What I’m about to write is going to make a lot of you, probably the majority, angry.

I know the last thing you need on your first weekend of lockdown is still more Joe Gould reading matter, but Joe Gould fascinates me, and so does Joseph Mitchell.

I want you to know that I’m not a dog person. I’m not a cat person either. I get that people like pets, but I don’t really.​

It was only much later that I realised what a gift Old Man McLaren was to us.

I was walking Hout Bay beach the other day. Whenever I visit Hout Bay I walk very precisely from one end of the beach to the other and back again.

Every so often you hear about someone with a creative dream that after years of effort shows no signs of coming true.

This is a story about the unexpected benefits of misfortune. No matter how dark the cloud, there’s always some beam of sunshine. My friend’s brother gives money to homeless people. Not just money – he gives food, items of clothing, anything he happens to have with him that might make their day a little brighter.

It may not have been a pure and cleansing flame, in fact it was more of a toxic smog, but at least it started the year in a memorable way.

Writing for you has given me great pleasure

You're unlikely to lose the plot when you keep a journal