The Republic of Moldova — First Impressions
There is something rather alien about arriving in a new country like Moldova, where you don’t know your way round, you don’t have any of the local currency and you don’t know anyone. I am sitting in a cafe in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, a tiny little European…
The Buzz of Getting Away
When I’m getting a train away from the city I often get a wonderful feeling of liberation. It’s as if I’m leaving all my worries behind and heading into a bright new future where things will be different. I think some people have a similar feeling when…
I Love to Cycle in Kathmandu
My brother’s house in Kathmandu is old, narrow and tall. At the bottom of the house is a dark room which doubles up as an entrance hall and bicycle garage. This is where I am, getting ready to cycle across town. I’m wearing good trousers (I’m going to a meeting) and…
Happy Memories of Jude Zietara
It’s difficult to imagine the world without Jude Zietara, who died suddenly on the 3rd of April 2026. He was a blaze of light, a comet in the night sky, a magical creature, an original thinker and bursting with creative potential. He was only 24 when he left us….
What is Writer’s Block?
I just had an insight: writer’s block isn’t a single obstacle on the road to productivity; it’s not just a feeling of depression that removes the motivation to write. I’m having a writer’s block moment right now and I want to describe it….
Why Work?
Photo: Dylan Thomas by Lee Miller. There’s plenty of videos, articles and books about how to write a book, make a video, do any kind of art form, or even learn a trade — and this is great as it gives people enough of an insight to try things out. But…
What is the Psychology of Travel?
If you’re pressed for time, scroll down and see links to some really useful resources. What does “The Psychology of Travel” mean? Is it some weird form of therapy? Am I a psychologist? The answer to these questions is NO, but I used to get mistaken for a therapist…
How to get a Job Without AI
When someone asks me “How did you get 12 Jobs in 12 Months? (the title of my forthcoming book) I go into a rant about the usual approach to getting a job: someone does a CV with the help of AI; it goes to the employer who, with the help of AI, assesses the CV…
Why Change Jobs?
One of the reasons I wrote a book called 12 Jobs in 12 Months was to show people that getting a job is easy. Why is this important? So many people I know feel stuck in their jobs. There are many reasons for this: the familiar complaints about bosses, colleagues, pay,…
Introducing 12 Jobs in 12 Months, a Travel Book
I’d love to know what you think of the draft introduction to my new book “12 Jobs in 12 Months”, below. It explains how the idea came together. Would you buy a book with mad stories of chasing jobs, and the blind faith that sustained me? I’d be so grateful if you…
Why am I writing a Book About 12 Jobs in 12 Months?
This is a difficult question to answer. It was easy enough to make the decision to do 12 jobs in 12 months, but now that I’ve done them (I finished in December last year) and have to write up the stories, I’m faced with strong internal reluctance to get…
Stephanie Wolfe Murray in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography published Timothy Neat’s lyrical description of Stephanie Wolfe Murray, in 2021. You can see the official version if you pay about £100 to the Oxford dons, or see the draft version (here/below) for free. I reposted it…
Ukraine must learn from Bosnia’s disastrous peace treaty
I first published this article in May 2022, just after the Russian Empire invaded Ukraine and I’m re-posting it now as the points I raised here are still very relevant (not much has changed in the Ukraine War). It’s hard to imagine what could be worse than the…
A Guide to Ukraine’s Future
Art books can be beautiful but often I get a gradual sense of boredom as I turn from one perfect image to another. Too much art, beauty and perfection can be overwhelming. I don’t like the way art is presented. What bugs me are those convoluted, oh-so-clever texts…
Letter to my MP about GAZA
I think the best thing we can do about the nightmare being inflicted onto the people of Gaza is to write to our Member of Parliament. Let them know where you stand. I wrote to mine, Peter Kyle MP, over two weeks ago but he’s not replied. Normally MPs reply…
The Fabulous Funeral of Angus Wolfe Murray
First of all, I want to ask if you’ve seen this film we made of my Dad, using footage from the sixties and some video shot about 10 years ago when he was obsessed by hens and living with my Mother again. Secondly, if you’re interested in my Dad you might…
Funny, unusual and interesting memories of Angus Wolfe Murray
