Diary – 1 September 2016

European unions come and go. Back in 1794, one of the more improbable ones was founded when Corsica joined Britain as an autonomous kingdom under the rule of George III. It didn’t last long, and by 1796, after an ignominious Brexit from the island, the Corsicans once again found themselves under French rule. Today, the episode is chiefly remembered for the injury sustained by one particular officer during the initial British capture of the island: it was during the siege of Calvi that Nelson lost the sight in his right eye. ‘Never mind,’ he wrote to his wife, ‘I can see very well with the other.’ Naturally, as an appalling hypochondriac myself, I had always wanted to visit the site of this magnificent display of sangfroid — and so last week, during a visit to Corsica, I took my chance. The spot is still marked by a marble plaque. True, it is riddled with bullet holes — but then again, pretty much every sign in Corsica is riddled with bullet holes.