Van Gogh Self Portraits
My overwhelming feeling was of sadness. Here was such a bold and innovative artist, destined to influence C20 painters like none other. Here was such a depressed, unhappy, and desperate young man. Genius may have been flowing through Van Gogh’s brush, but it was no solace.
Hobson’s Brook, Cambridge
Snobbish rivalry between the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge has, over the centuries, produced a collection of mutual put-downs, some nasty, a few witty. The general gist is: Oxford is a Midlands industrial town with some colleges attached; Cambridge is a dank bit of flat fenland with some colleges attached.
On Not Having Read Ulysses
Or perhaps my title should be “On Not Having Finished Ulysses”, or “On Only Having Dipped into Ulysses”. For on my shelves is a dog-eared and yellowing Penguin paperback edition, which has reproachfully followed me around over the years. It dates from the mid 1970s (price £1.50).
“5K to Couch”- Sporting Rise and Decline
We all live, some of the time, an internal life in which we are timeless entities – the same person, young, middle, and old. This is the person often active in our dreams.
Looking Outside the Chocolate Box: Noticing John Constable
I stood, in chilly early December 2021, on the edge of the water where Constable had set his celebrated painting now called The Haywain, but originally and more reservedly, Landscape: Noon.
Binham Priory
The Benedictines formed the earliest English monastic communities, starting with St Augustine at Canterbury. Rich and influential monasteries flourished in the Middle Ages, not least those attached to the great Cathedrals. Henry VIII brought an abrupt end. Their lands were confiscated and sold; their wealth seized.
La Mancha; Almegro; Ubeda
La Mancha is an area of Spain that many have heard of but perhaps few have visited. It is of course famous for being the home territory of Don Quixote. The local authorities have concocted, for the gullible tourist, somewhat implausible Quixote itineraries.