I wrote this blog post just after my father died, at home, on the west coast of Scotland, in January 2023. I’m in a state of shock but also not surprised as he lived his life in a state of wild defiance of the conventions and norms of ordinary life, and hated the…
Bosnia’s Unique Wartime Posters
I’m working on an epic book that’s coming out in May this year: Bosnian War Posters, by Daoud Sarhandi. It’s an incredible collection of propaganda and art that he and Alina Wolfe Murray, my ex-wife, collected just after the war in Bosnia Herzegovina. It’s taken…
Why I Moved to Bosnia
Daniel Craig was a good actor before he got turned into a bad-tempered robot for the Bond films. A great film he starred in, before the Bond franchise gobbled him up, was Layer Cake. It’s one of those clever-witty-vicious crime films that the English are quite…
Travel the Balkans even if Mother tells you not to
I’ve just been travelling round the Balkans and want to share my impressions in the hope that you will feel inspired to do the same. Accommodation, transport and food are cheap, the people are friendly, parts of it are stunning (see the photo below) and…
Belgrade’s Station Disappears
Bewilderment is the word which best describes my feelings when I got to Belgrade’s main station and found it to be abandoned. A flimsy wire fence was the only sign that this once-busy station, the hub of rail travel in the Balkans, has been closed down. Was I in…
Croatia Looks Perfect, but…
Croatia has one of the most spectacular coastlines in Europe, with mountains plunging into the sea, countless islands, and Dubrovnik: the ancient port city that features in the epic TV series Game of Thrones. If you’re mega rich, or connected to Croatia’s…
Visiting Srebrenica: Negative Expectations; Positive Impressions
Srebrenica is so much more than a small town on the eastern border of Bosnia. It’s a name that is associated with genocide. The number 8,372 is often mentioned alongside the name of the town, as that’s the number of unarmed men and children who were killed there…
My mother’s notes from Montenegro
I spent my last month in Scotland going through the residue of my mother’s stuff (she died in June 2017 and if you’d like to see how wonderful she was click here). We had a container full of things and I gave most of it away, to family and friends, but…
My Time in East Berlin
East Berlin was controlled by the Russians until 1989. It no longer exists. I spent some time there many years ago, on my way to Asia. This is how I described it in my first travel book, 9 Months in Tibet. Berlin back then was entirely surrounded by a high security…
If I was Napoleon
If I was planning to invade Russia with a massive land army (Napoleon went in with 635,000 men and emerged with about 20,000) I would set off in the middle of winter. “But zat is madness your Highness,” they would say. “Even the simplest peasant in…
Philip Pullman’s storytelling system
Writing about a book of essays is hard because each essay is a complex entity unto itself; each one has a brilliant idea that I’d like to write about – but then I read the next one and I forget what I was so interested in a few pages back. Suffice to say that…
Travel as a Way of Life
I first posted this article in 2016, but it’s so useful for anyone who wants to go travelling that I’m re-posting it again now. In the interim, Darmon Richter has published a book that is well worth getting: Chernobyl: A Stalker’s Guide By Darmon…
Could Scotland provide the leadership needed to save the planet?
The National newspaper in Scotland just published my comment piece on the hypocrisy of Scotland’s leadership when it comes to climate change…You can read it here (without having to subscribe)… The Scottish government is ignoring a once-in-a-century…
Some Views on Scottish Independence
I first published this article in 2021 but now (2025) it still seems relevant. Here’s the article: During the 2014 referendum I was against independence but now I’m in the unclaimed centre ground, the no-man’s land, the “Don’t…
Travelling in the Time of the Coronavirus
My heart goes out to everyone who’s stuck at home feeling bored and worried. I’m the only person on the train from Brighton to London. Usually you can’t find a seat at this time of the morning (10:42 departure). The only people at the station were…
My Coronavirus Diary
At first I was like Trump – in denial – but when it became clear, except to the most diehard conspiracy theorists, that this wasn’t just another seasonal flu I realised that self-isolation and lockdown were essential. “Easy,” I thought,…
Hitching is eco-friendly and fascinating
My Romanian sister in law was rather horrified to hear that I wanted to take her 12-year old daughter hitching. But she’s open-minded enough to realise that the chances of robbery, rape or abduction — or any of the horrors that the media feed us — are…
