Jonathan Self

'Of all the countries in the world, Ireland is the country for ruins'

Jonathan Self muses on the abandoned, forgotten and mislaid objects which dot his surrounds.

'By the time I reached chapter seven I was nauseated by the sheer volume of stuff I owned'

Jonathan Self's chance encounter with a book shifts the way he sees his belongings... but how long will his urge to declutter last?

Jonathan Self: 'Ten yards from shore, I felt completely and utterly alone, the last man on earth'

A wintry dip in the ocean revitalises Jonathan Self.

"Hippocrates's advice — 'if you're in a bad mood, go for a walk' — would have me constantly perambulating"

Jonathan Self on the End of the World, ancient battlegrounds and friendly pigs.

Jonathan Self: 'Nothing manmade — not even the greatest works of art — can match the beauty of the countryside'

After months spent in Florence, a return to Ireland brings a tear to the eye of our columnist.

Jonathan Self: 'To be in a foreign country is thrilling. Everything is new. One is constantly on one’s mettle. It is like being a child again'

Jonathan Self's scuppered plans force him to reflect on how the joy of travel mixes with the delicious ambivalence of wanting to go home.

Jonathan Self: 'In Ireland, summer smells sweet, effervescent and damp. In Tuscany, one almost has to push one’s way through it'

Jonathan Self's recent move to Italy has brought a fresh challenge. Or rather, a hot and heavy one.

Jonathan Self on switching banks after 50 years: 'I was in such a fury that it was fully an hour before I came to my senses'

Oh dear — poor Jonathan has had a bit of a time of it. We'll leave him to explain more.

Jonathan Self: What I found out when I finally read a book I'd been meaning to read for 40 years

The author finally plucked up the courage to read Montaigne — here's what he made of it.

Jonathan Self: 'Shoes are part of what it means to be human — they were invented 4,000 years before the wheel'

Giving away his suits was one thing, but Jonathan Self struggled when it came to his classic brogues.

Jonathan Self: The greatest novel of the 20th century? Maybe, but 'Ulysses' still sent me to sleep within three pages

Jonathan Self looks back on some of the great books published exactly a century ago.

‘I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade'

Jonathan Self on the Three Kings, gloomy January days and the joy of marmalade.

12 best Christmas films to watch with the family

Nothing violent, nothing unpleasant: think drama, comedy, romance, adventure, inspiration and, above all else, schmaltz, says Jonathan Self, as he presents the 12 films you simply must see this Christmas.

Jonathan Self: 'Town folk know pleasures, country people joys'

Live in a village and you'll live longer, says Jonathan Self — just be prepared for everyone to know your business.

Jonathan Self: Was Eve's apple really a pear? Because I'm pretty sure it was

Jonathan Self points out that the Good Book doesn't actually specify what fruit Eve plucked from the Tree of Knowledge. Among other things.

Jonathan Self: The collections that made me, from pressed flowers to my 416 'do not disturb' signs stolen from hotels

Who knew that pressing flowers could be thrilling and skilful? Jonathan Self, a self-confessed 'obsessive collector', tells all.

Why we're all suckers for the the irresistible allure of a crumbling country house

Our columnist Jonathan Self writes about the crumbling beauty of character houses and the joy of saving them for posterity.

Jonathan Self: 'Our early potatoes aren’t going to be that early'

Between a late start and back-breaking work, Jonathan Self tries his hand at growing the humble spud.

Jonathan Self: Don't measure your life in years — measure it in dogs

Jonathan Self celebrates a birthday for a beloved dog.

The wit and wisdom of snow, from Laurie Lee to Ogden Nash

Snow has always inspired wit and wisdom — and here are some of the best, as picked out by Jonathan Self.