7 September

This is a beautiful bathroom. The fascination with luxury scares me a bit. All civilisations that collapse flirt with luxury towards the end. I think what keeps a society alive is curiosity - questioning things to adapt our ideas to circumstances. It's hard work, challenging ideas. When that curiosity dies, that thinking energy is diverted to over-working the basics of everyday life. Which is really all luxury is, using our thinking to decide the best tap, the best coffee, the best holiday or phone. We end up with private luxury and public squalor.