…Is one of many quotes you might struggle to identify with on a personal level in the book Belgravia by German-born artist Karen Knorr who shot subjects from the wealthy set of the famous London neighbourhood between 1979 and 1981 – the beginning of Thatcherism. The artist’s parents lived in Belgravia and her mother and grandmother feature in the book alongside a gamut of anonymous, multi-generational individuals, all of whom have got something to say for themselves.

The upper class pearls of wisdom, sort of Alain de Botton meets Mark Francis, can be a bit thin on useful content though one can’t quibble with this dictum on one’s home… (more…)

A month on an island

I’m about to enjoy the unbelievable luxury of a whole month off. Firstly huge thanks to Jill for enabling me to do this. I feel very lucky for all her support over me bogging off for four weeks. I’m going back to the tiny island I visited in April. Unlike last time, I will be […]

Walking the camino

Some people go on yoga retreats to India and others get their spiritual kicks from a two week bender in Sitges. Me? I like to walk a little pilgrimage route in northern Spain. I’m not religious, I’m just married to a historian obsessed with the Camino de Santiago since he was a young dude. Also known as […]

Mural off-cut rides again

Remember that beautiful Surface View mural I put up in the flat? And the door-sized off-cut I had lingering around for – oooo – a year? Well I finally did something with it. I bought an 80cm by 1m artist’s canvas from eBay for 20 quid, and attached the self-adhesive mural. No swearing this time.

Fancy florist etc

I finally got around to putting up a little collection of pictures I’ve been saving. And when I say ‘saving’ I of course mean ‘leaning against the skirting board gathering dust’. You may have seen them before – a print from the junk shop, a little painting, artist unknown, from a Margate house clearance place, […]