The plight of another human being sleeping rough is one of the most visceral and obvious expressions of poverty and social exclusion. The instinctive empathy it provokes makes rough sleeping a potent subject on social media. For example, a few years ago a video went viral which showed how Amazon Prime could be used to… Continue reading Rough sleeping & the inverse reality of social media
Category: Social commentary
Pure Class: Flintoff’s challenge to cricket’s elitism
The issue of social class is woven into the history of cricket like no other sport. As a non-contact game, it was more socially acceptable for the English upper classes to play alongside the working class. It was a shared sporting endeavour but without the awkward physical proximity of rugby or football. Thus cricket helped… Continue reading Pure Class: Flintoff’s challenge to cricket’s elitism
The critical difference: between good judgement & being judgemental
Photo by fauxels on Pexels.com However challenging the work, often the most stressful thing in any job are difficulties in relationships with colleagues. It has certainly been the challenges of managing people that has most kept me awake at night over the last 25 years of my working life. There are many good tips and… Continue reading The critical difference: between good judgement & being judgemental
Mary Whitehouse, Stacey Dooley and sexual freedom
Due to catching covid recently, I have spent a lot of time watching TV programmes. One was the BBC documentary Banned! The Mary Whitehouse Story. It was an insightful and balanced programme about the campaigner who shot to fame in the 1960s for her protests against declining moral standards on TV and pornography. Conviction… Continue reading Mary Whitehouse, Stacey Dooley and sexual freedom
Good fiction helps us live in the real world
There has been a lot of articles and discussion about how parents can talk to their children about the horrific war in Ukraine. See these examples from UNICEF, Sky and the New York Times. One element that is often overlooked is captured in C.S. Lewis' quote above: the role that great stories and good fiction… Continue reading Good fiction helps us live in the real world
‘We read to know we are not alone’: Two ingredients of a great blog
Blogs are a hyper-democratic form of journalism. Almost anyone can now publish their views and propagate them globally on social media. This has created a deluge of opinion: the world more packed with people’s written thoughts than ever before. I see blogs as a little like fast-food. They are quick, convenient to consume and can… Continue reading ‘We read to know we are not alone’: Two ingredients of a great blog
How ‘safetyism’ is harming children – by Liana Humphrey
A review of The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt …………………. There are a lot of untruths circulating in our world today, but Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt argue that three “Great Untruths” are having a devastating impact on… Continue reading How ‘safetyism’ is harming children – by Liana Humphrey
‘Don’t Look Up’: have we reached Peak Post-Modernity?
by Matthew James At first impression, the Netflix film Don't Look Up, is just another disaster movie. It’s about a comet heading on a collision course with Earth which will cause an Extinction Level Event. It could be seen as a sort of Deep Impact on steroids. But that would be to miss the point… Continue reading ‘Don’t Look Up’: have we reached Peak Post-Modernity?
‘Christmas Eve Life Evaluation films’ and what they tell us
Story #1: The Last Train to Christmas The film The Last Train to Christmas focuses on a troubled nightclub owner, Tony Towers (Michael Sheen), who takes a train from London to Nottingham on Christmas Eve with his fiancé. On route, they are joined by his brother and his wife. But this is no ordinary train… Continue reading ‘Christmas Eve Life Evaluation films’ and what they tell us
Men, grief and talking the talk
On International Men’s Day last year I wrote about how the Beer Club I am in with old school mates had gone online during Covid. The main point of the article was about the need for men to talk openly about how they are. A poll on the article showed that almost a quarter of… Continue reading Men, grief and talking the talk
Grace + Truth 