This week, as we’re launching the 500 Words Competition I’ve been thinking about writing. Not just these 390 words, telling a story, trying to say something about what it means, but all stories - myths and legends, heroes, adventures, love and sadness - the stories of being human. As a child, my own stories were …
When I was younger, I wanted to be something. I don’t mean that I wanted to be famous, or important. I didn’t want to be the boss of something or to accrue titanic wealth (though I sometimes wonder whether I underestimated the appeal of titanic wealth…). What I mean is that I wanted to belong …
This has been the last big festival weekend of the summer, the last holiday hurrah before reverting to routine. I don’t know about you Sara, but Chris has been at Carfest South and I’ve been at the Christian arts festival, Greenbelt.Different events, same struggles; same desire for the most fun possible before heading back to …
I am an art historian by profession and I work in a museum. The past is my business. I’m supposed to know something about it and to be able to teach about it. If I had one, therefore, the temptation to use a time machine would be very great indeed. Imagine the thrill of being …
There are three boys in my family and they like to climb, so quite often we head for an indoor wall near us to go bouldering. Bouldering is climbing without ropes, solving technical problems at no great height and with comforting safety mats in case of a fall. However, even though the walls aren't that …
So, last night, I’m at home, cooking macaroni cheese. Now, my macaroni cheese is good. It is rich and golden, it is unctuous and gorgeous. It is an artery-hardening, full-fat delight. There is much cheese, of many varieties. And that’s the problem. There are three boys in my house, Sam, Silas and Linus, and they …
As you’ve probably heard, over Easter they switched on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland again, hoping to find out something more about the ‘dark matter’ that seems to make up 96% of the mass of the universe. Like most people, I can’t begin to contemplate the complexity of the questions that are …
I used to be in a band. It was the greatest fun it is possible to have and the friends I played with are still among my closest, 30 years later. There’s nothing quite like live music, making it or hearing it. Recently, I saw Wara - a London based band whose members are all …