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Trouble at’ Mill

Monday, May 31, 2021

Notes on the life (and afterlife) of JS Mill, philosopher . The classical liberal philosopher John Stuart Mill was born and died this month – in, respectively, 1806 and 1873 – and in between he wrote (or co-wrote, with his wife, and then his step-daughter) On Liberty, Utilitarianism, Principles of Political Economy, Considerations of Representative Government, […]

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The One That Got Away – Sandranathan Rubatheesan

Sunday, October 18, 2020

The Sri Lankan journalist and photographer talks about the greatest shot he never got… and one he did. — For the Sri Lankan Sunday Times

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The Gentleman’s Marathon

Monday, October 5, 2020

On my attempt to run 26.2 miles, in Pheidippides’ footsteps. — For The Critic

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In-line, online, and where to draw the line?

Sunday, October 4, 2020

Notes on Colombo’s books and bookmen in the time of Covid-19. — For The Critic

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The One That Got Away – Abdul Halik Azeez

Sunday, September 27, 2020

The Sri Lankan photographer and artist talks about the greatest shot he never got… and one he did. — For the Sri Lankan Sunday Times

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NEWS AT A GLANCE

Monday, May 18, 2020

. In the United States only one about one building in three thousand is even nominally fire-proof. — The Nelson Evening Mail, Thursday, March 14 1907 . Ellis Paz has become the first man in history to be awarded a doctorate by the University of Oxford while wearing just his pants. Matthew Perry once entered a Vanilla Ice lookalike […]

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May Day, May Day…

Monday, May 4, 2020

A lockdown letter from Colombo. — For The Critic

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NEWS AT A GLANCE

Monday, April 27, 2020

. A banker’s license in the United Kingdom costs £30 per annum. — The Nelson Evening Mail, Friday, July 17 1908 . Sri Lanka has only 500 cases of the Coronavirus. Germany has no elite universities. There are a lot of porno videos featuring Scarlett Johansson’s face. Mexico City is a good place to be an […]

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‘Beauty retire’ – or; Some notes on a portrait of Samuel Pepys

Monday, April 20, 2020

The odd (and possibly inconsequential) story of Pepys’s portrait, his song, and his relationship with Mrs Knepp. — For The Critic

Filed in feature, Journalism | Also tagged composition, Elizabeth Knepp, fire, friends, John Hayls, music, National Portrait Gallery, Oliver Cromwell, opera, Pelham Humfrey, portraits, Royal Navy, Samuel Pepys, sex, singing, The Athenaeum, The Critic, the Royal Society, William Davenant, women | Comments (0)

Peak fitness: a virtual expedition diary

Thursday, April 16, 2020

Climbing a mountain, lest I start climbing the walls In January, I promised a visiting Reservist mate that we’d climb Adam’s Peak. That plan was scotched when, days before he landed, I went down with dengue fever. But I’d done Adam’s Peak before (the first time, Christmas ’04, probably saved my life when the tsunami struck…), and […]

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