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Kolonaki, Athens

View from Lycabettus

[I wrote this for my Nat Geo Traveller article on Athens Neighbourhoods, but in the end only three of the four sections were published.] When the plans for the new capital were drawn in the 1830s, speculation about the position of the palace was rife and plots of land changed hands on hearsay and gossip. […]

Christopher Hitchens and the Elgin Marbles

Chris Hitchens signature

I am not one of the giants of the literary establishment who regularly consorted with Christopher Hitchens, the great polemicist who died on December 15 after a two-year battle with cancer. I am just one of the lucky ones who met him fleetingly and were dazzled by his personality. Unlike many, I didn’t argue with […]