Journalism
I write mainly about the arts - everything from fine art to popular culture. I also do quite a bit of travel writing, particularly about Central Europe (my father's family are from Germany and I speak reasonably good German, though my grammar is appalling).
BBC Arts
Most of my writing for BBC Arts Online is about art, but I also write about books and films. I've interviewed a pretty wide range of artists: David Bailey, Georg Baselitz, Peter Blake, Martin Creed, Maggi Hambling, Martin Parr, Sean Scully... I've covered everything from the Edinburgh Festival to Culture Night in Belfast, from Tintin in Brussels to Frankenstein in Switzerland.
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The Spectator
I write arts features, book reviews, travel stories. I've interviewed architect David Chipperfield and filmmaker Bill Forsyth. I've coverered battle re-enactments at Waterloo and NATO exercises in Poland. I've reported from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Estonia.
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The Independent
I've written travel stories for the Independent for the past fifteen years, and I've won a couple of awards. Germany is my main area of interest, but I've also written quite a bit about the Benelux and the Baltic States.
Christie’s Magazine
I write travel features about art and artists: Art Nouveau in Brussels, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner in Davos, James Ensor in Ostend... I've also interviewed Jeff Koons.
READ MORE >Books
My first book was Ha Bloody Ha - Comedians Talking, published by Fourth Estate. I've since written biographies of Morecambe & Wise and Peter Cook & Dudley Moore. I also wrote a book about the history of Viz, edited a biographical anthology of the work of Auberon Waugh, and wrote an introductory essay to a photography book about Qatar.
Other
I also write travel features for the Oldie, and occasional arts stories for Apollo. I've written quite a bit for the Guardian, the New Statesman and the Mail on Sunday (mainly arts and travel) in the past.
TV
I've done a fair few talking heads appearances on TV, in documentaries about comedians. I've been an associate producer on various arts documentaries. I wrote the script for Stand Up America, the BBC series about the history of US stand-up, and a Channel 5 documentary about Princess Diana's fab record collection.
Radio
Various talks about comedy and comedians, mainly on Radio Four - everything from Loose Ends to Kaleidescope.
Talks
I've done a wide range of talks on travel and popular culture - everything from Qatar to Morecambe & Wise.
About me
I was born in London in 1965, went to Calday Grange Grammar School and Sidcot School, and took a First in English & History at Keele University. I've been a journalist for 25 years and an author for 20. I've won several prizes for my travel writing, including the Johann Strauss Gold Medal for my reporting from Vienna. A series of articles I wrote about my German grandfather resulted in him being awarded the Most Righteous Among Nations medal by the state of Israel.
On a lighter note, my most spectacular scoop was breaking the story that Camberwick Green creator Gordon Murray burnt all his Trumpton puppets (including Windy Miller) on a bonfire in his back garden.
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Journalism Commissions
As well as writing for a wide range of national magazines and newspapers, I've also written sponsored travel features for the Belgian, German, Swiss and Spanish tourist boards.