My first novel came about almost by chance. I was a freelance writer on arts and antiques for several magazines. Few exhibitions made as strong an impression on me as the first show at the Ashmolean Museum by a living
Kennington, where I live, is two miles from the beautiful city of Oxford and four miles from Abingdon, which claims to be the oldest town in Britain in continuous settlement. The village is squeezed into a narrow track of land
On Friday evening, I went to the first showing of &Sons at the Phoenix Picture House. Veteran film producer ,Victor Glynn, whose son is a producer of &Sons, invited to me to be an extra. An early scene in
Looking forward to listening to my friend, Ray Foulk, on the REUNION talking about the Isle of Wight Festivals (1968-1970.) Ray was one of my early Oxford Castaways . Editor Tim Metcalfe titled it ‘My Beautiful Careers.’ I was honoured
https://artsfestivaloxford.org/events/qu-lei-lei-caroline-deane-exhibition-installation/ Do go to see this exhibition organised by the Oxford Festival of the Arts. I met the artist Qu Leilei, in 2005, while reviewing his one man show at the Ashmolean. That meeting changed my life and led to
Yesterday, I attended the Kyoto Prize lecture by Carol Gilligan. The psychologist has shown how women in particular silence themselves and say what they think they should say rather than express their true experience and opinion. Here is her lecture.
After the death of the Buddha, his teachings were hardly known beyond the eastern part of India. It was Ashoka, the emperor, who spread Buddist teachings across India and Asia. Through his patronage and efforts, in effect, Ashoka created the
This blog sounds arrogant but my aim is to celebrate David Attenborough through some memories and meetings. I was 10 years old when I watched Zoo Quest on a tiny black and white TV but it is etched on my
When I was researching for Brushstrokes in Time which is set in the USA and China, I attended a year’s course in Chinese philosophy. I was attracted by the words of Lao Tzu, the founder of Daoism. In 2026, these
These inhumane times are hard to bear. It’s easy to feel helpless in the face of evil. There is one thing we can all do and that is to say or express, in any form we prefer, NOT IN MY