“He won’t talk to anyone, he never has,” said the manager of British wrestling superstar Kendo Nagasaki when I requested an interview. So I asked if I could get into the ring with him instead. “Are you sure?” The manager was surprised and I was seriously spooked when Kendo turned up in full mask and regalia, with good reason. He took me apart. It still hurts.
Category Archives: Features
A balm for the soul of a Pope in a gilded cage
The Sistine Chapel Choir was about to release its first album and a British man was among its ranks. That meant the rare chance to be inside the chapel during a concert and gaze up at the famous ceiling, reflecting on what life must be like for the man who had become Pope.
Amar’s Story
I was so moved to turn on the television and see Panorama telling the story of a little boy who was badly burned by napalm in Iraq many years ago, reunited with his long-lost mother at last, having grown into a man. That boy was the subject of the first piece I ever wrote for a national newspaper, back in 1993.
Saying goodbye to Bartley Gorman, bareknuckle boxing champion of the world
The new heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is said to be related to a legendary figure called Bartley Gorman who was for decades the bare-knuckle champion of the world. I was at Gorman’s funeral in 2002, a day that lives long in the memory. This is what I wrote at the time.
Firle: In An English Country Melting Pot
There are few villages more English, more feudal and more fascinating than Firle, nestling quietly in the South Downs. It’s beautiful, ancient and unsettling.