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It's the start of 2026, and I'm gazing out over the calm waters of the Mediterranean, waiting for the sun to break through the clouds.

As I reflect on the year ahead, I am inspired by a quote from Jean-Paul Sartre: “Man is not the sum of what he is already, but rather the sum of what he does not yet have, of what he could have”.

This idea may be difficult, but it’s a good fit with a line from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “We…

My first stage performance in London was as Richard Carruthers, junior lead in Virtue Triumphant, directed by the late and much-loved Terry O'Brien. This spoof Victorian melodramic romp was as much fun for the cast as for the audience.

I went on to play Jim in Hobson's Choice, directed by the late David Liney, famed for his 1940s movie career when still in his teens. Then it was another junior lead as Simon, in Murder on the Nile, performed at the Hampstead Theatre. My final role wa…

A married friend recently announced that he had started seeing a young Russian woman. I asked if she was an escort, but he shook his head and smiled. “Not at all. It’s more like being a member of a private club,” he boasted.

Each time he saw her, he would leave a sealed envelope full of cash. He wasn’t the only one. “I think of it as a gift,” explained my friend.

It reminded me of the story of a woman who agrees to sleep with someone for a million doll…

When did you last take a moment to check your moral compass? We all have one, and no two are the same, but don’t forget you’ll also need a map. That’s where it gets tricky.

The commemoration of the Normandy Landings reminds us that in the 1940s, Britons were taught values in church, at school, and at home. Of course, not everyone respected these values, but at least they knew where they stood. This is the principle of moral absolutism—knowing that a wrong turn could l…

I spent the New Year's holidays with my family in Vienna, where a highlight of our visit was the Belvedere Palace and its 800-year art collection.

The best-known exhibit is The Kiss, painted by Gustav Klimt in 1908, an iconic work in the Art Nouveau style, with the organic forms of the earlier Arts and Crafts movement.

Some believe the inspiration was Apollo kissing Daphne in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Others argue it was Greek legend – Orpheus kissing Eurydice before losing…

In 1612, when Sir Francis Bacon coined the wonderful phrase, “give hostages to fortune”, he was talking about how innocent actions might allow bad things to happen in the future.

In The Journey, one unplanned event after another knocks the protagonist off course. But isn’t this true for everyone?

A young friend recently explained how she had her life plotted out. She knew exactly where she’d be in five years, and nothing would change that. I agreed with her. B…