It’s that time of year again – new year hopes, expectations, disappointments. Many of us are engaged in more, or less, helpful spaces of exchange and reflection about who we want to be and what we want to do over the next 12 months. Last January I shared some thoughts about how we might look outwards rather than inwards in our journey, and suggested reflection on what stories we might tell in support of progressive politics . I have tried to take my own advice, pushing furthe

I am currently reading Meditations for Mortals  by Oliver Burkeman, another wonderful recommendation from the writing group I’ve joined...

I am coming towards the end of the summer holiday and as I reconnect with friends and colleagues the inevitable question arises – did I...

Many of us are familiar with the ‘Brit abroad’ trope of a frustrated tourist speaking ever more loudly in English, seemingly unaware that...

The gift of travel is hard to beat. It can’t be returned or left to gather dust on a mantlepiece. It is an invitation to a new...

A few months ago, my son’s school had a bring your child to work day. I happened to be working from home, so we merely walked upstairs...

I recently visited the new CERN Science Gateway . In between looking at exhibits which explore what we know of the origins of life, I...

A friend of mine was recently telling me about her retreat into crime novels as a haven from escalating anxiety about current affairs. It...

I have just finished reading Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit . I had been wanting to read this book for a long time,...

In 1946 George Orwell wrote his essay ‘ Why I Write ’ in which he describes, and reflects on, becoming a writer. In this essay he shares...

In the aftermath of the latest United States presidential election, I have been struck by the airtime given to discussing the naivety of...

It was not long ago that I read Cornel West’s famous line  for the first time: “justice is what love looks like in public.” It was like a...