Arts
The Year Turns, Part 7
Lughnasadh For me, this was always one of the festivals which seemed to slip under the radar. Which is a shame, because it’s a nice social time, with fun and games, and good food. Falling [more…]
Religion
Arts
The Year Turns, Part 6
Litha Litha is the name given to the summer solstice. While the rest of the sabbats that make up the Wheel of the Year have reasonably secure roots in past beliefs and traditions, ‘Litha’ has [more…]
Christianity
Jesus and the End Times – Matthew Chapter 24
Eschatology is the study of End Times prophecy, particularly Christian prophecy, and it is fair to say that there is a fascination with End Times prophecy in the general culture even among those who would [more…]
Islam
“Soldiers of France”
A fortnight ago, I was asked if I might translate the open letter signed by retired French generals warning the government of the very real possibility of a civil war in France. It was felt [more…]
Arts
The Year Turns, part 5
Beltane This important festival has been reinvented umpteen times throughout the ages. I knew it from childhood as May Day. On a couple of occasions while at primary school our class was forced to dance [more…]
Arts
The Year Turns, Part 4
Ēostre My earliest memories of this time of year involve decorating eggs, going to the local park, and rolling them down a hill. Well, more of a small embankment than a hill, but the thought [more…]
20th Century
The ‘Crockford’s Clerical’ Murder
On Sunday 6 December 1987, the Reverend Doctor Canon Gareth Vaughan Bennett returned home after spending a most agreeable weekend with friends in Cambridge. On the way he had given a colleague a lift home, [more…]
Christianity
Korea, Suwon, Part 2
Christianity in Korea—Just Why? The Catholics formed the vanguard of Christianity’s march into East Asia. They first arrived in Korea in the late 1700s, and met with the same hostile reception as they had in [more…]
Hobbies
Korea, Suwon, Part 1
Samsung City Suwon is a city of about a million people, about an hour south of central Seoul by train. I suppose you could call it a scaled-up Korean version of Guildford, on the edge [more…]