“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful” – William Morris When I grow up I’d like to be a polymath. I rediscovered this word at the William Morris Anarchy and Beauty exhibition because Morris, apparently, was one. Apparently he was also an “artist-craftsman, designer,…
I hadn’t expected Auschwitz to be such a tourist destination. It was a grey and sombre Friday in November yet, apart from the absence of those ubiquitous key ring vendors, it felt as touristy as the Eiffel Tower. Groups of teenagers on school trips flirted loudly with each other and dropped litter. Coach loads of…
Enough is Enough – a book I’ve just read about building a sustainable economy in a world of finite resources – was both inspirational and depressing. Inspirational because it fuelled my suspicion that an alternative economic paradigm and way of living in the world really is possible. Depressing because when I looked up from…
“Where are the Christian people today who see the status quo, who do not like what they see (because there are things in it which are unacceptable to God), who, therefore, refuse to come to terms with it, who dream dreams of an alternative society which would be more acceptable to God and who determine…
Friends in high places made the Jubilee flotilla much more fun and much less wet. By friends in high places, I mean Harriet and her first floor office in County Hall by Waterloo Bridge which gives us all fantastic views of the boats going past. I put on the earrings I’ve made for the occasion…
A talk on torture and civilisation by Helen Bamber, followed by a drinks reception, seemed too good to miss. I didn’t go along just for the free wine, although that’s always a bonus, but because Helen Bamber is one of those people who has been around for some time and whose insight and experience are worth…
There must be more choices than Boris or Ken. Right? Recognising the window of opportunity I have to voice my opinion in this so-called democracy, I decide to look into the candidates for the London Mayoral Elections which are taking place tomorrow. If you can’t face trawling through the options yourself, here’s my little summary:…
*Ok, so I don’t actually mention conservatives in this blog post, although they’re lurking implicitly in the background. Nevertheless, I include them in the title for the satisfaction of a soundly evangelical three-points-beginning-with-the-same-letter approach for those of you who’ll appreciate that… My research proposal is getting me down. It’s technical, number-centred, and requires precision and…
Last week I enjoyed one of the perks of studying at SOAS and went along to a random talk about the socio-political involvement and religious behaviour of Western Muslims. It sought to address questions like whether or not Islam’s transcendence of the civic sphere affects the political participation of Muslim people. That all sounds pretty…
“It was not the West who faced the tanks, it was the Chinese students.” Just before it vanished off i-player, I managed to squeeze in a great documentary about the history of Amnesty International which was full of comments like that one. Set my mind off on all sorts of ponderings, as you can…
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