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# Kevin Walsh unplugged

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Brownout](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/brownout/) - Autumn colours on Jesus Green, Cambridge.
- [Doodlebug](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/doodlebug/) - More quick sketches from my pad.
- [Footlights](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/footlights/)
- [Ball pen](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/ball-pen/) - A series of quick lawn-bowling sketches (quick sketches, that is).
- [Masterclass](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/masterclass/) - Vermeer's Women opens at the Fitzwilliam Museum, and draws big crowds. Best to wait (it's on until January).
- [Divine light](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/divine-light/) - Heavenly illumination at Little St Mary's, Cambridge.
- [Millpond](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/millpond/) - The view towards Lode Mill at Anglesey Abbey, north of Cambridge.
- [Discworld](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/discworld/) - The planetary light-show continues at the back of the house, with an almost-full moon.
- [Sauce béarnaise](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/sauce-bearnaise/) - A sunny week in southwest France, with trips to Orthez, Sauveterre de Béarn, Pau, Bayonne and Biarritz.
- [Stack and tilt](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/stack-and-tilt/) - Recycling bins in Portugal Street, Cambridge.
- [Empty vessels](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/empty-vessels/) - No messing about on the river today, as the Indian summer, with temperatures nudging 30, catches punters and puntees by surprise.
- [Fiat lux](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/fiat-lux/) - Light pours through the newly constructed roof of King's Cross station.
- [En pointe](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/en-pointe/) - The real thing this time, as Degas and the Dance dazzles at the Royal Academy.
- [Pre-impressionist](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/pre-impressionist/) - In anticipation of the Degas show at the Royal Academy, my mind turns to things balletic.
- [Sleeper service](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/sleeper-service/) - Catching 40 winks on the King's Cross to Cambridge.
- [Flame-thrower](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/flame-thrower/) - Another stunning sunset in the suburbs.
- [Namesake](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/namesake/) - The view from upstairs at the Paul patisserie, opposite St Paul's Cathedral, having lunch... with Paul.
- [Sky-high](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/sky-high/) - Nearing completion, The Shard soars heavenward at London Bridge. Seen through the railing on Southwark Bridge.
- [Track record](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/track-record/) - Late, over budget - and eerily quiet on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The guided busway in Cambridge.
- [Melanie](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/melanie/)
- [Afterglow](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/afterglow/) - A stained-glass window in St Mary the Virgin church in Saffron Walden, Essex.
- [Downcast](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/downcast/)
- [Leeward](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/leeward/) - A flying visit to Cork, with the usual mix of familiarity and strangeness.
- [French connection](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/french-connection/) - Our third visit in as many years to the Deux-Sèvres features cobalt skies, churches galore, brunch at La Serrurerie in Poitiers and (inevitably) an Irish pub in Angoulême. And 37 degrees in the shade - but for one day only.
- [When toad came home](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/when-toad-came-home/) - No panic in the parlours and howling in the halls. At least, not at Wimpole Hall, west of Cambridge.
- [Smorgartsbord](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/smorgartsbord/) - It's time for the annual pilgrimage to the Royal Academy for the Summer Exhibition. Three telling details. First, the introductory panel in Room 5: Tess Jaray has hung this room in the belief that it is "only for people who are sensitive, intelligent and thoughtful. Nobody else will enjoy it: the works are delicate, subtle
- [Total recall](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/total-recall/) - Arizona state senator Russell Pearce.
- [Comforter](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/comforter/)
- [Angularity](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/angularity/)
- [Songlines](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/songlines/)
- [Put out more flags](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/put-out-more-flags/) - Union Jacks as far as the eye can see for Wills and Kate. In Regent Street, appropriately.
- [End of the tunnel](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/end-of-the-tunnel/) - Arched light floods King's Cross station.
- [Genius loci](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/genius-loci/) - Fauns in the Formal Garden at Anglesey Abbey.
- [Suddenly this summer](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/suddenly-this-summer/) - Punts take to the Cam as the weather turns unexpectedly warmer.
- [Backlit](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/backlit/) - A suburban sunset to make even La Mangans (see below) jealous.
- [Run of the mill](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/run-of-the-mill/) - We return to Los Molinos at La Manga Club, where sunrises, blue skies and dodgy signs prevail. Note: 'Foque' means jib. 'Rape' means monkfish.
- [Narcissism](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/narcissism-2/) - Daffs galore in the grounds of Homerton College.
- [Amputee](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/amputee/) - The tree surgeon's handiwork on Cavendish Avenue
- [Shortcut](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/shortcut/) - All Saints Passage in central Cambridge.
- [Sfumato](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/sfumato/) - A smoky winter sky over Cambridge railway station.
- [Perfect end](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/perfect-end/) - After days of high winds, calm returns and a perfect winter day draws to a close.
- [Steady gaze](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/steady-gaze/)
- [Chitchat](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/chitchat/)
- [Regal](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/regal/) - Kings College stands majestic against a storm-tossed sky.
- [Munchies](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/munchies/)
- [Final countdown](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/final-countdown/) - My train from Cambridge arrives at the newly opened Platform 0 at King's Cross.
- [Papal states](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/papal-states/)
- [Walkies](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/walkies/)
- [White Christmas](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/white-christmas/) - Week-old snow, compressed and frozen, turns footpaths into ice-rinks on a clear and bitingly cold Christmas Day.
- [The Big Chill](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/the-big-chill/) - Winter holds the country its icy grip, as temperatures plummet.
- [Little Miss](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/little-miss/)
- [Chinwag](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/chinwag/)
- [A good read](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/a-good-read/)
- [Sketching the sketcher](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/sketching-the-sketcher/)
- [Bare essentials](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/bare-essentials/) - Sunlight catches the last leaves on Jesus Green.
- [Reading matters](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/reading-matters/)
- [Crepusculum](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/crepusculum/) - Kings College rises majestically against a flaming sunset.
- [Flower power](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/flower-power/) - The sketching bug returns after many months. A blooming miracle.
- [Serried ranks](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/serried-ranks/) - Bikes for hire at the back of The National Gallery.
- [Dappled delight](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/dappled-delight/) - Sun streams through the trees in James St, Covent Garden.
- [On the turn](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/on-the-turn/) - Autumn shades in Cambridge University Botanic Garden.
