Chicago Style

Chicago Style

In 1871 Chicago had its fire. Mrs O’Leary’s cow kicked over a lantern in the barn. The city was built of timber – not just houses but boardwalks, road blocks, fences – and with the weather tinder dry, four square miles went up in flames as the...
Escaping the Tunnel

Escaping the Tunnel

I have agonised over whether to write this piece, but after the interest that the previous piece on cancer has generated, and the continuing interest in my 2013 piece on beating type 2 diabetes, I thought I should share my experience in the hope that it will shed...
Art lives Outside the Hive

Art lives Outside the Hive

An artist friend of mine spent Christmas in Bangkok. They wrote to me saying: “I could not get over the tension and apocalyptic nature of the street experience I have been sensing in Asia. I started to break down the elements I was reacting to and analyzing my...
Cancer and Honeysuckle

Cancer and Honeysuckle

Have you ever woken on a train at the end of the line, disorientated and not quite knowing what to do next? A period of confusion before realising you are at your destination and need to get off. Being told you have cancer brings the same sense of disorientation and...