And why you don’t have to go walking on the moon to achieve it — In an interview with the presenter Dermot O’Leary, former The Police lead singer and bassist, Sting, says that “song-writing is like fishing. You won’t catch anything unless you turn up with a line”. Now, before some of you remind me (or Sting) that you can also turn up with a…

The joys of cycle training: local history mixed with pedal-power —

Kent’s oyster paradise welcomes me back — I let the cool water run through my fingers. It’s the same ritual I have enacted for years every time I’m by the sea. Brighton, Sheerness, and today, Whitstable, all know of this whimsical routine. For me, this is always a pilgrimage of sorts. Born and raised by the ocean…

A slice of Italy on a plate — I recently saw the Stanley Tucci series Searching for Italy. In fact, I’ve seen it twice as my partner missed it first time around. …

Not that living hurts, Jacqueline — Jacqueline Simon Gunn got it right. Running is painful. There are no two ways about it. I’ve run four marathons and two half-marathons. I’ve been a runner for most of my adult life, close to thirty years now (or maybe thirty already? I can’t remember). …

When nature speaks, do we listen? — One way of looking at the history of humankind is to divide our presence on this planet into two periods: the period when we were hunter-gatherers and the one after, when we became farmers. And yet, isn’t this human-centred approach part of our current, modern-life-related headaches? The fact that we’re…

Never mind the loo, it’s the burgers you’re here for —

A four-year enquiry and still no justice for the survivors —

Of pain and discomfort — “Do we really have to?” “You’ve asked me the same question a thousand times already. Yes, we have to.” “But no one else is wearing them anymore. Even on the Tube, you don’t see people’s faces covered up anymore. “I get it. And I know that it might feel uncomfortable…