- [Reading light](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/reading-light/) - Cambridge University Library looms large on a clear autumn afternoon.
- [Somptuous](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/somptuous/) - A year on, we return to Sompt in western France, for a week of R&R.
- [Naval gazing](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/naval-gazing/) - The latest installation on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square.
- [Kaleidoscope](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/kaleidoscope/) - Diamond light in the chapel of Clare Priory, Suffolk.
- [Impression sunrise](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/impression-sunrise/) - Monet meets Matisse at daybreak.
- [Centre of attention](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/centre-of-attention/) - Tourists gather around Great St Mary's, the university church and point from which all distances from Cambridge are measured.
- [Spiked](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/spiked/) - Accident or design? The latter, I think. Spotted outside Little St Mary's church, Cambridge.
- [Blue blue](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/blue-blue/) - Clear skies - but not for long - in an otherwise showery, blustery August.
- [Gloriana](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/gloriana/) - Hatfield House, seen from the doorway of the Royal Palace, where Elizabeth I spent her youth as a virtual prisoner.
- [Togetherness](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/togetherness/) - [Click image to enlarge]
- [Sketches of Boz](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/sketches-of-boz/) - A pencil drawing of Charles Dickens.
- [Rapture](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/rapture/)
- [All on fire](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/all-on-fire/) - Softly the evening came. The sun from the western horizon Like a magician extended his golden wand o'er the landscape; Twinkling vapors arose; and sky and water and forest Seemed all on fire at the touch, and melted and mingled together. [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline]
- [Heavy petal](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/heavy-petal/) - An unexpected splash of colour round the corner from my house.
- [Footloose](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/footloose/) - A lost sock hovers on the edge at my gym. A metaphor for the precariousness and unpredictability of modern life. Or maybe it's just a lost sock.
- [Diamond pleaser](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/diamond-pleaser/) - Echoes of the Great Court of the British Museum, at the Grand Arcade in central Cambridge.
- [Artfest](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/artfest/) - To the Royal Academy to see the 242nd Summer Exhibition, a veritable smorgasbord of taste, with something to please every palette (too clever, I know).
- [Spanish steps](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/spanish-steps/) - An idyllic week at La Manga Club, with excursions to Murcia and Cartagena.
- [Highlight](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/highlight/) - Sun shafting through the clerestory of All Saints Church.
- [Heavenwards](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/heavenwards/) - All Saints Church in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, on an exquisite early-summer Sunday.
- [Elisa](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/elisa/)
- [Up to the nines](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/up-to-the-nines/) - She really shouldn't have chosen this dress, but it's too late now. Its pink and black swirls, like psychedelic leaves, looked so stylish in the full-length mirror in her bedroom. Especially with the broad-brimmed pink hat, translucent and raffishly droopy. And now, in the oppressive heat of the marquee, she's sure her make-up is slowly
- [Rough-cut](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/rough-cut/)
- [Vaulting ambition](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/vaulting-ambition/) - Etched against a stormy sky, the Victorian splendour of the former Fosters Bank in Sidney Street, Cambridge. Designed by Alfred Waterhouse, of Natural History Museum fame.
- [The Joy of X](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/the-joy-of-x/) - The nation decides, in the closest election for 20 years.
- [Labour of love](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/labour-of-love/) - A Conservative election poster, doctored by a graffiti artist. Spotted (appropriately) on the side of my local chemist.
- [Up and over](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/up-and-over/) - A barge at Bottisham Lock, on a sublime spring day.
- [Cotton top](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/cotton-top/) - Blossom, blossom everywhere. It must be mid-April.
- [Railtrap](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/railtrap/) - A sober reminder on the platform of Cambridge station.
- [Fashion parade](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/fashion-parade/) - Plus-fours and deerstalkers galore, as the Tweed Run heads down The Mall.
- [Upstairs downstairs](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/upstairs-downstairs/) - An Escher moment in the hallway.
- [Holy orders](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/holy-orders/) - Inspiration comes from on high, as I do a five-minute sketch of a bishop.
- [Still life](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/still-life/) - An impromptu Cézanne moment in the kitchen.
- [Climate change](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/climate-change/) - Green Street in Cambridge basks in warm sunshine and rising temperatures, heralding the end of a long, cold winter.
- [In with the old](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/in-with-the-old/) - Proof that modern doesn't have to mean brutalist at Selwyn College, Cambridge.
- [Après la pluie, le beau temps](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/apres-la-pluie-le-beau-temps/) - Summer finally returned this weekend. And we returned to Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk.
- [Tunnel vision](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/tunnel-vision/) - Charles Fort, near Kinsale, Co. Cork.
- [Lightbox](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/lightbox/) - The Carter footbridge glows in slanting sunlight.
- [Dreaming spire](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/dreaming-spire/) - St Andrew's church in Chesterton, Cambridge.
- [Petty crime](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/petty-crime/) - Not a cook in sight in Petty Cury, Cambridge. Pepys would be disappointed. The Petty Cury. The derivation of the name of this street, so well known to all Cambridge men, is a matter of much dispute among antiquaries. (See “Notes and Queries.”) The most probable meaning of it is the Parva Cokeria, or little
- [Retail detail](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/retail-detail/) - It's all in the lines at the Grafton Centre, Cambridge.
- [Rough-hewn](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/rough-hewn/) - Spotted at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
- [Out and proud](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/out-and-proud/) - Cambridge City Council flies the flag for LGBT History Month (yawn) at the Guildhall.
- [Skeletal](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/skeletal/) - Bare winter branches on Jesus Green, Cambridge.
- [Al fresco](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/al-fresco/) - Outdoor changing room (brr) on Jesus Green, Cambridge.
- [Grab your coat and get your hat](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/grab-your-coat-and-get-your-hat/) - The sunny side of the street in De Freville, Cambridge.
- [Revival](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/revival/) - The Victorian Gothic lines of Homerton College, Cambridge.
- [Blue velvet](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/blue-velvet/) - A perfect sky on an achingly cold day.
- [Slip slidin' away](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/slip-slidin-away/) - Snow turns to ice, as the temperature plummets to minus 5.
- [White pre-Christmas](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/white-pre-christmas/) - Exactly a week early, we wake up to a thick blanket of snow.
- [Joie de vivre](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/joie-de-vivre/) - A five-minute sketch of French singer Henri Salvador.
