Feature

London, United Kingdom If I was a virus called Covid-19, I would look no further than London’s Oxford Street. As mankind dashes left and right, focussed on a busy day, I can infect anyone I choose. Man, woman, young or old, makes no difference. All I need is the human lung. Once there I am in my element. But I am no virus, I am a surgeon, and spend my life practising what is called aseptic technique. It is my job to reduce the chances of infecting my patients and, for that[...]

Staithes, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom On the face of it, Staithes should be wonderful, an ideal visitor’s location. A fishing village tucked away on the North Sea coast, at the topmost tip of the North Yorkshire Moors. Beautiful colours, seagulls crying, a sheltered harbour, haphazardly stacked lobster pots, and the distant chug-chug of a vessel’s engine. Tiny Staithes, with its population of barely 1200, is another word for relaxation, somewhere it is difficult to feel stress. This is the home of the coble fishing boat, the Staithes bonnet for ladies, serious art[...]

Tripoli, Lebanon Let me be clear. I do not strip naked for anyone, generally only a select few. So, to be told to disrobe in full view of others, my modesty protected by a lookalike beach towel held by an Arab, was not something I had expected. It was Tripoli, northern Lebanon, and I had decided to visit its one functioning hammam. Before I entered, I thought hammams were designed for washing. By the time I left I realised they were a life experience. The Hammam Al Abd is tucked away at[...]

Taormina, Sicily, Italy I have lost count how often I have tried to take the perfect sunrise photograph. Or, for that matter, sunset. It is why I am sitting on a rickety plastic chair, on a roof of a rectangular apartment block, slightly west of the Sicilian town of Taormina. It is also why, at 4 a.m. as my watch shows, I am feeling stupid for not realising that sunrise is still an hour away. That could have been longer in bed. The sharp silhouette of a smoking Mount Etna forms the[...]

Bath, United Kingdom I was not expecting Bath to be chaos, especially when it came to Christmas. Yet as I drove into its city centre early on a winter’s evening, I realised this scenic Georgian town was the epicentre of mayhem.It was the annual Christmas Market that did it, an event that straddles 18 days and dominates the city. Stalls, which are largely wooden minichalets, are tidily arranged in key positions, each merchant competing with the others for maximum attention and custom. Buses carry shoppers from out-of-town locations while finding an empty parking[...]

Tripoli, Lebanon When I next see a piece of soap lying lonely in a dish, I swear I will spend a moment in reflection. After all, soap was always something simple, nothing special, and designed solely to help me wash. When out for my weekly shop, wandering aimlessly past regimented supermarket shelves, I would head straight for the shower gels in their fancy plastic containers. For a gift I would buy something classier. But the key was always simplicity and convenience. Soap was nothing remarkable. It was there merely to keep me[...]