Paris, Rivers & the Passing of Time
Back in 1978 the poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti made a trip to the Pacific Northwest. Today it’s a quiet, sunny morning in August. I’m in a...
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9 min read
Dragging the Seine
I watched the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics at my neighbour’s house. Part way through the ceremony I laughed and exclaimed: ‘Ha!...
8 min read
Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Stonewall
A friend of mine recently joined a new inclusive Christian network, and wanted to know if I planned to sign up. He used the phrase...
7 min read
On Trying to Join a Political Party
My interest in politics started at the age of 11. The secondary school I attended in small-town Warwickshire marked the 1974 General...
9 min read
Activism for Toddlers
Toddlers love books. Especially board books, with titles such as The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Eat Pizza . So it was that I found myself in a...
9 min read
On Not Being Religious
Are you religious? It’s a question the pollsters Gallup have been asking Americans since 1999 – and charting a slow decline in the...
7 min read
On Reading the Novel Written About Me
Search online for ‘revenge fiction’ and you’ll find examples of novels in which a desire for revenge drives the plot: The Count of Monte...
9 min read
Drag Goes to Church
In recent years drag has gone mainstream. Actually, it’s bigger than that. Drag has become all-conquering, ubiquitous, the performance...
5 min read
On Hip Slang
Amid the endless coverage of this year’s Glastonbury Festival I came across this enigmatic nugget from Time Out magazine: ‘Dermot...
10 min read
On Not Having a True Self
‘This above all: to thine own self be true.’ One of many lines from Shakespeare’s Hamlet that have become everyday English phrases. They...
9 min read
Weaponising Kindness
Kindness – I’ve long been a fan, even though its public image tended to be rather wet and doormatty. Kindness is being considerate; it’s...
3 min read
The Arrival of Cherry Blossom
Outside my new home cherry blossom has appeared. It has arrived in the past two days – unexpectedly, since the wind still carries a...
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