- [Heads up](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/heads-up/) - Random doodlings from my sketchpad.
- [Impetuosity](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/impetuosity/) - She saw him at the bus stop, on a windswept Monday morning. The window was misted up, and she rubbed the sleeve of her red rain mac against it. In the resulting fan-shaped clearing, she saw his hazel eyes, the blond locks falling over a pale face, the leather jacket. She caught his eye, and
- [Wired](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/wired/) - Everything's connected on Hills Avenue, Cambridge.
- [Picture postcard](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/picture-postcard/) - Clare College from King's College Bridge, on a perfect autumn afternoon.
- [Visual feast](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/visual-feast/) - The view from Pret a Manger in Trafalgar Square.
- [Clear scheme](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/clear-scheme/) - Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin.
- [All that glisters](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/all-that-glisters/) - A sun-burnished bend in the River Cam.
- [Make do and mend](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/make-do-and-mend/)
- [G'day, boys!](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/gday-boys/) - Ozzie high camp in London's West End.
- [Eye in the sky](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/eye-in-the-sky/) - The view from the 24th floor of Tower 42 (NatWest Tower that was) in the City of London, looking towards Guy's Hospital.
- [Red alert](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/red-alert/) - Russet shades the autumn do portend, The halcyon days of summer at an end.
- [Sky's the limit](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/skys-the-limit/) - A crisp and sunny autumn day, with an endless expanse of blue (and just a hint of red) at Bar Hill, outside Cambridge.
- [O sole mio](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/o-sole-mio/) - Sunlight suffuses a rain-washed Opera Lane in Cork.
- [Irony curtain](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/irony-curtain/) - A Polish shop and bar in Academy Street, Cork.
- [Framed](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/framed/) - The Front Court and chapel of Emmanuel College.
- [Reading pile](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/reading-pile/) - Book bollards outside Cambridge University Library.
- [Blue skies and baguettes](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/blue-skies-and-baguettes/) - A glorious week in western France, and a snapper's delight. Clean lines, sharp shadows and clear contrasts. Perfect. SUNDAY: Sompt (pronounced 'Somme', where the house was) and Chef-Boutonne MONDAY: Niort and the Marais Poitevin (aka 'la Venise Verte' or 'Green Venice') TUESDAY: Sompt and Melle WEDNESDAY: Sompt and Poitiers THURSDAY: Angoulême FRIDAY: Parthenay and Sompt
- [Tracery](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/tracery/) - Afternoon sun pours through the fanlight, casting ephemeral leaves on the wall.
- [Dazzled](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/dazzle/) - Sunlight dances on the River Cam, as a punter gives the guided tour to the punters.
- [Swirl](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/swirl/) - It's all in the curves at St John's College, Cambridge.
- [A twitch upon the thread](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/a-twitch-upon-the-thread/) - Holy Trinity in Long Melford, one of the Suffolk 'wool churches', built by prosperous local cloth merchants in the 15th century.
- [Bridal path](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/bridal-path/) - Sculptures from Anselm Kiefer's Women of Antiquity series in Cloister Court, Jesus College, Cambridge.
- [Royal procession](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/royal-procession/) - A walk around Queens' College, Cambridge.
- [Back to nature](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/back-to-nature/) - A park bench slowly disappears into the advancing ivy in the Cambridge University Botanic Garden.
- [Giant slayer](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/giant-slayer/) - A copy of Gian Lorenzo Bernini's David by G. Fossi in the grounds of Anglesey Abbey, north of Cambridge. (The original is in the Galleria Borghese, Rome.)
- [Magnificent obsession](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/magnificent-obsession/) - Hundreds of portraits of Saint Fabiola at the National Portrait Gallery, London. Gathered by Belgian artist Francis Alÿs from flea markets, antique shops and private collections over 15 years.
- [Narrow escape](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/narrow-escape/) - Bourdon Street in central London.
- [Gothic revival](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/gothic-revival/) - The Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile in Duke Street, London. Designed in 1891 by Alfred Waterhouse - which explains the resemblance to the Natural History Museum, another of his creations.
- [Power to the people](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/power-to-the-people/) - An electric car tops up near Manchester Square in central London.
- [Translucence](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/translucence/) - The early-morning sun catches geraniums by the kitchen window.
- [Former glory](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/former-glory/) - Vintage Alvis cars in the grounds of Wimpole Hall.
- [Blood red](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/blood-red/) - Poppies at Quy, north of Cambridge.
- [Stealing the show](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/stealing-the-show/) - The Red Arrows roar up The Mall towards Buckingham Palace, marking the end of the Trooping the Colour ceremony. Seen from Piccadilly.
- [Vespasienne](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/vespasienne/) - A four-sided urinal on Midsummer Common, Cambridge. You go first - no please, I insist.
- [Sanctuary](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/sanctuary/) - George Bernard Shaw's revolving writing hut, in the grounds of Shaw's Corner in Hertfordshire.
- [Chocks away](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/chocks-away/) - A Lancaster bomber takes off from Waterbeach Barracks, and flies low over the River Cam.
- [City lickers](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/city-lickers/) - Synchronized grazing on Midsummer Common, a stone's throw from Cambridge city centre.
- [Road to nowhere](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/road-to-nowhere/) - An abandoned tractor in the grounds of Wimpole Hall, under a baking early-summer sun.
- [Shear delight](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/shear-delight/) - It's the look every well-dressed sheep is sporting this summer. Honestly, sweetie. Spotted at Wimpole Hall, west of Cambridge.
- [Serenity](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/serenity/) - Sunday lunchtime in Belchamp St Paul, Suffolk, under a Constable sky.
- [Watery grave](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/watery-grave/) - A bicycle finds its final resting place in the stream behind Jesus College, Cambridge.
- [Panache](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/panache/)
- [Black beauty](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/black-beauty/) - A tulip in the gardens of Newnham College, Cambridge.
- [Sign of the times](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/sign-of-the-times/) - Some things never change. Spotted in central Cambridge.
- [Sailing by](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/sailing-by/) - John Webb's windmill, in Thaxted, Essex.
- [Blue yonder](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/blue-yonder/) - Spring has sprung, but not for this tree near Quy, north of Cambridge.
