Catching Cate on my commute — On perhaps as many occasions as I can count on one hand, have I seen a film in its initial release that lives on in my head and heart as a vital moment of discovery, awe, and inspiration. Tár is one such film. Being a dialogue-laden character study, spearheaded by…

Starting from scratch and pursuing my passion — I have loved classical music for as long as I can remember. There is no specific reason for this, as I neither had musical parents nor any zealous teachers to push piano keys under my fingernails. …

Poem for Australia — Hair combed by daylight, skin rich with sun, Nights spent in t-shirts through hours that run Silent in daybreak, beneath sky benched with green, Into blue afternoons softened with heat, Whispered and stinging to finally reach The still evening light that falls at your feet. Toes twined with sand, Hands wrapped…

A boy’s own (Canadian) adventure — It was my 26th birthday last week and I am soon to be at the point of choosing between the northern and southern hemispheres. …

Poem for Eleanor — Outward movement in tangled space, Striding yonder at uncertain pace: To move and settle, To hold, be fettle, Is a journey wrought With scrambled and Conflicting thoughts; But is a journey better made When with someone whom also wades Through the shifting waters Of a new and non-specific life. If…

Burning midnight oil in the world’s party capital — Sunrise was at 06:45 that morning. I know this because I glanced at my watch while taking a cigarette break. The softness of the morning light presented a startling contrast to the muddy darkness of the club’s inner depths, punctured as it was by explosive puffs of blue and purple…

When you know, you know — Some relationships form before you are even aware of them. Love at first sight is perhaps the most overused example of this, but it can also manifest itself as a song that stays in your brain for days after you hear it only once, or it could be an overriding…

Deathly quiet in the capital — September 14th, 2022 The body of Queen Elizabeth II has returned to London and the capital seems split in two tonight. The central tube stations — Kings Cross, Leicester Square — are as busy now as though it were 8am, with as just as many people heading into the city as there are…

Reflections from self-isolation — One of my colleagues recently tested positive for COVID, and as I was one of the people with whom he’d recently been in contact, I have been forced into 10 days of self-isolation. Writing this now, I am just a day away from freedom, and I am pleased to conclude…