The sun setting behind the pyramids in Egypt
on horseback, in the desert, with a stranger.

Visiting Luxor with my teenage sons,
the Nile slipping by alongside us.

Arab horses at a stud farm in Majorca,
nostrils flaring, neck and tails arched.

The Iguazu Falls in Brazil and Argentina,
swirling thundering torrents of water as far as the eye could see.
Christ the Redeemer overlooking Rio.

Two elderly men playing guitar in San Telmo market, Buenos Aires,
while an ancient couple danced the tango.

Landing in Sydney on a clear blue day,
the bridge, Opera House, boats bobbing on blue water.

Landing in Stockholm over the archipelago,
crystal clear water gleaming between the islands.

Standing in a row as a family
taking photos of the Grand Canyon.

Walking across Red Square at midnight the first night of a literary tour,
visiting Pushkin’s, Turgenev’s, Chekhov’s, Tolstoy’s houses,
their manuscripts covered with scribbles and crossings-out,
feeling better about my own notebooks.

Watching my 6’4 son snowboard gracefully down a Swiss mountain.

Arriving in the town of Antigua, Guatemala, music all around to greet us,
walking through the jungle at night to the Mayan tombs.

My mother, father, son as they took their last breath on this earth,
wishing them well on their journey.

Sipping cocktails with my sons overlooking a water hole in Zimbabwe,
seeing white rhino, giraffe, elephants, and more,
tripping along precarious paths beside the Victoria Falls.

The leaves in Fall in Massachusetts and Canada,
covering our car and the landscape with russet gold.

Walking through Florence aged 17, my life ahead of me,
my first love affair waiting around the corner.

Landing in Ko Samui, Thailand, amid tall trees,
the little airport bus painted with birds.

My children and grandchildren growing up,
the odd glance, smile, gesticulation
signalling their family connection.

The Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, a night of country music,
tears of ridiculous happiness.

New York City, Washington’s Georgetown in Nixon impeachment days.
Deserted Arizona roads, horizon to horizon,
Yosemite, Pacific Coast Highway, San Francisco to LA,
twisting and turning beside the Ocean.

Visiting my childhood home in Estoril
to discover the front gate was half the height I remembered it to be.

Plumes of smoke from the bomb
that killed President Hariri, Beirut, Lebanon,
Valentine’s Day, 2005.

England, in the springtime, summer, autumn and snow,
heather and wild ponies in the New Forest,
sheep and cows grazing in gentle pastures,
meandering rivers and streams where Ratty might lurk
busy messing about in boats, the heron quietly watching.
England, any time.

London – my city, what a city:
beauty, parks, history, culture, innovation.
My home.