A gentle kiss on the lips of the Inquisitor

Note: This article was published on my new Substack newsletter this morning. All articles are still open to everyone, so please hop over there and check out what I'm doing. If you like what you see, feel free to subscribe to stay up-to-date with my new stuff, or take out a paid subscription to keep …

A glimmer of hope in the lights of Piraeus

The pandemic cannot last forever. The Spanish flu ended, and so will this. But it’s also true that we’re entering the darkest days of the pandemic, and after two years of it already, it feels sometimes that ‘We’ll be lost forever.’

Who wants normal? Not me

I’m starting to grieve the idea of going back to normal. Not that I think ‘normal’—meaning the way things were—is achievable, ever again. We won’t come out of this and return to what we had, ever. But some things will return, for sure. Some I’m happy about. Others I’m not looking forward to at all. …

Emojis in the age of the rona lockdown

😀 Grinning FaceThe look you’re able to pull on the first day of lockdown when the daughters who previously said they would never live at home again decide to move back for the four weeks.😃 Grinning Face with Big EyesThe look you pull when those same daughters say, “Are you sure it’s okay? You don’t …

We all lived in bubbles long before COVID-19 came along

The truth is, we’re going to come through this four-week period of social isolation with flying colours, because, let’s face it, most of us live in states of social isolation in the course of our daily lives anyway. Seriously, what will we miss over the next month? Spending time in cafes? Hanging out in pubs? …

Where is God in all this anyway?

Yes, I’ve heard the question asked repeatedly over recent days and it’s one that I want to have a crack at answering. I’m aware that I can’t do that as anything other than what I am—a fairly simple man who grew up in a very conservative evangelical church in the north of England, but whose …

I ventured out today

I finally ventured out today. It's hard to accept how much the world has changed in such a short period of time. I revisited places where I used to hang out, places suddenly emptied of people. Those I did run into had the same cautious look in their eye, as if to say, don't come …

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 …

‘I will be known’: A treasured conversation

Our last coffee was had beneath the gaze of Mary, mother of Jesus, on December 17, 2018, some months before she left. I didn’t know it would be our last one-on-one conversation. Neither did she. That’s the point—we rarely know. It’s only afterwards, in retrospect, that these final conversations find their light. Fortuitously, the conversation …