Is romance still alive – or has it been asphyxiated by these dark viral days? What’s the difference between romance and love, and how the hell do we live romantically in these strange, sad times? I’ve been riffing on these questions for weeks (this is what happens when you live alone during lockdown) and […]
As the sun sets on this weirdo year, I drink to uncertainty
The worst thing about having Covid was the anxiety. The fourth or fifth morning I had a hiccup of breathlessness and felt knived with fear: if I can’t breathe and need to go to hospital, or the ICU here, what the hell? I wasn’t at home you see. This was a couple of weeks ago, […]
Once upon a camp on fire: why is the EU looking on as refugees die?
Like a scene at the end of an adrenalised movie: a flimsy, overcrowded dinghy flailing in rough waves. Women, men and kids clinging to the sides, faces stretched in terror. There’s no land in sight – they’re going to capsize and drown. Just as the dinghy is tilting over, a bigger boat swings into view […]
Dear COVID – 19: a viral invitation
Hello virus. I haven’t met you personally, thank God. You haven’t visited my mum and my stepfather, my sister and her family, or my best friends here in England. They’ve all passed under your radar. You have turned me into a semi-caged hermit, who goes round the park early in the morning, without even a […]
