COVID-19: Should we be fearful of the coming dystopia?

My daughter (the second of four) asked me today whether I was afraid—of the coronavirus and the devastating implications of the current pandemic. My answer was no. I don't feel afraid—but it was only later that I was able to think about why not. Here are some of my reasons. I remember the GFC in …

Apples and Oranges

One of the downsides, and there are many, of spending three months indoors writing books all day and drinking beer all evening, is that when you finally emerge into the public domain (unlike your book, which will probably spend months in some dusty office being manhandled by a bespectacled chap who likes to use the …

Faith, hope and meh: A theology of what?

I met with a friend today who said my words re faith, hope and love feel shallow. I tend to over-talk in such moments so didn't really leave space for any clarification. I suppose I believed him. I suppose, also, that I didn't want to hear it, whether I needed to or not. I suppose …

Rachel Held Evans: A voice crying in my wilderness

As Barbara Brown Taylor puts it, "in an age of information overload ... the last thing any of us needs is more information about God. We need the practice of incarnation, by which God saves the lives of those whose intellectual assent has turned them dry as dust ... Rachel Held Evans, Searching For SundayFor …

New fiction: The Block Splitter

'Tell us the one about the kangaroo again,' said Brodie, warming his damp socks by the fire. His feet were still inside them. The end of his big toe poked out the top of one of them. He didn’t care. 'Not 'til you take your fuck'n feet away from them flames,' said Grundy. 'You'll burn …

Easter Sunday: We don’t want no resurrection

My favourite resurrection scene is the one in Scorsese’s movie The Last Temptation of Christ, when Jesus calls Lazarus from the grave. I like to think that if this story actually happened, it happened as Scorsese pictures it. First off, Jesus is late. Because Jesus is always late. Like when Notre Dame almost burnt down. …

Mud pies in the slums: The Wait of Glory

C.S. Lewis was wrong, I reckon. In The Weight of Glory he famously says that we satisfy ourselves making mud pies in the slums because we don't know how good it is to build sandcastles at the beach. WRONG. I've built sandcastles at the beach. I know what it's like to sit in the sun …

Wolfie: A random chapter from my novel, Children of the Wildood

‘Wolfie fancies you,’ Manboy said. He said it during English, with Rigby, the lower school head. Rigby was reading us Rogue Male. He stopped reading when he heard Manboy talking. Rigby didn’t say anything, he just stopped reading and looked at me and Manboy. Then he started again. In the story, some guy on the …

We are not like this: No?

I apologise beforehand for any offence. This is just rage.   I gotta be honest though, I hate the fucking Facebook profile sticker that says, This is not who we are. Sure, we’re not America, we don’t do this every day, it’s not a pastime or a sport or a way to fill the news …