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October 2026

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  One of the great side-effects of having a dog is that for the last six years we've been discovering a different way of travelling. Every summer now, we go to Greece by car, and this means we've been able to discover or rediscover both Greece and Italy, which we cross to get to and from the ferry in Ancona. This post is basically just a photo dump to help me recall where we went this year. In Greece, as well as stays in Kalamata and Naftpatkos (where they were commemorating the battle of Lepanto with a show and fireworks in the harbour), the highlight was seeing Delphi again - the famous bronze charioteer in particular. At my age, there's something valedictory about these return visits. Last year, it was marvellous to go back to Mantua and find it relatively unspoilt by tourists; the year before, Urbino. But each time, I suspect it will be my last. This was also true in Ravenna in October, where it was great to see the mosaics looking so splendid. I wondered if they'd ...
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Revisiting Provence, July 2026

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A few years ago (I don't remember if it was just before COVID or just after), at any dinner in Paris you could be sure you'd find someone looking into moving to Arles or Marseille. The professionals and gallery people were buying flats or opening Airbnbs or boutique hotels in Arles, while the hard-up artists were drawn to cheap housing and studios in a sunny, messy place by the sea: Marseille. I used to spend some time in Provence every year in the 80s, staying at Les Baux during summer holidays in France. Arles, I knew from that time, is one of the nicest towns in the area. My acquaintance with Marseille was more limited: basically, I knew the station and the Old Port, and that was it. But both towns have undergone quite a renaissance since then, in terms both of trendiness and of contemporary art. The phenomena are, I suppose, linked. I'd been on the odd business visit, or passed through Marseille on the way to somewhere else, but I hadn't even visited the MUCEM muse...
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June 2026 UK road trip, inc. Isaac Lythgoe in Leeds, and Chatsworth House

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A couple of days after seeing Hans Krása's Brundibár , at the Opéra Comique , I set off on a 10-day 'roadtrip' in the UK (which is why my article about the opera appeared so late). As usual, the trip was by car because we were travelling with Olga, the cocker, so off we drove via Calais and the Channel Tunnel. I'd already planned to visit my sister and her family in Wales, when I found out from Isaac Lythgoe that he would be showing some of his work in a group exhibition in Leeds. To be able to catch the show, I added a day to our itinerary, and by taking in Leeds, we were able to visit Chester (much improved by pedestrianisation since I was last there) on the way, and Chatsworth afterwards. The neatly-curated exhibition, called Phantasmagoria: Folkloric Sculpture for the Digital Age , was at the Henry Moore Institute. Its aim was 'exploring how digital technologies are reshaping what sculpture can be, and how it can be used to tell stories about our past, present, ...
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