We all do bad things. We hurt those we love and we’re all familiar with the sensation of trying to make up for it. That action, atonement, making amends for a wrong, is some of the hardest work we ever have to do. I have attempted atonement in many ways, I’ve confessed, apologised, performed acts …
Until quite recently I had a jacket that I loved. It was of soft blue wool and beautifully relaxed tailoring; one of those pieces of clothing that makes you feel smarter, cooler and more attractive. I wore it a lot. One evening, I hung it on the back of a chair in front of the …
When I was nineteen, I went to university. I enjoyed it – I made friends, played sport, acted in plays - but I had no idea at all why I was there and I struggled to settle to my studies. A year later, when I was twenty, I dropped out. It was easily the biggest …
When I was writing this, a friend came to visit with the news of a death. It was shocking and unexpected and it stopped me in my tracks. Coming back to my desk to think about books, I picked up John Drury’s beautiful and moving biography of the poet and Anglican priest, George Herbert. I …
Spring is here. We renew, we refresh, we clean, and we recycle. I have to say that I find recycling a bit of a pain. It’s complicated and our house is full of boxes and bins. In theory, food waste goes in one and other organic waste in a second. Glass, tins, paper and card …
I’ve been in a lot of churches and worked with a lot of clergy and I have to say that once the big dress is on, it makes no difference what’s going on underneath. That’s not to say that the gender of a priest is unimportant – just that it’s not important which gender it …
At the start of Lent, temptation is all around us. We are off chocolate but we shop surrounded by Easter eggs. Mind you, every time I sit down to work, which for me often (supposedly) involves a lot of reading and writing, I am beset by temptation. I’m tempted to eat. I’m tempted to put …
Love is hard to pin down. A recent study of married couples tied loving and being loved in to ideas of happiness, contentment and wellness. Which, confusingly, all turn out all to be different things. The New Testament has four ways of thinking about love; as affection, friendship, charity and erotic attraction. Clearly, it can’t …
It’s awards season in the film industry and companies with an eye to a bit of free publicity will be offering gifts to the actors, executives and celebrities attending the ceremonies. If you think a goody bag is something with a balloon, a party popper and a lolly at the end of an afternoon of …
I read somewhere that the mirrors in some shop changing rooms are designed to make us look slimmer. It may be an urban myth, but it’s a smart plan anyway. Clearly, if the answer to the question, ‘Does my bum look big in this?’ is 'yes', or if, in my case, if I miraculously look …