- [Solidarity](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/solidarity/) - Less tax, more tax, lower salaries, higher salaries, lower temperatures, more regulation, less regulation, less government, more government, no government. And don't forget the whales. Disparate demands as thousands march purposefully towards Hyde Park, in the first of many G20 demos.
- [Spectral](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/spectral/) - The earthly remains of last year's geraniums, seen through early-morning condensation.
- [Silhouette](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/silhouette/) - Late afternoon on Hills Avenue, and all is light and shade.
- [Public inconvenience](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/public-inconvenience/) - With a waft of eau de toilette, she's back. Her blouse has a profusion of elaborate frills that frame her very generous bosom. As she sits down, she demurely smooths her too-shiny pinstripe skirt over her knees, but it rides back up again. Outside the train window, green fields race past. In the seat opposite,
- [Narcissism](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/narcissism/) - Daffodils abound as spring works its magic in the gardens around Cambridge University Library.
- [Don't cast a clout](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/dont-cast-a-clout/) - May flower (aka hawthorn) against a powder-blue sky north of Cambridge.
- [Inspiring](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/inspiring/) - Norwich Cathedral, seen from the cloister.
- [Mirth](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/mirth/) - Smiling faces, random traces.
- [Grace under fire](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/grace-under-fire/) - Sweeping lines and pleasing symmetry on Coldhams Lane Bridge, Cambridge. If you're going to crash, best to do it in style.
- [Stalactite](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/stalactite/) - A gaping candle drools wax on polished glass.
- [The tiger](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/the-tiger/) - Georges Clémenceau, Prime Minster of France 1906-9 and 1917-20. Paper, pencil, and a lot of squinting (me, not him).
- [Belle époque](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/belle-epoque/) - A quick sketch based on Édouard Manet's Corner of a Café-Concert.
- [Deity](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/deity/) - Serapis, a Hellenistic-Egyptian god of antiquity, surreptitiously snapped at the Fitzwilliam Museum.
- [Thinking time](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/thinking-time/)
- [The halo effect](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/the-halo-effect/) - The view from Mill Road bridge, with Cambridge railway station in the background.
- [Proportion](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/proportion/)
- [Peak practice](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/peak-practice/) - “Is there much farther to go?” says the plump woman behind me, her voice weary and imploring. She’s saying what I’m thinking, with every aching fibre of my body. I can feel the runnels of perspiration on my back, and my feet are beginning to boil even though they’re sandalled. We’ve been trudging upwards for
- [Whiteout](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/whiteout/)
- [Furrowed brow](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/furrowed-brow/) - Pastel on Sennelier pastel card. With apologies to Domenico Beccafumi.
- [Text appeal](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/text-appeal/) - A girl checks her messages in Starbucks. Five long minutes later, the door opens and her boyfriend walks in. "Where have you been?" "Dunno," he mumbles. "Here and there. Wanna latte?"
- [Light fantastic](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/light-fantastic/) - Wardour Street in London's Chinatown prepares for the Year of the Ox.
- [Bedazzled](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/bedazzled/) - The westering sun dances across a window at Newnham College, Cambridge.
- [Umbrage](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/umbrage/) - A low sun and long shadows in Russell Square, on the way to the British Museum.
- [Chiselled](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/chiselled/)
- [In the frame](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/in-the-frame/)
- [Aperture](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/aperture/) - Clare College, between the court and the bridge.
- [Hesitation](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/hesitation/) - As I rounded the corner, I saw the latteria. Nothing, but nothing, had changed. The same faded awning, wilting in the blistering heat. The same sharp shadows cutting across the crumbling stucco. And then I was there. Walking down a road I hadn't been on in almost 20 years. Across the street, the cafe where
- [Reflections](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/reflections/) - A temporary skating rink on Parker's Piece, Cambridge.
- [The real McCoy](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/the-real-mccoy/) - "Cakes or pastries?" trilled the barista at Caffé Nero. "No thanks," he said, his eyes raking the high-calorie display under gleaming glass. But I'm sure he was just a little bit tempted. "And how are you today?" she said, her back to him as she orchestrated a symphony of clicks, tap-taps and hisses. "Fine thanks.
- [Table talk](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/table-talk/) - "You ought to stay in touch with him. He is your father." "If I had his address, I'd send him a small incendiary device."
- [Minority report](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/minority-report/) - "I imagine," said the black drug dealer to me as our main course arrived, "that being gay is a bit like being black." The waiter, plates and bowls artfully arranged in a holding pattern up his left arm, arched an eyebrow a fraction. But no more. The consummate professionalism of one who's heard it all
- [On the grid](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/on-the-grid/) - The Freemasons' Hall in Central London - better known as Thames House in BBC1's Spooks.
- [Negative space](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/negative-space/) - Hinton Avenue on a sunkissed morning.
- [Running the numbers](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/running-the-numbers/)
- [A sting in the tale](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/a-sting-in-the-tale/) - A few years ago, I worked with a woman who belonged to a book club. Once a month, on a Tuesday evening, she got together with her friends and discussed a title they’d all read. I imagined highbrow conversations about literary theory, plotting, characterisation and language. “Well, yes,” she said, “there is that. But mostly,
- [Curse of the white eyes](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/curse-of-the-white-eyes/) - Just occasionally, it's nice to be proved wrong. I really didn't want to go the Royal Academy to see Modigliani and his models. All elongated necks, odd-shaped faces, and out-of-proportion bodies. I knew what I liked - and I didn't like Modigliani. But I went. Modigliani was born in 1884 in Livorno, on the Tuscan
- [Déjà vu all over again](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/deja-vu-all-over-again/) - In Liars and Saints, Maile (pronounced may-lee) Meloy introduced us to the Santerres: Teddy and Yvette, and their daughters Clarissa and Margot, and son Jamie. Or rather, Margot's son Jamie, whom Teddy and Yvette passed off as their child, after their teenage Catholic daughter gave birth in a French convent. Still with me? The story
- [Savon de Marseille](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/savon-de-marseille/) - Recently, I turned on ITV by mistake and had the briefest of glimpses of Coronation Street. And there was...Deirdre Barlow, looking about 10 minutes older than when I last saw her in the 80s. Next to her was a young chap. Her toy boy? Surely not. What could he see in Deirdre, with her trademark
- [Your call is important to us...](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/your-call-is-important-to-us/) - Well it is to me. Today's theme is telephonic.
