It is a slightly cold and damp autumnal day and I am in a park in Scotland, following my toddler discovering the wonders of trees, bushes and grass. Suddenly he points at a small cluster of mushrooms and looks at me curiously. I tell him, “do not tou...
Before we made the move up to Scotland, I lived in a place called “the Cottage” in rural Hampshire, at the edge of a village. It had a very Midsomer Murders vibe, nestled between a railway line, a village hall, allotments, and a village that, althoug...
As I write this, an American president is threatening to end a civilisation and chatting to toddlers about Autopens. America has throughout my life been a constant: the world’s superpower. An unabashed place that leads the world in science, art, crea...
You can sense the grey skies through the light poking through the curtains and can hear the rain pitter-patting on the window. You can hear the dog snoring in the corner of the room. The slow rhythm of gentle sleep. The bed is warm. It’s snug. It fee...
Britain feels remarkably flat at the moment. Is it just me? The other weekend, we travelled over the border into England. It just felt more miserable, flat and depressing. Anecdotally at least, this is one data point among many observations. Britain...
The fourth Gulf War (the ongoing US-Iran conflict, 2025-) has primarily been fought so far with drones, missile defence and unrivalled US air power. Wars in the gulf region have a habit of happening every 10 years or so, starting with the Iran-Iraq W...
Nassim Nicholas Taleb has written an excellent, insightful and interesting book that could have easily been a quarter of the length. The central premise of the book is that there are things that are fragile, robust and antifragile. Our society is inc...
This is the best book on the Soviet Union I have ever read. And I have read a lot about the Soviet Union. Too much in fact. Conor O'Cleary lived in Moscow towards the end of the Soviet Union, and he genuinely brings a superb perspective on the tradeg...
24 Hours in Ancient Rome is one of my favourite books about the Romans. Although it is not as scholarly as a Mary Beard or Adrian Goldsworthy book, it is the most evocative as it paints a picture of daily life in history's most talked-about empire. P...
In the distance, you can hear the rushing water of the River Nith. Across the river, commuters move steadily towards work. In front of you is a path: dog walkers, mums with prams, runners heading out early. The air smells cleaner, and gradually you b...