I have invented nothing, but memory weaves its own histories. These are travel stories, ranging in place and time. Some are memories of a re-imagined past, others more personal. From the first recorded performance of Hamlet (off the coast of Africa, in 1607) via the strange foundations on which probability theory was built and the forthright epitaphs of Suffolk gravestones, these explorations expand to include the pursuit of wine, a glittering dusk on the beach of Essaouira, the simit vendors of Istanbul, an elegy for Palmyra. And much more. Vividly evocative, this collection is a coda to Simon's acclaimed Pike in the Basement, shaped by time and experience.