- [This week, I have been mostly drawing hats...](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/this-week-i-have-been-mostly-drawing-hats/)
- [Les bras m'en tombent...](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/les-bras-men-tombent/) - Why do they do it? Last week, as I wandered round the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay, I was surrounded by happy snappers. Don't get me wrong: I had my camera too. But I used it to photograph the surroundings - the glorious columns, soaring ceilings and sun dancing on water. The glass pyramid, majestic
- [Sitting pretty](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/sitting-pretty/) - Today's sketch theme.
- [Poseur](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/poseur/) - 'Man posing' is today's theme. Are my drawings are beginning to look like caricatures? Eh bien, perhaps that's my style.
- [Eurocauchemar](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/eurocauchemar/) - A trip to Paris - in January. No crowds, no queues. A treat to celebrate P's book deal. What could go wrong? The weather, of course. 18 January 2007 will forever be imprinted on my memory as the day of the gales. It's right up there with October 1987. The weirdest thing is that it
- [Cam cam](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/cam-cam/)
- [Contour drawing](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/contour-drawing/) - ...with a little cheating (I looked).
- [Contour coffee pots](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/contour-coffee-pots/) - ...with just the briefest of peeks.
- [Inspired by Maggi](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/inspired-by-maggi/) - To the Fitzwilliam Museum to see a small but perfectly formed exhibition, No Straight Lines by Maggi Hambling. There are portraits (including an enormous one of Stephen Fry), seascapes and a drawing of her pet terrier. I am particularly struck by how tight her sketches were as an 18 year-old, way back in 1963. Since
- [Mobile me](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/mobile-me/) - DIY wedding photos at the church of San Miniato al Monte in Florence.
- [Ceci n'est pas un chapeau](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/ceci-nest-pas-un-chapeau/) - I think I'm developing an obsession with hats.
- [Faded glamour](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/faded-glamour/)
- [Room with a view](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/room-with-a-view/) - A seagull on the Rock of Gibraltar.
- [Plain sailing](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/plain-sailing/) - As I'm browsing a website, a window pops up. 'CONGRATULATIONS!!!!' it screams at me. Lights flash and letters dance in a psychedelic box. 'YOU HAVE WON A **FREE** CRUISE!!! CALL THIS NUMBER NOW!!!' Could it be true? Of course not. But it's a toll-free number, and I'm in the mood for fun. "Hey there!" says
- [Star attraction](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/star-attraction/) - Just for a moment, I thought I'd stumbled on Sharon and Ozzy at the Alcazaba in Malaga. Then I zoomed in.
- [Bing bong](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/bing-bong/) - I'm sitting in the departure lounge at Stansted airport, waiting for a flight to Cork. And every 10 minutes, I hear a digital jingle. Then her voice - smooth, cool, unemotional. "This is a security announcement," she purrs. "To reduce the number of security announcements, please do not leave your baggage unattended."
- [Left hand, right brain](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/left-hand-right-brain/) - Exercise 10 from New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Workbook, by Betty Edwards.
- [Double vision](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/double-vision/) - Boating on the Cam, just north of Cambridge.
- [Under a blood-red sky](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/under-a-blood-red-sky/) - Sunset over the Pyrenees, near Carcassonne.
- [I know a secret](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/i-know-a-secret/)
- [Danseuses](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/danseuses/)
- [Stage fright](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/stage-fright/) - Can it really be ten years ago? I remember it well - the dry mouth, the sweaty palms, the hearts aflutter as the technology Messiah came into our midst and spoke to the masses, preaching a vision of boundless bandwith and gadgets everywhere. It was a warm March morning, and the sky over Johannesburg was
- [Gnarly](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/gnarly/) - Just beyond the Hansel & Gretel cottage, by the bend in the road, lies a magic tree.
- [Lost in translation](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/lost-in-translation/) - A German truck on the A30 in Cornwall. One of those occasions when you wish you had your camera handy. Luckily, I did.
- [A la mode](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/a-la-mode/)
- [Sunday morning smile](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/sunday-morning-smile/)
- [Hi ho, hi ho](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/hi-ho-hi-ho/) - Sitting with the pinstripe BlackBerry brigade on the train to London yesterday, my attention was caught by a notice between the windows. Somebody had vandalised it - no surprise there. But I looked again and chuckled to myself. A red-faced City gent looked at me, at the notice, then at me again. Not a flicker
- [Immagini italiane](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/immagini-italiane/)
- [Changing of the guard](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/changing-of-the-guard-2/) - Sunlight fades and lamplight glows, as darkness falls on Jesus Green.
- [In the foothills of the French Pyrenees](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/in-the-foothills-of-the-french-pyrenees/)
- [Cork revisited](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/cork-revisited/)
- [London light](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/london-light/) - Looking up The Mall towards Buckingham Palace. And looking up in Trafalgar Square.
- [Sunset strip](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/sunset-strip/) - Night falls in mid-afternoon. Oh for the far-off days of summer.
- [Tinged with gold](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/tinged-with-gol/) - Just a touch of sunlight, and a crisp December day comes alive.
- [Cam sunshine](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/cam-sunshine/) - An idyllic afternoon on the banks of the River Cam.
- [Ship of the Fens](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/ship-of-the-fens/) - The towering majesty of Ely Cathedral.
- [Triple vision](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/triple-vision/) - To the Cranach exhibition at the Royal Academy. No queues this time.
- [French leave](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/french-leave/) - A week in the Dordogne. Blue skies, cloisters and Michel de Montaigne.
- [Crouching tiger](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/crouching-tiger/)
- [Global warming](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/global-warming/) - On a cold winter day, I search through my photos for something summery to lift my spirits. Ah! The Suffolk coast in mid-July. What could be more perfect? A clear sky, a windless day, the gentle plash of waves on a stony beach. Women in floppy hats and men with rolled-up trouser legs. Beach huts
- [Paris (though not quite in the springtime)](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/paris-though-not-quite-in-the-springtime/)
- [A tale of two cities](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/a-tale-of-two-cities/) - From Cambridge to Oxford for the weekend.
- [Festive spirit](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/festive-spirit/) - Still a month to go, but it's already Christmas in Rose Crescent, Cambridge.
