My book commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, The Summer of ’45: Stories and Voices from VE Day to VJ Day begins with the signing of the German surrender to the Western Allies in Reims on 7 May. I am an author and journalist with an interest in all kinds of stories and a special love for the natural world, literature, history, music and wine.
The impossibility of filming Catch 22 December 17, 2019. The Labour case for conservatism (thoughts on the 2019 election) January 30, 2020. VE Day: Excitement and relief, but people were anxious, the country was broke and the war in Japan continued May 27, 2020. Leaving the sewer that is Twitter April 14, 2021. Why it’s all over for the big three of tennis April 27, 2021. Just to be clear: I will use the conventional system of writing out names in full on first mention, then surnames afterwards.Ĭontinue reading “Rafael Nadal as secular experience” Recent Posts On the odd occasion that I do look at reader comments when I’m reading online articles, all I generally see is a lot of tedious, tendentious polemics about why Roger or Rafa or Nole or Andy is so great – the first sure sign of a tennis superfan is that they always call their idol by their first name or an affectionate nickname. Yet in terms of being a fan of a particular player, or being drawn into the (essentially silly) debate over who is the greatest male tennis player of all time (or – to use an acronym I have always hated – the GOAT), I have always stayed well clear. 
Since then I have followed the game almost constantly. I remember sitting on a rug amongst the dry, floral-smelling, sun-blasted heather as Becker defeated Kevin Curren in four sets. My earliest defining tennis memory was listening on the radio to Boris Becker winning Wimbledon for the first time in 1985 when my family was on the way back from a camping trip in Dartmoor.
For me it combines the excitement of direct confrontation – the psychological, individualistic and gladiatorial aspects of boxing – with the hand-eye co-ordination, whole-body athleticism, dexterity and skills of the best of any games involving a ball. I‘ve been a lover of tennis pretty much my whole life.
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