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Pefkos Beach, Rhodes – for Anxiety
You haven’t come to Rhodes to explore the medieval old town or the ancient temple of Apollo. You’ve not been drawn by a longing to try the local delicacy of chickpea fritters and unsalted ewe’s milk...
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What We Really Like to Eat When No One is Looking
How do we eat when no one is there to see us? It’s tempting to think that it’s just a solo version of what we do when others are around. One setting, rather than two or more. But, individually, in our...
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On Fakes and Originals
Fake, copy, pastiche, forgery, reproduction. Many of the most bitter insults of the art world are designed to denigrate anything which is not the actual product of the master’s hand. People will make a...
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Relativism and Urban Planning
Most people nowadays believe that you can’t really say in any definitive way what is beautiful or ugly in urban planning. The idea that taste is relative has deep roots in modern culture. To dispute it...
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Secular Chapels
Even very secular people tend to admit that when it comes to architecture, religions have done some very beautiful things. You can be left utterly cold by all the superstitious aspect of religions, and...
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On the Price of Art Works
At a recent Sotheby’s auction in London, Wall by the German painter Gerhard Richter eclipsed the already vast estimate given by the auction house, finally selling for a shade under 17.5 million GBP. It...
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Why so Many Love the Philosophy of the East – and so Few That of the West
Miranda Kerr is pretty, successful and very rich. She’s been named the sexiest woman alive. She’s also deeply interested in developing her mind. That means she’s into yoga, chanting, meditation and...
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On Art as a Reminder
It’s one of the nicest aspects of Zen Buddhist art that, for hundreds of years, its most distinguished artists spent their time writing things down. They didn’t paint or draw, they just inscribed some...
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On the Art of Conversation
Having a decent conversation is something most of us imagine we can do without any problem – and certainly without much thought. These things just happen naturally. Don’t they? But in truth, truly good...
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On Going to the Zoo
People look at one strangely if one makes a trip to the zoo without a child. Ideally one should have a gang of children, evidence of dribbled ice-cream and some balloons as well. Contemplating...
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Lunch, 30,000 Feet – for Comfort
There can be few websites more delightful than Airlinemeals.net. It’s a site sure to be of interest to future anthropologists and that should already now be of interest to poets – because it is...
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The Western Desert, Australia – for Humility
Australia’s Western Desert covers some 600,000 square kilometres of the continent, stretching from the Nullarbor plain in the south to the Kimberley in the north, and from the Percival Lakes in the...
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Heathrow Airport, London – for Awe
Next time you’re at Heathrow, worn down by the queues, corridors and bright lights, your spirits may briefly lift at the sight of a discreet island of beauty standing at the end of a pier in Terminal...
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Glenpark Road, Birmingham – for Boredom
Abroad is, as we know, the exciting bit. You’ve been so far recently. You were in Abuja only on Tuesday and then at Heathrow on Wednesday. Yesterday lunchtime, you were having fried plantain in the...
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Comuna 13, San Javier, Medellin, Colombia – for Dissatisfaction
Groups of young men armed with planks of wood roam the alleyways extorting money. Houses are made of bits of tin, old doors, the occasional lump of concrete, oil drums and tarpaulin sheets. Sofa...
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Pumping Station, Isla Mayor, Seville – for Snobbery
There are many guide books suggesting what you might do when you get to Seville. But they all pretty much agree that you must go both to the Plaza de España, built for the Ibero-American Exposition of...
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Eastown Theatre, Detroit – for Perspective
It would be unusual today to find a travel agent recommending a sojourn in Detroit as the ideal vacation. The city is, after all, in decline. There are neighbourhoods full of derelict homes, there are...
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Capri Hotel, Changi Airport, Singapore – for Thinking
You’ve been in the air for 12 hours. Now this anonymous box. It was your company’s idea. You’d have a chance to sleep a little, then catch the next 11 hour flight, before heading straight into the...
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Cafe de Zaak, Utrecht – for Sex Education
August is perfect for sitting outside at the Café de Zaak in the Korte Minrebroederstraat. The decent beers on tap, plus a generous bring-your-own-meal policy make this one of the nicest cafes in...
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Corner shop, Kanagawaken, Yokohama – for Shyness
On the first day, it was difficult. You went into the corner shop just off the main Motomachi shopping street to buy a prepaid mobile card. You pointed at your phone, you pretended to make a call. It...
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