- [Burning bright](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/burning-bright/) - The sun sets behind All Saints Church, Cambridge.
- [Persona non grata](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/persona-non-grata/) - A sign in a Cambridge pub window.
- [Rural retreat](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/rural-retreat/) - A week in the Peak District, Derbyshire.
- [Face-off](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/face-off/) - Random doodlings - the first for a very long time.
- [Honey-coloured](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/honey-coloured/) - Clare College glows in slanting autumn sunshine.
- [Sidelight](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/sidelight/) - St John's College chapel, Cambridge.
- [Teeming spires](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/teeming-spires/) - King's College chapel, Cambridge, silhouetted by a milky sun.
- [Rotunda quadrata](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/rotunda-quadrata/) - Squaring the circle at The British Museum.
- [Shadowlands](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/shadowlands/) - Market Street in central Cambridge.
- [Powder blue](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/powder-blue/) - Ickworth House in Suffolk, on a perfect autumn day.
- [Going down](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/going-down/) - Bottisham Lock, north of Cambridge.
- [Determination](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/determination/)
- [Underneath the arches](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/underneath-the-arches/) - Victoria Avenue bridge reflected in the River Cam.
- [Do the math](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/do-the-math/) - Graffiti, Cambridge-style. How very civilised.
- [Out of the blue](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/out-of-the-blue/) - The soaring Gothic lines of Ely Cathedral, etched against an August sky.
- [La vie en rose](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/la-vie-en-rose/) - A captive bin on Jesus Green, Cambridge.
- [View finder](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/view-finder/) - Punts on the River Cam, seen through Clare College bridge.
- [High rise](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/high-rise/) - A crane in central Cambridge.
- [Paved with gold](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/paved-with-gold/) - The sun catches the sign above Herbie Frogg menswear in Jermyn Street, projecting it onto the footpath.
- [Art attack](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/art-attack/) - It's that time of year again, when the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition brings together the good, the bad and the ugly of the art world.This one was entitled Yellow Folding Table.
- [Changing of the guard](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/changing-of-the-guard/) - Last year's geramiums give way to this year's begonias, outside my office window. Or should that be gerania and begoniae?
- [Cutting a dash](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/cutting-a-dash/) - Oars galore on the River Cam.
- [Yes but no but yes but no...](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/yes-but-no-but-yes-but-no/) - ...but yes. It really does exist, just a stone's throw from The Barbican.
- [Point blank](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/point-blank/) - Mural on Tate Britain, seen from the Millennium Bridge.
- [Swan Lake](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/swan-lake/) - A family day out near Anglesey Abbey, north of Cambridge.
- [Early one morning](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/early-one-morning/) - Covent Garden before the crowds arrive.
- [Rush hour](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/rush-hour/) - A busy Sunday afternoon on the Cam.
- [UFO](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/ufo/) - An unidentified flowering object on Cavendish Avenue.
- [Whiter shade of pale](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/whiter-shade-of-pale/) - Tulips at Long Melford, Suffolk, with P in the background.
- [Lux mundi](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/lux-mundi/) - Virgin and Child on the pulpit at Long Melford church, Suffolk.
- [End of the line](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/end-of-the-line-2/) - Rail kill at Hampton Wick station.
- [Behind the mask](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/behind-the-mask/) - A statue at Anglesey Abbey, north of Cambridge.
- [Convergence](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/convergence/) - Lines of perspective on Green Street, Cambridge.
- [Primavera](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/primavera/) - Shades of spring in Clare College gardens, Cambridge.
- [Out of the shadows](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/out-of-the-shadows/) - Market Passage in central Cambridge.
- [Glass ceiling](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/glass-ceiling/) - The Faculty of Law and Law Library, Cambridge University.
- [Touched by the light](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/touched-by-the-light/) - With P and A between Cambridge and Harston.
- [Blanket coverage](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/blanket-coverage/) - Easter Sunday snow in the back garden.
- [Straight and narrow](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/straight-and-narrow/) - A drainage channel near Waterbeach, north of Cambridge.
- [Enlightenment](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/enlightenment/) - Late-afternoon sunshine in Trinity Lane, Cambridge.
- [Fluttering and dancing](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/fluttering-and-dancing/) - Daffodils on Christ's Pieces.
- [Life, reflected](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/life-reflected/) - A convex view of Herschel Road, Cambridge.
- [To Russia](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/to-russia/) - An unexpectedly long queue for From Russia at the Royal Academy. Luckily for me, S is a Friend of the RA. And I'm a friend of S.She waved her pass and we walked straight through.
- [Chiaroscuro](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/chiaroscuro/) - Light and shade outside the Grafton Centre, Cambridge.
- [Purple reign](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/purple-reign/) - Spring crocuses on the Backs.
- [Blue-sky thinking](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/blue-sky-thinking/) - The view from New Court, St John's College.
- [What's in a name?](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/whats-in-a-name/)
- [End of the line](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/end-of-the-line/) - Arriving at King's Cross on a sunny Sunday morning.
- [Mirror image](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/mirror-image/) - The view from Lode Mill, north of Cambridge.
- [Pale moon rising](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/pale-moon-rising/) - The view from the back garden, on a damp November evening.
- [Rage, rage against the dying of the light](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/rage-rage-against-the-dying-of-the-light/) - Sunset over Cambridge railway station.
- [Darkness falls](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/darkness-falls/) - Late afternoon in Cambridge on a chilly autumn day.
- [Troubled genius](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/troubled-genius/)
- [Effortless superiority](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/effortless-superiority/)
- [Posh spice](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/posh-spice/) - “Hellooo!” she booms when I open the door.She’s of indeterminate age, with the ruddy complexion of somebody who spends a lot of time outdoors. She’s wearing a quilted sleeveless jacket, a knotty jumper and a pleated skirt. And sensible shoes, of course.It’s all topped off with a slightly unfashionable bob. Think Clarissa Dickson-Wright – minus
- [Fisherman's friend](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/fishermans-friend/)
- [In the pink](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/in-the-pink/) - More geraniums - this time outside my office window.
- [And then there was one](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/and-then-there-was-one/) - The last working wind pump in the fens, at Wicken Fen Nature Reserve, north of Cambridge.
- [Regina mundi](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/regina-mundi/)
- [Un coup de rouge](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/un-coup-de-rouge/) - Geraniums in the window-box outside my bedroom.
