The precious commodity of biblical friendship

On a recent holiday visit to the Scottish Museum of Modern Art, I was struck by the entrance hall artwork which was made up of a long list of names: everybody the artist, 53-year-old Douglas Gordon, could ever remember meeting in his life. You can see it in my holiday snap (right)!

Now this kind of art may not be your cup of tea – you may prefer the more realistic brush strokes of Canaletto or the landscapes of Constable. But I like art that makes me think – and this installation certainly got me thinking, and not only about the GDPR consequences of such a display.

We had our family trip to Edinburgh (where the museum is located) in the same week that Ed Sheeran, the multi-millionaire pop musician, admitted that he only had four real friends. Fame and anxiety, he said, had crippled him when it comes to trusting people.