Had I blinked, I would have missed it. We approached the German-French border at nearly 100mph, and our speed dipped not one jot as we drove from one country to the next. The Rhine, still watched but no longer warred …
Post obsolescence: derelict checkpoints give me hope for humanity Read more »
Originally published in The Sunday Times 17 August 1997 Tim Dawson dons his wet suit, takes to a dinghy and gets a lesson in how to stay afloat. I have got a mouth full of salt water. My wet suit …
First published in The Scotsman’s Weekend Magazine, 18 April 1998. See explanatory note below It was the espresso machine that started it. Staying with a friend in New York, I fell in love with her coffee maker. This was not …
Into Milan: my frustrated quest for designer furniture Read more »
The following review is of the 2013 production. It is good to see that the play has been revived in 2015. Musical theatre thrives on improbable subject matter. Who would have thought a board game, animal sociology or a ‘magic’ …
Posh background: how an old soke became a new town Read more »
‘Impact’ promised that it was the ‘action battle game with real fire power’. In 2005 it was the most heavily tv advertised game aimed at small boys. My son James, then six, and in his second year at school must …
A blast from the past: the action game that fell short of its target Read more »
If a university education has any point, it is surely this. By exposing those seeking to learn to exceptional individuals, students may well pick up something of their knowledge and the craft of its creation. More important than facts, or …
Rayns’ end: a long career that preserved the best of live music Read more »
John Bartlett had interviewed dozens of witnesses and victims, obtained five affidavits from abused boys and combed over his story with one of London’s foremost barristers. But as the magazine carrying his biggest ever story came back from the printers, …
Golfball revolution: the life and death of Britain’s alternative press Read more »
Published originally in the Feb/Mar 2013 edition of The Journalist Researching an article about the popularity of social media platforms last month, Guardian technology journalist Jemima Kiss asked for opinions on Twitter. Within a couple of hours, she had 75 …
Tweets working – how Twitter is changing journalism Read more »
Surveying the rolling fields of East Suffolk from a rise in the land a little to the north of Henley, I could hardly contain my surprise. It’s a view I know well, being part of my twice-weekly fair-weather perignations, and …
The last time that I bought anything at HMV I came away with a box set of Sir Edward Elgar’s orchestral works and a book celebrating The Clash. “That’s an unusual combination”, said the shop assistant, as he took my …