January 2019.

I have been on a bit of a Geoff Dyer bender this week. It all started with his new essay Broadsword Calling Danny Boy, which is a rich and often hilarious homage to one of his favourite films, Where Eagles Dare. That led me back to my favourite collection of his essays, Yoga for People Who Can’t be Bothered to Do it which I can’t recommend highly enough. I’m not normally a huge fan of short stories because I think of them as a bit of a let off, but David Szalay’s new collection, Turbulence, is brilliant. Somehow, in a few pages, he conjures up a whole world.

In travel news, The Fife Arms has opened near our new venture (Glen Dye Cabins and Cottages) in Scotland. It’s the latest project from the art power duo Hauser and Wirth and it is brilliant. For which read BRILLIANT. Have a look online. I mean, for a start, where else can you find a pub with a giant Louise Bourgeois spider in the back garden? Exactly.