Phil's Blog

Text of speech given at Wivenhoe House on June 3rd 2023, on the occasion of my 80th birthday. Reasons to be Cheerful : that so many people managed to actually get here despite no trains, traffic jams and all the other impediments to everyday life . Reason not to  be so cheerful: we had to  cancel the band and the big birthday bash due to the strikes . So I am … [Read more...] about In Praise of the Heimlich Manoeuvre

Note: This is a revised and updated text of an article  originally published in Livingmaps Review  and posted online in 2021. It is due to appear  in a new collection of occasional piece Waypoints Volume 2 : Studies in the Grey Zone, to be published by eyeglass books in the Autumn of 2023. How do you map a monarchy? Depict the location of its palaces and other … [Read more...] about UNEASY LIES THE HEAD : ON LOSING THE ROYAL TOUCH  NOW AND THEN

This text is an introduction to  Waypoints Volume 2 ,  a new collection of occasional writings  from the last five years due to be published  in the Autumn by eyeglass books. INTRODUCTION : ON LIVING IN A GREY ZONE Taking sides On the day I am writing this the following happened :  I heard that a friend of mine , a life long smoker, had been diagnosed with … [Read more...] about ON LIVING IN A GREY ZONE

In memory of Mantas  Kvedaravicius,documentary film maker, killed in Mariupolis,, aged 43, by  Russian Federation  forces on April 4 2022. This text appears in Livingmaps Review 12. The  Long Room in   Putin’s Palace on the Russian Black Sea Coast. The room is furnished in the style of Louis XIV, with ornate gilt framed mirrors on the walls. At the far end there is a  bigger … [Read more...] about A SCENE FROM AN UNMADE FILM