When the Lights Went Out.

It was at 5.55pm on Friday, 26th November that the lights went out.  The lamps had been flickering for a while before that. Stanley the Manly, my rescue lurcher, had been restless, as if he could feel the crackle in the air. I was oddly sanguine. I thought perhaps a few branches were flying throughContinue reading “When the Lights Went Out.”

18th September, 2021. Aubergines and Insults and the Mysteries of Social Media

I wake up to find Scotland basking in the most ravishing autumn sunshine. At this time of year, the light changes and takes on a thick, amber aspect. It always makes me think of the light of old Italy; something in my imagination insists that this is the light that Horace and Pliny knew.  IContinue reading “18th September, 2021. Aubergines and Insults and the Mysteries of Social Media”

20th August, 2021. For the Hell of It.

When I work with writers, I always tell them to cut loose. Open the gate, I say, and let yourself gallop out onto the wide green prairie. I sit on the Zoom, hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles away from them and I throw my arms wide. ‘The only limitation,’ I say, grinning all over myContinue reading “20th August, 2021. For the Hell of It.”

29th July, 2021. Thoughts on Inspirational Words, and Marcus Aurelius, and the Olympics, and Eric Liddell, and Dancing Horses, and Where the Power Comes From.

I wake up thinking about inspiration and positivity. (Perhaps this is because I have been watching the Olympics.) I look at myself sternly in the glass, ready to tell myself galvanising things. I think, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’ Then I think that’s not quite right. Maybe I should beContinue reading “29th July, 2021. Thoughts on Inspirational Words, and Marcus Aurelius, and the Olympics, and Eric Liddell, and Dancing Horses, and Where the Power Comes From.”

10th July, 2021. Some Thoughts on Cows, Paperbacks, and How Things Work.

I see a wonderful newspaper cutting about a farmer and the weather and marrowfat peas, and this leads to a conversation with a stranger about the seriousness of food production and how tough farming is. (I think the farmers never get enough credit. They are too often caricatured as big, bloated agribosses, tearing out theContinue reading “10th July, 2021. Some Thoughts on Cows, Paperbacks, and How Things Work.”

15th June, 2021. Love and Beauty.

15th June. It’s the first day of the Royal Meeting at Ascot and I am as excited as a child at Christmas. I’ve crammed an entire week of work into three days and I’m taking every afternoon until Saturday off so that I can watch the horses. I’ll be tweeting like a maniac with myContinue reading “15th June, 2021. Love and Beauty.”

5th June, 2021. Derby Stories.

A friend who knows little about racing rings up and says, ‘Tell me about the Derby. Tell me the stories.’ ‘Oh,’ I say without hesitation, the words tumbling out in a rush. ‘Well, the simplest story is the favourite, who is Bolshoi Ballet, and who is ravishingly beautiful, and who is bred for it andContinue reading “5th June, 2021. Derby Stories.”