At last! Thank God for Greta Thunberg and her quiet revolution. History is filled with radically quiet, quietly radical women, overlooked first by its male guardians then by the ‘strong women’ movement – fantastically welcome, but in danger of excluding the mild, the shy and the dull (a charming adjective ascribed to Dorothy Hodgkin by … Continue reading Greta Thunberg’s Quiet Revolution
For getting around London in the days before pre-Sat Nav and Google Map - if you can imagine such a quaint, techno-lite concept - Phyllis Pearsall’s A-Z was indispensable. But most contemporary references to Phyllis are derogatory. Take for example, the mentions she gets in the much-lauded London Review of Books. The tunnel-boring machine used … Continue reading Phyllis Pearsall – ‘Whose secretary are you?’
Some significant news was released yesterday but it was no April Fool. The European Commission agreed to reinforce its Border and Coast Guard with an additional 10,000 border guards. You might think the move would be fuel for sceptical Leavers convinced that the EU project will suck up its members into a super state, despite … Continue reading 10,000 employed to keep ‘them’ out of Europe
I wrote a letter recently, in which I asked for experts in psychology and kenosis. Which begs the question: what’s Kenosis? Well, it’s complicated.... The first time I came across it was in a book by Tobias Jones. It’s his definition I use when I talk about kenosis: creating sacred space by removing the will and … Continue reading Kenosis
I watched a talk yesterday by a respected philosopher. At first, I found his straightforward, gentle but firm presentation of evidence that humanity is unlikely to save itself from extinction, at worst; or face unprecedented and awful challenges, at best, to be a relief. There are fearless witnesses to our predicament out there - the … Continue reading Why ending of freedom of movement is not the right response to climate breakdown
I wrote to the Home Office about Sajid Javid's question: why, if people trying to cross the channel are 'genuine' asylum seekers, don’t they claim asylum in the first country to which they fled? Apart from a lack of understanding of the importance when seeking a new life of family connections and a knowledge of … Continue reading ‘You won’t succeed’
This month has seen yet more toxic other-ing of refugees and migrants. The Stansted 15 were found guilty of endangering the safety of an airport, under legislation designed to counter terrorism, and face possible life sentences. The Attorney General hasn't answered questions on why the charge was changed from trespass. The case is a worrying … Continue reading Refugee news summary: the Stansted 15 and Europe’s hostile envrionment
