car? Go ahead. No. I’m possessive of my space. I have my spot …
So, I went to church yesterday. Obviously I needed some spiritual sustenance since, as both Wimbledon and the World Cup were resting, we found ourselves in the literally horrifying situation of no actual sport happening. Except for the Grand Prix, the cricket, the Tour de France, the rugby league… Oh. Now I am what’s called …
Bank holiday is like therapy. In the middle of busy and ordinary, there’s suddenly a moment for special, for the seaside, for friends, for beer in the garden, for a deep breath and a sigh of contentment. A bank holiday is good for the national psyche. Now, I have a group of psychiatrists who I …
I was cutting my hair last week. It helps that I have almost no hair to cut because having nothing to cut alleviates the problem of having zero expertise. However, I’ve been doing it for many years, with electric clippers, much as I imagine I might shear a sheep, and I’ve become fairly adept at …
I was eating a piece of cheese the other night, late on in the kitchen, alone after clearing the Christmas decks. Cheese is the thing that comes out when you know you've had enough but even so your eyes light up and before you know it you're half a pound of stilton to the good …
I spent Wednesday this week with some of my oldest friends, Nick and Kate, and Kim. These are friends I grew up with, went to school with, friends I still love forty-odd years later. I don’t see them as often as I’d like but sometimes we still need each other. And you all, you lovely …
One of the pleasures of returning to work at the museum last week (and there have to be pleasures in returning to work otherwise we’ll all go crazy) was to be surrounded again by its many treasures: pictures, sculptures, textiles shimmering with gold and silver thread, ceramics of miraculous delicacy. It is a daily treat …
I went to a rodeo the other week, at Cheyenne, Wyoming, where the cowboys are the toughest and the cowgirls are the prettiest. Or is it the other way around? The skill of the rodeo riders is astonishing but perhaps the most astonishing thing of all was the names of the cowboys. Ty Fast Taypotat. …
I did my back in this week. On Monday I went for a run and I was fine. On Tuesday I went climbing with my son Silas and I was fine. And then, suddenly, I wasn’t. I don’t know exactly what I did, but when I sat down I found I couldn’t stand up. Getting …