When Ai Wei Wei partnered with Anish Kapoor to perform a protest walk to the Olympic Village in London – to highlight the plight of Syrian refugees – I tagged along on my bike. It was a protest walk but I chose to cycle alongside; I had nothing against refugees on the whole but I thought it best not to pledge allegiance until I had at least thought through some of the complex issues involved

And thus, I hedged my bets by cycling the protest walk; sometimes alongside but, more often than not, either ahead of the walk or behind it. If I cycled alongside, I might have been considered a sympathiser, or even a collaborator, but at a distance, I was merely an impartial observer. Cycling had further benefits – at one point I even stopped off at a roadside restaurant, had a quick lunch whilst the walk walked past. Yes, I felt a tad guilty that those who were participating in the walk seemed to be foregoing their lunch; they were, it seemed, focused on a higher cause – the refugee cause.

I was focused on the cause of grabbing some lunch, as I was hungry. They were walking and I was cycling after all, so I had some time on them – I ate, trying not to let the thought of starving refugees ruin my lunch. I did not even have to rush – having eaten, I simply jumped back on my bike and easily caught up with the walk.

And when the walk culminated at Anish Kapoor’s Orbit sculpture at the Olympic park, there was a veritable orgy of publicity ...