Venice: Change and Choice

Change is powerful and it can be most likely to occur in a creative environment. Creative choices are some of the best experiences you can ever have. But to be in a place where you can make choices, you have to have material. I am reminded of this when a friend mentions advice given to her about carrying a sketch…

On Shanks* Pony

There’s a public transport strike today. In any other life this would be a reason for stress and irritation – generally feeling like one not cannot continue with life as planned. I’m in Venice however so a strike is not only a regular occurrence it’s also a great opportunity to go back to to the long-standing, traditional ways of life…

Vela Al Terzo

When I was a child, my favourite books were the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome: a series of 12 books which all feature sailing, kids and a level of independence and adventure of which I could only dream. I first read the books in the 1970’s, when I was a similar age to the children featured – a…

Al Fresco

When I heard the word fresco I thought of al fresco which to me was something my mum loved to say when talking about eating outside. Talking of outside, have you ever had an out-of-body experience? This last Saturday evening I wanted to have one. I wanted to be able to see my life from above, from outside of my…

Bad Day In Minsk

Bad Day In Minsk is the latest release by Jonathan Pinnock and in this guest post he’ll tell you all about it. Jonathan is rightly chuffed that this is his 10th published book but remarkably he also does loads of other things. He’ll tell you about that as well. For me, he is the wonderful man who helped me put…

A Tale OF Two Chairs

Since I decided to spent more time in Venice, I’ve been extending my work experience from boats to other wooden objects and even restoration of paintings and sculptures. There is plenty of stuff made from wood here. One does need to keep the anti-woodworm treatment handy however. I’ve recently had the pleasure of mending and restoring an old writing desk…

The Colours of Autumn

Turn towards Sant Elena past San Guiseppe di Castello and over the bridge where the vegetable boat delivers from Sant Erasmo. Round the back of Sant Elena towards the Marina. Past the football stadium and along to the church that gives the island it’s name. Return back and out to the furthest most point you can walk in Venice without going into the Naval College, on a path that I now know is called Viale Vittorio Veneto.

Lev Parikian Guest Words

This is a guest blog by Lev Parikian whose new book Music To Eat Cake By: Essays on Birds, Words and Everything in Between will be released on 12th November 2020. You can find details about the release at his website here. I know he would love you to order from a local bookshop if you can and most of…

Art Together

HOW TO CREATE COLLABORATIVELY IN WATERCOLOUR All over the world, people who undertake creative activities, particularly performance based, are convulsing from the difficulty of doing what they love in the middle of legal mandates that have basically outlawed most of the ways in which they might do it. Physical spaces are closed. Communing with others is banned. Even it your…

The Plastic Island

The sun is much lower already as September bleeds into the damper, cooler Autumn of October. There is a haze that is nearly fog and that weakens the strength of the sun. Today the lagoon is sultry and slack. I don’t want to spend more time in my little apartment, even if I love it. I go out on an…

Acqua Alta

As Venice enters a new era with an effective flood barrier, Mose, ready to minimise the worst of the Adriatic Bulge, I found some photos from the exceptional tides last year. I hope to write about them soon. The companion piece is here:

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