The woman lay on the straw, eyes wide, shoulders shivering. She revived a little to drink. Kneeling beside her, he noticed that her teeth were sound. What is such a woman doing, deep in the Haymonese countryside, without servants? “You’re safe here, madam. Please rest. I am...
None of us likes the fact that many of the world’s poor live without education, clean water, etc, while some of the rich have private jets. But what would a more equal world mean? Would it mean that everyone had what I (middle-class British) take for...
I thought I’d be a bit booksy today. I’ve recently been reading two novels, one 19th and one 21st century. The first was “The Eustace Diamonds” by Anthony Trollope, first published in monthly instalments in 1873. I had read it before in my teenage Trollope Period. The...
By the way, my helpful website manager and creator, Jono Renton, is getting married to Sophie tomorrow. All the best to you both, and your families, for the big day, and for the years to come! The first home I owned was a flat above a...
I finished last time by saying something like: Should a service just be about a person, even a Christian person? How much does the service matter in terms of the grieving process? Can I really have what I want at my funeral, and what is that? Three...
Sam Querrey is currently playing Marin Cilic, an unexpected pairing for this year’s Wimbledon semi-finals. The commentator has just said that many people will have come to watch really wanting to see Roger Federer (he’s up next), but in the meantime will have stayed to...
According to traditional (chauvinistic) etiquette, a lady only wishes to appear in the news on three occasions in her life – birth, marriage and death. These three events are still the times when most of us are most likely to be in the local paper...
So it’s officially summer. That’s good. What’s your favourite season? Let’s see how they measure up: SUMMER. Pro: Occasional warm sunny weather, even in Britain Wimbledon (must revise my mental list of singles winners: those confusing Williams sisters!) Day trips out to nice places Picnics, BBQs etc. Even I can tolerate...
I don’t often watch TV news, but I did see the Panorama programme on Monday, which provided an overview of last Wednesday’s disaster, its surrounding circumstances and causes. Of course this is early days to judge, but I imagine that everybody who watched the programme, and...
Hello my friends. I apologise for the interruption in service - I believe many of you have not been receiving this blog since about x. It's hoped that the problem is now rectified, so could one or two of you let me know if this has...