Phil's Blog

This is the Preface to Waypoints Volume 2 : Studies in the Grey Zone , a collection of new work to be published by eyeglass books in September 2024 PREFACE: Writing behind the lines The inferno of the living is not something that will be; if there is one, it is what is already here, the inferno where we live every day, that we form by being together. There are two ways … [Read more...] about WRITING BEHIND THE LINE

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