- [Blonde ambition](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/blonde-ambition/) - There she was again, at the back of the audience. Tall and tanned, with golden tresses cascading teasingly over her narrow shoulders. A body-hugging jumper and a black pencil skirt. Bewitchingly beautiful - and she knew it.This was the third time she'd stood and watched my presentation. Laughed at the jokes, smiled at the irony,
- [Every little helps](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/every-little-helps/) - '30p each or 4 for 98p' says the sign next to the bagels. How can I resist?I look around for the tongs to select my four. Ah, there they are. But no - all the tongs are on a chain, and the nearest ones won't stretch. Underneath the bagels, a metal ring marks the place
- [Excuses, excuses](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/excuses-excuses/)
- [Hint of a tint](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/hint-of-a-tint/) - "Cut all the grey out," I said to the hairdresser when I saw her last."So you wanna skinhead, then?" she said with a crooked smile. Chewing gum lopsidedly and pulling down her crop-top, she surveyed my ever-greying temples. "Seriously, like, you'll have nuffin left, innit?" And serious it was, so I settled for a number
- [A numbers game](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/a-numbers-game/) - Some things, you can never forgive - or forget. Strangely, though, the big things I can do both with. It's the little things that still rankle. I was only 10 at the time. He was bigger, taller, and more powerful than me. And most of the time, he was smarter.Most of the time."A number," he
- [Drinking #2](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/drinking-2/)
- [Drinking #1](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/drinking-1/)
- [Man, uninterrupted](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/man-uninterrupted/)
- [The Muse returns](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/the-muse-returns/) - My first drawing for nearly a month, made in haste in Room 7 of the Fitzwilliam.
- [Try something new today](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/try-something-new-today/) - And for starters, how about a delicious apostrophe?
- [That is the question](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/that-is-the-question/) - “That one - there,” said the woman with the delicate highlights and a hint of a foreign accent. “There’s something going on. A story behind it.”“Yes,” said her friend. “There’s definitely something going on.”I moved closer to find out just what it was that was going on. The foreign woman was quite short, and dressed
- [Quote of the day](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/quote-of-the-day/) - Walking up Neal Street in Covent Garden, I saw a girl talking into a silver clam-shell phone."Why the fuck did I let Vladimir blow-dry my hair?" she barked. "It's a total fucking..."Carried by the blustery wind, her words disappeared into the distance.As did she.
- [Just deserts](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/just-deserts/) - "What about a sweet?" said the fat lady to the fat lady in the Norfolk café.But where's the list, the second wondered."Behind you, you daft bugger!" said the first.And there they were, written on a tiny blackboard in a loopy hand. Sticky toffee pud, apple tart and lemon meringue - all served with cream, ice
- [Daisy cutter](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/daisy-cutter/) - A lazy Sunday afternoon in the Suffolk countryside.
- [Jobsworth](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/jobsworth/) - Suddenly, it's my turn. He looks at me expectantly. "What'll it be?" he says, looking out from under the peak of his Costa Coffee cap. I take a deep breath. "I'll have a medium skinny decaf hazelnut extra-hot latte."I wait for puzzled look, a come-again furrowing of his brow. But it never appears. "Sure thing!"
- [Roman Holiday](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/roman-holiday/) - Ciampino airport and Castel Gandolfo. Two names that are forever burned in my memory – but for all the wrong reasons. 20 years apart, and two remarkably similar experiences.It all started with the Australian countess.“Really, you can’t miss it,” she said, brushing her blonde hair out of a beautifully made-up eye. In the dim half-light,
- [Ciao bella!](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/ciao-bella/) - Policing, Italian-style, in Piazza Navona in Rome.
- [Steely determination](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/steely-determination/)
- [Talking heads](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/talking-heads/)
- [Better late than never](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/better-late-than-never/) - Somewhere out there is a chap who by now, must be in his early to mid-50s. His jet-black hair has probably turned grey. He'll still be wearing the wire-framed glasses of an intellectual, but may have discarded his once-fashionable sports coats. Maybe he's given up teaching for something more lucrative. And maybe he still believes
- [On all fours](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/on-all-fours/)
- [Looking up](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/looking-up/)
- [Crossing the line](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/crossing-the-line/) - She was short, round and portly. Hair scraped into a chignon and horn-rimmed glasses. Skin like parchment, criss-crossed by a lifetime of lines. Eyes of sapphire blue, and fine down on her upper lip. She wore slate-grey dresses with high belts, ribbed tights and sensible shoes.She must have been 60. I was four. And I
- [Pots, pots and more pots](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/pots-pots-and-more-pots/) - So much coffee, so little time.
- [Jean-Michel Aphatie](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/jean-michel-aphatie/)
- [Too sexy for my coat](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/too-sexy-for-my-coat/)
- [Dance all day](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/dance-all-day/)
- [Maternal instinct](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/maternal-instinct/)
- [Flying blind](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/flying-blind/) - Another contour drawing.
- [Cruel to be kind](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/cruel-to-be-kind/) - Uber-pruning at Holt Island Nature Reserve in St Ives.
- [Points failure](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/points-failure/) - Off to London tomorrow very early. Shirt ironed, shoes polished, laptop ready. But wait a moment - what about my ticket? Will there be a queue at 6am? What if I'm stuck behind a gaggle of Italian students who haven't quite mastered the meaning of 'day return'?Better get online, I tell myself. It'll be quicker
- [Black Swan Green](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/black-swan-green/) - At Audley End House, yesterday.
- [Unidentified flying object](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/unidentified-flying-object/)
- [First sign of madness](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/first-sign-of-madness/) - "Face it, Kevin," I said as I cycled back from the shops, "you're probably not going to be a professional artist. After all..."I froze. Slowly, gingerly, I turned my head to the right. Please, no. Let me be wrong.But I knew I wasn't.She was about 25, with a multicoloured woolly hat with a jaunty bobble.
- [The train at platform one](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/the-train-at-platform-one/) - Sheringham station on the North Norfolk coast, on a perfect summer day.
