Time for a rethink of the seaside
Sidlesham, Sussex, United Kingdom Why is it when I sniff sea air I behave like a zombie? Why does the seaside make me feel drugged? The moment I see a wave or gaze at chalk-white cliffs, I instantly fall asleep. Perhaps it is because my life is so urban, my system accustomed to toxins, emissions and strange vapours. Or, could there be something in coastal air that makes me relax? It astonishes me that my country, the once Empire-based United Kingdom, became such a global power. Surely being a maritime nation would[...]
I will send you back to England a very different man
Alonissos, Greece “No,” said the girl, somewhere in her thirties, and looking at me intently, “I do not want you to take your clothes off. But I do want you to put these on.” She stretched out her arm, proffering a pure white T-shirt top and raggedy maroon pyjama trousers. “I think they’ll fit,” she added. I could see her thinking for a moment, her tanned, Greek face studying me microscopically, “what are you? Large? Let me see…mmm…perhaps extra-large for you.” There was no sense in my explaining that because I was[...]
Who said mountains were lonely?
Helvellyn Mountain, Cumbria, United Kingdom I am not used to swearing on mountains, unless it is me with cut finger, leg, perhaps ankle, or damage to something awkward. So, imagine my surprise on Striding Edge, that challenging approach to the Lake District’s Helvellyn, when from nowhere I heard words of vehemence, “Ouch! Double blast and damnation!” Okay, you guessed it, the words were way worse than that. It was a female voice, rising from behind one of the many volcanic sandstone rocks that makes up this knife edge scramble. Striding Edge is[...]
Keep the footwell empty
London, United Kingdom I am ashamed, although perhaps it is better to say horrified. There is a monster in the rear footwell of my car, a monster created by me. The space is crammed with wrappers, tumblers, cast-off chocolate bars, and empty cans of energy drink by the ton. There is even a half-eaten samosa with fungus along its edge. I did not know samosas could even grow fungi. The footwell tells a story. It is a tale of the half-dashed, crazy-timetable, eat-on-the-hoof life I clearly lead. This reality only hit me[...]
Waiting for that killer shot
Dubai, UAE When it comes to photography I am unqualified to write. Yet somehow, needs must at the moment. A few evenings ago, you would have found me in a hotel reception, somewhere in electricity-crunching Dubai, waiting for friends to join me for dinner on the town. They were late, I was bored, and then in strode the Koreans. Dubai is the fourth most visited tourist city in the world after London, Paris and Bangkok; more than 14 million foreigners go there every year. The bigwigs are praying that number will reach[...]
The logic has escaped me
Tripoli, Lebanon I always said I would not write about religion. These days you are seeking trouble if you do. Yet in an era when barbaric deeds are performed in the name of Faith, it seems odd to remain silent. Maybe it is because I spend swathes of my life as the only Christian in a Muslim world; lands where I tread a knife edge every hour of every day. These are places where reasoned argument does not exist. More likely it is a knock on the door, an impromptu roadblock and[...]
Alonissos, Greece “No,” said the girl, somewhere in her[...]
