‘hope does not disappoint’ – St Paul; Romans 5 v 5 Whatever else you may say about the English football team over the past few weeks, they’ve certainly been a ray of sunshine in a gloomy landscape blighted by Brexit, Boris and baloney. Every now and again, even the most pessimistic could be overheard humming that … More Hope – abandoned or reclaimed?
‘Unchecked, this loud and occasionally violent ideology propagates a particular view of history, reality and human nature that skews intellectual enquiry, erodes diversity and stifles debate.’ – Dr David Landrum I am just back from Cape Town where we are still on Level 6B water restrictions. That means using less than 50 litres of water … More The New Normal
‘Your image isn’t your character. Character is what you are as a person’ – Derek Jeter – former US pro baseball player I’ve been past various building sites in recent months, two of which sported this rather curious notice in large letters and nailed to the surrounding hoardings: ‘Improving the image of construction’. I thought … More ‘Improving the Image of Construction’
‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.’ – Winston Churchill The first exam I ever failed was Latin in the third year. I was devastated. I had never failed at anything in my life – apart from Primary School sports days; but that was recreation, right? Not real life. … More Failure Is Not fatal
‘Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.’ – Desmond Tutu I planned to end the year with some kind of parody of popular, annual, reflective award ceremonies; here’s a few I had lined up: Best Performance by a Community in Crisis: North Kensington for Grenfell Tower Best … More Tidings of Comfort & Joy…?
‘With great privilege comes great responsibility’ – with apologies to Spiderman One Friday night, many Octobers ago, I apparently arrived into the world to the warm whaler’s greeting: “Thar she blows!” My Dad’s exclamation may not have been the special, sacred moment of which most parents dream, but the largely inappropriate fact has been corroborated … More Another October
‘People have preconceptions about women of a certain age.’ – Lesley Nicol – UK actress A Facebook friend recently had their ‘Significant’ Birthday. No, not the momentous half century; the formidably … More Women of A Certain Age
‘It is the ordinary people who will determine how much impact is done in the world.’ – Chris Marlow; ‘Doing Good Is Simple;Making A Difference Right Where You Are’ In a week that has seen aggressive and toxic vitriol gush across my social media pages in both the run-up and aftermath of the UK General … More The Surprising Goodness of People
“I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott No prizes for guessing which UK tabloid shouted this bleak headline at me while I was innocently minding my own business in a Surrey coffee shop recently. It reminded me of the fawning henchmen in the Glen Close … More ‘How Scared Should we Be?’
‘Books are a uniquely portable magic’ – Stephen King I can’t remember learning to read, but I do remember growing up in a household full of books. Wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling books. Everybody was always reading something; we began with Beatrix Potter and AA Milne. My Dad positioned a modest bookcase on the landing so that … More Books Galore!
