I began writing for The Oxford Times in 1998 at about the same time that Christopher Brown arrived in Oxford to take up the post of director of the Ashmolean. The Ashmolean has always been a place where town and
Flight and the Artistic Imagination @Compton Verney (August 2012) (This review was syndicated ) Compton Verney goes from strength to strength. Its visitor numbers are seventy per cent up on last year and the recently opened exhibition Flight and the
Weimin’s painting of a workman doing a handstand in sight of the Observatory is joyful. I was delighted to see that the editor, Tim Metcalfe had used it on the cover of Oxfordshire Limited Edition. I get great pleasure
Review of Royal Academy exhibition Weekend 2007 (I am currently writing an Anglo Indian novel inspired by the idea of rediscovering lost history. Many of these sensuous sculptures were destroyed and others lost. ) The skills of that master of
(This review like many others of my reviews for The Oxford Times was syndicated by Newsquest ) Hurry to the Ashmolean and immerse yourself in sub-continental sun-kissed colour. The museum’s latest exhibition Visions of Mughal India comprises 115 paintings collected
On Monday April 28, castaways from Oxford Castaways 1 gathered to greet the new arrivals to Oxtopia. The venue for the launch of Oxford Castaways 2 was Rochester House transformed by castaways Kim Pickin and Tish Francis into a palace
Oxford Castaways and The Big Bang Restaurant See some familiar faces. I was honoured to get Sir Roger Bannister's signature on his memoir 'Twin Tracks'.There are some wonderful details in it. Before his voice broke, aged 14 , he played
Spring/Summer Calendar Tuesday 8 April: North Leigh WI Wednesday 9 April: Harwell WI Tuesday 15 April: Uffington WI Thursday 17April: Appleton WI Monday 16 June: Sandleigh Seniors Tuesday 17 June: Childrey WI
Why and how did I become interested in China? Castaway No 42 Dame Jessica Rawson was one of ‘the three’: one of the first women to be made masters of old Oxford colleges. When I interviewed her, she described how
Writing for WEEKEND magazine since 2003. My first non- antiques feature in Weekend , the magazine of The Oxford Times - Oxford's equivalent of Time Out, appeared in 2004. The arts editor, Chris Gray, titled it ‘The elegant spirit of our time’. I had