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Travel & France
Observation & Drollery
David McAughtry
London / France / Cape Town
Not updated regularly
Fifteen years of writing — about jazz pianists and organ recitals, an 81-year-old minicab driver who played violin with the LSO, ruined villas on the Cambodian coast, the correct way to attend a concert without suffering unduly, and whatever else seemed worth the effort.
Insomnia, snoring, a gas mask in pyjamas, and a section written entirely in capital letters.
On propaganda, truth as just one narrative option, and a very loud Republican on a plane at La Guardia.
A social problem with no satisfactory resolution.
An 81-year-old LSO violinist drives a minicab through Richmond Park with a banana.
A business opportunity, briefly.
The title is the piece, more or less.
Ebert submitted captions to the New Yorker cartoon contest. Some of them are very good indeed.
A resemblance that, once noticed, cannot be unnoticed.
Music criticism, travel writing, and journalism at once. 400 words. The best thing on this site.
Juggling, ballroom dancing, and a large revolving structure.
The headline required no embellishment.
The legendary Cavaillé-Coll organ in Rouen. Worth the journey.
They really did.
Cambodia’s ghost coast. 1,067 views and counting.
It was a close-run thing.
It is not what you think.
On the plane back from KL, a few moments to reflect. Relevant today in ways it wasn’t when written.
The problem of the hard seat. A proposed solution.
The problem of the interval drink. A proposed solution.
The problem of the person in front. A proposed solution.
Field testing. Partial success.
A wheeze so obvious it has never been implemented correctly.
Unwritten but not unconceived. The underwear requirements for a 7-hour Wagner performance are specific and have not previously been addressed in print.
Virage Corner
The best resource on the internet for maintaining and repairing the 1989 Aston Martin Virage V8 Coupe. Around 18–20 technical pages covering the engine, electrics, VIC diagnosis, immobiliser wiring, vacuum pipes, brakes, suspension, fuel systems, and more — written from direct experience, over many years, by someone who still owns one of the ~363 ever made.
Virage Cornermcaughtry.photo
For photographs properly presented, with full notes on where, how and why they were taken, plus a substantial body of technical writing about cameras and technique — a site organised around the image rather than the word.
mcaughtry.photoMadrid street portraits. A neighbourhood that sits still long enough to be photographed.
A small moment, precisely caught.
What bridges look like when nobody is paying attention.
Paris at the right time of day.
The traditional fishing huts of the Gironde estuary. Worth the drive.
Lisbon before anyone else has arrived.
Self-explanatory, and better than it sounds.
Taken with a small Fuji. Processed with care.
Evocative shots showing the passing of time on several different levels.