Diary
Judaism, literary lust—and ‘fat camp’
‘Discovering Judaism has been a profound and fascinating process, from celebrating festivals to the spiritual joy of synagogue’
Train trouble
‘Every holiday of my childhood was spent either looking at art or making it. I remain helpless to resist the pull of the landscape on one side and lure of galleries on the other’
Mocktails and deferred adulthood
‘Every alcohol substitute I’ve ever tasted has the flavour roughly of fake grass blended with lemon pips’
Stick to singles
‘If Pliny the Elder were alive today he’d be fronting Frack Off’
Why Remoaners should back Boris
“Boris, ironically, now offers Remoaners the best chance of a soft Brexit, or at least a sensible one. And to those who want a second referendum—’the people’s vote’—there may even be a chance of that too.”
On the road
“In the summer of 1980, in the grip of some Kerouac-ish fantasy, I opted to hitch-hike from Laredo to New York”
Discovering the Great War of China
A third of a million Chinese labourers helped the Allies defeat the Kaiser, but their huge unsung contribution ended in betrayal