Vote! Making the Cross count
I was asked by some friends at CARE to plug this, and I was very happy to do so. A great way to combat to prevailing political apathy. It's a great website - a really good starter pack - and…
The intricacy of Luke’s narrative tapestry
There are two basic ways to travel. At speed, intent on the destination. We could call this the "flypast" approach. This is the necessity of fast - but in flying over, you at least get a sense of the whole…
Edward Paice’s Wrath of God: Lisbon 1755
I read this book very quickly, while away on half term last week. It is a brilliantly researched and well-written account of a world-changing tragedy - and there is no small, grim irony that this is the week in which…
Sacrifices on the Altar of Ambition: Agamemnon’s Daughter by Ismail Kadare
Ismail Kadare is fast becoming one of my favourite writers. An Albanian who has divided his time between his native land and Paris since the early 90s, Kadare ingeniously captures the disorientating experience of life under dictatorship. In some ways,…
Sunlight through blinds
This was one of those jammy moments in my parents' kitchen on Saturday. The top one was just taken with my phone...
Survey results in: If you could ask God ONE question…
Well, you've all been waiting for this with baited breath, I can tell. After the launch of what we called London's Biggest Survey back in November, we've had around 18oo responses, which is fantastic. The indomitable Candy Leung has been…
A Sarajevo Reconciliation
Having painted something of an amateurish potted 20th Century history of Sarajevo, here is one story that gave me great hope. Last week, I was meeting in Sarajevo with a small group of pastors in Bosnia. It's estimated that there…
A Sarajevo Elegy
I fell in love with Sarajevo last week. But this was no rosy-tinted romance, no naïve foreigner's passion. Although, it's true - being a Balkans outsider means I will always be ignorant and unable fully to grasp its historical complexities.…
The curse of useless thoughts
Am I the only one to suffer from this? There's a soft furnishings shop that I walk past several times a week. And every time I do this, precisely the same thought passes through my head. Without fail, I cast…
Snow-covered Sarajevo
Well, there seems to have been rather a snow-theme in recent posts. But have had the joy of a few days in Sarajevo (again for Langham), talking and planning future events in Bosnia. Really exciting and encouraging. Only hoping that…
Snow-covered Zagreb
I've just been in Zagreb for just 48 hrs for Langham - but managed to take a few quick pics:
In Memoriam Prof. Donald Wiseman (1918-2010)
Donald Wiseman died last week - and with his passing, a giant of archaeological and biblical scholarship has gone. But what a legacy! I only met him a handful of times when I was a very green curate in Sheffield…