Yesterday I went to the UPP (Oxford) to watch Ravilious Drawn to War and recommend it to other Ravilious fans This mystical but down to earth artist went uncelebrated for far too long. When I first encountered his work in
Shakespeare and Donne created thousands of words between them - its a British trait that we can be proud of. Let's find new words for our time . This government’s war on woke includes opposing the ‘decolonisation’ of museums, history
You have one day left to support the proposal to make the Headington Shark a heritage site. The Shark is mostly associated with the owner of the house Bill Heine seen in this pic. Bill was my friend but the
A brilliant,compelling read. Shrenik Rao Editor of the Madras Courier Whether describing how students were ‘sent to the countryside’ or how, after Mao died, young artists hung their experimental work outside the national art gallery, Vetta is always
This film about the courageous Stars artists will come to the UK soon. I’m delighted because I wrote Brushstrokes in Time to tell the story of the Stars – it’s the ONLY novel inspired by them. I’ve had more good
Why the world should know about Ashoka . This blog is intended for those in the West, who know nothing about the man who founded the religion we know as Buddhism, established the world’s first international university, disapproved of
I have no idea who Mimi Ray is but I LOVE her review of Sculpting the Elephant on Goodreads. "How to set oneself free - sculpt the elephant! On the surface a love story set in both Oxford & India.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-VK2sDZCQw Please watch this. Shashi Tharoor is absolutely right - the facts of the of empire need to be known. When I wrote Sculpting the Elephant set in Oxford and India , I wanted the historical subplot to be honest
Andi Osho on Saturday Live (Dec 20 ) talked about how people of colour are often stereotyped not necessarily in a bad way but with little room for individuality. I’m writing my memoir and I recalled this incident from 1980
My last visit to India in 2018 was not to the sights of Mughal India, unlike in the pic above taken in 1992, but to a much more ANCIENT India. I was researching for the subplot of Sculpting the Elephant