November 2011
2 posts
2 tags
1 tag
Burning the Guy . . . in private →
When I were a lad … there was a stonking great bonfire on the Common near our house. Each November 5, the local Scouts would pile up the wood, toss on a Guy, and light the thing while we stood around in our parkas and wellies. If you drove around that night, the glow of fires would dance above the hedgerows and fields, fireworks cracking over head …
June 2011
1 post
3 tags
Good and Bad Religion (Review) →
PETER VARDY’s new book is an admission to the new atheists that much religion is indeed bad, and that, rather than rush to defend faith, believers should use this criticism as an opportunity to root out the bad …
April 2011
2 posts
2 tags
On the royal wedding →
I have before me the souvenir issue of the Daily Telegraph, awash with the colour and joy that was the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. For me, a favourite image is not the balcony kiss or that dress, iconic though they already are; rather, it is the image of the mass of people on the Mall. In all its massive yet polite reverie, this image offers a strong contrast with...
1 tag
Cnicht →
At some point, your child needs to conquer their first mountain, and there is no better candidate than Cnicht in Snowdonia …
February 2011
2 posts
1 tag
Seek the good →
Given at boarders’ chapel, Loughborough Grammar School, 16.ii.11.
A reading from Zechariah 8:16-17
These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates…
1 tag
Seek the good →
… We have a tendency to judge things by the worst in them. For Syria, we condemn a whole people because of their government and the sins committed by a few of their Muslim brethren. We fail to recognise that we would fall by the same sword. I like to think that my lawyer friend remembers me as a friendly Englishman who enjoyed an evening of shared humanity with him, and not as the...
January 2011
3 posts
2 tags
2 tags
2 tags
September 2010
3 posts
1 tag
Boarders’ Chapel →
In assembly yesterday I talked about how we can learn from Israeli grandmothers and treat others how we would wish to be treated. The Golden Rule is an ethical universal but so very difficult to…
1 tag
Yom Kippur assembly →
On Saturday, Jews across the world celebrated the high holiday of Yom Kippur. Known in English as the Day of Atonement, Jews fast and pray on Yom Kippur as an atonement — or penance — for the previous year’s sins and misdeeds…
1 tag
Northumberland/Scotland →
Q: Where can you go on August bank holiday in England to avoid seeing people?
A: The Cheviot Hills of Northumberland.
Every time I visit England’s far north-east I am struck by its beauty and…
August 2010
2 posts
1 tag
Austria 2010 →
How long does outdoors apparel last? That’s a question being studied by RED (Re-use, Explore, Discover), a project running in conjunction with the University of Leeds. I am one of the Trail…
1 tag
July 2010
1 post
3 tags
June 2010
11 posts
1 tag
A message from Benedict Arnold to the rebellious... →
I am now led to devote my life to the re-union of the British empire, as the best and only means to dry up the streams of misery that have deluged this country. They may be assured, that concious…
2 tags
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
2 tags
1 tag
2 tags
1 tag
May 2010
13 posts
1 tag
1 tag
Review: Robin Hood →
There’s a scene in the new Robin Hood where Sir Walter Loxley (played by Max von Sydow, a Swede) tells Robin (played by Russell Crowe, an Australian) that he stinks.
Oh, how apt.
2 tags
2 tags
2 tags
1 tag
How the Market Can Save the Gulf of Mexico →
Although the damages of the oil spillage in the Gulf of Mexico may exceed $50 billion, American law may limit liability to as little as $75 million. Seizing the opportunity of the BP disaster,…
1 tag
British and American conservatism drift further... →
Events this week speak volumes about the state of conservatism in Britain and America.
On one side of the Atlantic, the British Conservative Party is now in bed with the lefty Liberal Democrats,…
1 tag
Play honestly with the constitution →
Britain’s constitution is a rickety old thing, existing as it does on scraps of parchment and the collective wisdom of tradition. Most of the time, at least since Charles II brought his curly wig back to London, it works. Every now and again its eccentricities are laid bare. Now is such a time…
3 tags
Amida Magazine: Loss of Iraq's History →
2 tags
Archaeology Odyssey: Eastnor Reliefs →
2 tags
Baltimore Sun OpEd: Anti-Americanism →
2 tags
Review: The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel... →
The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Here’s the story: Mary has twins — Jesus, a religious weirdo, and Christ, the politician. Encouraged by a mysterious stranger, Christ makes plans to turn Jesus’ provincial message in to a world religion.
I sort of wanted to like this book, if only so I could resist the holy religious...
2 tags
September 2009
3 posts
1 tag
Dachstein →
You can attack the Dachstein (2995m, Austria) from the south, either using the cable car to get quick altitude or via rather difficult climbing routes. The northern route is the classic choice,…
2 tags
1 tag
How the British National Health Service Works:... →
It is my observation — contrary to popular opinion over here — that America does not have a higher proportion of dullards than any other country, just that said dullards grab the microphone with…
August 2009
12 posts
1 tag
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell →
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Sad to say, I simply could not finish this book and I feel terribly guilty about that. Its fanciful world…
2 tags
2 tags
1 tag
2 tags
2 tags
1 tag
Foel Cymcerwyn →
Pembrokeshire county top (536m) in the Preseli hills.