Love in the Time of Corona: Ruzafa, Valencia, in Spain Total self-isolation is a challenge to one’s mental health. One of my friends, the lovely Joanna Faulhaber, said to me, when you finish writing for money each day, Euge, write for pleasure. I considered Samuel Johnson’s dictum, No man but…

The fact is, I am mentally ill. Not many people wish to admit it. But it has plagued me my whole life since I was a child. And continues to do. So, I might as well be open about it, since so many are not. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I am not going to stab a stranger, nor push somebody in front of a Tube train. I don’t think. Though I am often tempted. Aren’t we all? No, my form of mental illness takes a different, somewhat insidious form — and the main threat is to myself, you’ll be relieved to hear. But where did it start and how did it develop? Good question. I have been melancholic, full of self-doubt, hyper-sensitive to criticism, with no self-belief…

Today, I had a meeting in Berkeley Square. It was a beautiful, gloriously sunny day in central London. …

In deep delirium after a catastrophic heart attack, my subconscious ran wild — I am in New York City, at JFK. At the check-in desk, a young woman with a ponytail is taking deep breaths and pointedly adding “Sir” or “Madam” to her repeated apology for the lateness of the plane. The room is crowded and the mood is ugly. Some of the…

Sometimes I see a piece of writing that is so perfect that, first, I think “I wish I had written that”. And, second, if I were being paid to edit it, I would metaphorically give a long, low whistle of admiration and refuse to change a single word of the…

Hello there! It’s a miracle that I currently have broadband so I thought I’d seize the moment — carpe diem an all that palaver — by dropping you a line while I can. I’d like to start by saying I have enjoyed being your customer for something like two-and-a half…