Thoughts on the late Mrs. T.
She did immense harm, but she didn’t do it all by herself. She left the country bruised and fractured, torn between those now proud to be greedy and heartless and those embittered or broken by the contempt with which they were spat upon. The cracks have only widened since then, as the smarmy procession followed: …
The New Look
As my long-standing and observant readers may notice, we have a new theme, a sunny blue sky in place of the, let’s face it, rather bleak, lonely tree under which we’ve pondered for so long. Does this represent a new optimistic attitude, a confidence that, despite appearances to the contrary, the world is becoming a …
Learning the hard way
I suspect that bad chess, like nightmares and childbirth, is the kind of thing which is of immense interest to the individual experiencing it, and a matter of indifference, if not active distaste, to nearly all everyone else. So, ignoring that insight entirely, let me tell you about my weekend. It may be that bad …
Fracking Up
My new novel, Fracking Up, was published yesterday. It’s the first entirely new book I’ve written (Summer 17 was rediscovered and revised) since Girotondo in 2006, so merits a small celebration. I’d started a novel set in Northern Ireland in between the two, but my imagination wasn’t really caught, and so I don’t suppose it …
Greenbelt 2012
This was my second proper, grown-up trip to Greenbelt. I went once, about thirty years ago, when I was around seventeen. I remember being inspired, excited about ideas of the holy fool, about the possibility of melding radical politics and intellectual enquiry with faith. It was, in retrospect, one of the milestones on my path …
PeaceJam: music breaking down barriers
Music, with its power to inspire emotion, conjure memories and create bonds, has played a significant role in the history of our community. Sometimes this has been a part of the problem, when musical traditions have emphasised exclusion and conflict. Often, however, the experience of sharing music, of singing, playing, listening and dancing, has brought …
The tent and the temple
Last night I was reading Kester Brewin’s book Other: Loving Self, God and Neighbour in a World of Fractures, when I came across this passage: “The temporal nature of these moments runs against the culture of permanence that runs right through the Church. We speak of eternity, of an undying body of Christ, of the …
What I would have said…
I’d prepared something to say at Saturday’s Green Party NI AGM (see Slugger O’Toole for a full account) in support of the motion, “The Green Party in Northern Ireland is opposed to all oil drilling in Northern Ireland particularly in areas of special scientific interest and opposes the licensing of exploratory or exploitation activities that …
This shale of tears: why Christians should care about fracking
Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as ‘fracking’, is big news all around the world, and especially on both sides of the Irish Sea. It is a technique first used in conventional wells, where a mixture of water and sand was pumped at high pressure to extract the last vestiges of oil or gas. Over the past …