- [Thanks a bunch](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/thanks-a-bunch/) - Several months ago, I ordered flowers online.I read and re-read the small print, to make sure I ticked all the right boxes.'We'd like to get our hooks into you,' it said. 'We'll plague you with special offers, inappropriate sales pitches and cheesy free* gifts for the rest of your life. You'll rue the day you
- [Mistaken identity](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/mistaken-identity/) - “I’ve got something for you to sign,” said the postwoman this morning.How thrilling. I squiggled on her pad and took the letter. The postmark said Bristol. Bristol? Who do I know there? Nobody. Was it bad news? A summons? A plagiarism lawsuit?I headed off paranoia at the pass, and ripped the envelope open.‘Statement of account,’
- [Out of the mouths of babes...](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/out-of-the-mouths-of-babes/) - On the train on Sunday returning from London, we were sitting opposite a family of four. Mum and Dad read all the way, oblivious to their kids. The girl, who was about six, and the boy, a couple of years younger, entertained themselves. No interruptions, no arguments, no temper tantrums. And the more they talked,
- [Jawohl!](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/jawohl/) - I'm at the railway station in Frankfurt. Tired and jetlagged, after an overnight flight from Toronto. And half a day to kill before another flight to Cape Town.Orient the map, I hear an inner voice saying. Turn it so it's pointing in the same direction you are. So I do - but it doesn't help.
- [Virtual reality](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/virtual-reality/) - Whenever I received a present as a child, I always wrote a thank-you note. It wasn’t instinctive, of course. Like most good manners, it was learned, or imposed.And in our house, we had stationery specifically for the task. I didn’t write a note, but a ‘notelet’. How old-fashioned that sounds nowadays. Very Jane Austen.It was
- [The moment of truth](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/the-moment-of-truth/) - "Are you married?" she says.She's verging on middle age, with a severe fringe and a fake tan. Her sparkly LBD has a neckline that would be risky at any age, but positively reckless at hers. A teardrop pendant pends in her cleavage. Her eyes dazzle with predatory glee. A woman on the prowl.She's not talking
- [Rebel yell](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/rebel-yell/) - The Money Programme on BBC2 last week was all about the release of Windows Vista. And as Bill Gates swept down the stairs at the British Library for the UK launch, he was flanked by UK General Manager Gordon Frazer. But it could have been me.Actually, it couldn't.Gordon started at Microsoft in Johannesburg a few
- [Oops I did it again](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/oops-i-did-it-again/) - After Sebastian's madness, I vowed not to give up on another novel halfway through. But I couldn't help it this time.I read Matthew Pearl's first book, The Dante Club, because it appealed to my inner pseud. I allowed a smug smile to flicker across my lips as I recognised the victims' grim fate from my
- [Recipe for disaster](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/recipe-for-disaster/) - I try - I really do. But when I'm on the treadmill, what else is there to occupy my mind? At least I don't have my earphones plugged in, like all the other digital zombies. But there's no escaping it. Reality TV is everywhere. Not that it's real - far from it. I mean, when
- [Computer says no](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/computer-says-no/) - 'Please return your account to normal standing,' said the email. And no, it wasn't a spoof. When I logged in and navigated to the inappropriately named Resolution Center, there were several 'issues'.Most I resolved with a few clicks. But one stubbornly refused to budge. 'Add a card', it said. But why? I already had two
- [Hey, teacher, leave those kids alone](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/hey-teacher-leave-those-kids-alone/) - "Mrs Jones, my eighth grade English teacher," says the newbie author brightly. "She was the one who first spotted my talent. I owe everything to her."Good old Mrs Jones, I think. But I can't identify with the latest bright young star in the literary firmament. First, because I can never work out how old eighth
- [Mad world](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/mad-world/) - Look at the Amazon reviews of this book and you'll get the usual bewildering gamut of opinions. 'Lost it somewhere,' says one. Presumably the plot. 'Not good' says another. 'Disappointing' says a third.And then there's 'A thought-provoking read', with five stars, which is baffling: if a book doesn't provoke thoughts, what's the point? You might
- [Call the devil out of hell](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/call-the-devil-out-of-hell/) - Christmas Day, and P suggests we go to Ely Cathedral. I check on the web, and sure enough, there's a service at 10.30am. So off we go.As we walk up the long central aisle, I stare in wonder at the soaring columns and spectacular stained glass. My mind wanders back to the times of Ethelreda,
- [Does my bum look big on this?](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/does-my-bum-look-big-on-this/) - "That's right," says the personal trainer, "just a bit further back. Maintain your balance. Roll on the ball. Back, back, back... Oops!"The scene: one very big, very green, very squishy ball. One very big, very pink, very squishy woman. And one very blonde, very skinny, and very embarrassed personal trainer.She hooks her hair for the
- [Happy Birthday to us](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/happy-birthday-to-us/) - It's December and my half-birthday is coming up. Half-birthday? Yes, it's a new one on me too. I discovered it last week when I visited a friend with a seven-year-old daughter - or rather, seven-and-a-half-year-old daughter. Sorry.So as we hurtle towards the 19th , I'm suddenly in a birthday mood. But who do I share
- [Mates, Romans, countrymen...](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/mates-romans-countrymen/) - Suddenly, I'm everybody's friend.No, I haven't unexpectedly expanded my social circle (that's as narrow as ever). It's just that everywhere I go, I'm called 'mate'.It's such a small thing - but it's recently got very, very big. I'm sure there are rules, but I haven't yet worked them out. I don't want to ask people,
- [Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/are-you-sitting-comfortably-then-ill-begin/) - If my life wasn't so perfect, and if my work wasn't so endlessly fulfilling, I'd work for the BBC. But not in any old job. I'd be Business Editor.The reason is simple: as BBC Business Editor, you can do whatever you like. You don't have to be serious and schoolmarmish (Margaret Gilmour), earnest (James Lansdale)
- [Terminal bore](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/terminal-bore/) - It started as the train pulled out of Cambridge station."Hi. How are you? Do you live in Cambridge? I don't. I was just here for the weekend."The voice from behind was like the whine of a slow-turning angle grinder. One question followed another, with barely a pause, let alone time for an answer.His victim was
- [Dress for success](http://www.kevinwalsh.co.uk/dress-for-success/) - We've had much discussion recently about the impact of Eastern European migrants. Are they taking our jobs? Are they putting too much pressure on the health system? Housing? Transport? Are they driving down salaries?There is one question I think hasn't been addressed adequately: are they a danger to fashion?Now I have to declare an interest

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