It was Hannah’s Instagram story that finally lured me to the ocean. She’d snapped a contented seal, bobbing in turquoise waters, just off of the Torquay coast. My mind immediately drifted to the shelf of seal memorabilia I had as a child; a collection of cuddly toys and cheap knick-knacks. I have observed seals multiple…
On Valentine’s Day, a slight Finnish woman asked me how long she should submerge herself in the frigid waters of the Baltic Sea. “30 seconds” I replied with a nervous half-laugh, shifting uncomfortably on the sofa in my study as I watched her approach the inky rectangle of ocean, cut out of the ice. The…
‘I have never created a more fictional character than the researching ‘I’ in my doctorate, a self that begins in pretended ignorance and then slowly arrives at knowledge, not at all in the fitful, chancy way I myself arrive at it, but step by step, proof by proof, according to the rules.’ Sven Lindqvist
‘To my mind it seems clear that those who have no memory have the much greater chance to lead happy lives. But it is something you cannot possibly escape: your psychological make-up is such that you are inclined to look back over your shoulder. Memory, even if you repress it, will come back at you…
