I've recently returned from filming the documentary Burma's Lost Royals with Director Alex Bescoby and his team.

During filming, we were privileged to enjoy a fascinating interview with Burma's pre-eminent Historian Thant Myint-U, author of River of Lost Footsteps.

Exactly 130 years ago, Britain occupied Burma and toppled it's thousand year old monarchy, sending the country on a journey into confusion and tyranny from which it's only beginning to emerge. In November 2015, Burma will stage it's first free elections in more than half a century. While many in Britain are looking on in trepidation as Burma takes it's first tentative steps towards the possibility of a democratic new era, only by examining the specifics of Burma's complex history is it possible to make sense of the events that are unfolding today.

We also interviewed influential Burmese Artist Htein Lin. (I previously met up with Htein outside the Tate Modern and in Yangon around a year ago. Htein is a former political prisoner who is currently engaged in making a large scale artwork entitled A Show of Hands. Htein's artwork involves plaster casts of the arms of 1,000 Burmese political prisoners. Read more . . .

We enjoyed many adventures too numerous to mention, such as attending an unforgettable children's Gospel performance in a Yangon church and meeting up with author Rupert Arrowsmith in Yangon's most exclusive yet deserted restaurant. More updates soon . . .