Desperately Seeking Dumplings
In the Yuyuan Bazaar in Shanghai, the queue for the Nan Xiang dumplings stretches for a few streets. These famous dumplings are light and delicious, and even include a soup dumpling.
A Bird’s Nest of Prayer Flags
A bird’s nest partly made from Buddhist prayer flags which were hanging outside my house
The Dragon of Halong
The Dragon of Halong: this messenger of the gods created this magical bay as he plummeted from the sky
Quiet Thoughts in London
Sint-Janshospitaal: A Medieval Hospital in Bruges
Dating from the 12th C, Bruge’s Sint-Janshospitaal is Europe’s oldest preserved hospital, remaining in use until 1978. Now it serves as a museum housing medieval medical instruments, hospital artefacts and even a medieval apothecary and herb garden. There are works by Hans Memling including his famous St. Ursula Shrine.
Musings on a Morning Drive
Diary of a Witch Doctor: Thoughts as I drive to work and why I often have to pull over to just sit an simply be, if only for a few minutes.
A Mural in Marseille
A mural on a wall in Marseille shows the highlights of the city:, including Le Panier, the fisherman and their markets and the Basilica de la Notre Dame de la Garde .
Drought
Drought - a poem by Anne Harrison. Published in the collection Songs of A Sad Summer, available on anne-harrison.com
The Piazza Limbo, Florence
The Piazza Limbo, near the Arno in Florence, marks where unbaptised babies were once buried. Charlemagne, apparently, laid the foundation stone of the church here in 786 AD
Signs Along the Way
Some of the signs I’ve across while travelling, from joyful to simply obtuse in any language!
Finding Klimt
In the fin de siècle, the works of Gustav Klimt were seen as part of a radical new movement by the conservative Viennese.
An Angel, A Florentine Painting, and My Novel.
Sometime around 1252, a monk fell asleep and an angel finished his painting. If only the angel would do the same for my novel.
A Small Green Door
Behind this little green door was my home in Venice for a short while; just outside the door, this magical city waited to be explored
Discovering Corfu
The colours, the history and the heat of this island in summer (not to mention the free limoncello) left me wandering her streets, guided only by the bell tower of St Spyridon.