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Continue reading →: The Rights of Woman
On International Women’s Day, a quick search for famous European feminists led me to Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793). Revolutionary France may have been inspired by the likes of Voltaire, Diderot and Rousseau but the freedoms sought were largely intended for the male sex. Thomas Pain set out in the Rights of…
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Continue reading →: Sologamy
Loving yourself can be taken too far in my opinion. It’s not April 1st – I checked. This is actually a thing. Call the caterers, book the wedding venue because you’re getting married…to yourself. The marriage may not be legal, but it’s finding favour with all kinds of people; from…
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Continue reading →: Wellbeing
Wellness is being taken seriously by organisations that may previously have paid lip service to the needs of their employees, team members or people for whom a level of care might be expected. Schools have always put pastoral care at the forefront of their pupils’ learning experience. Universities have expanded…
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Continue reading →: Ash Wednesday
Some years ago I worked as a temp in the office of a large comprehensive school in Belfast. On this day I puzzled at the smudges on some of the teachers’ foreheads. The sign of the cross gave it away eventually, even to a fool like me. I can’t remember…
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Continue reading →: Hello Finland
I have no idea why 41 people in Finland had a look at my nonsense this week, .but I hope they found something of interest. My Muse has been absent for a while, but self-discipline has always been a weakness and serious writing needs commitment. Luckily, my writing lacks seriousness.…
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Continue reading →: Wrong Thoughts in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR)
State control is a tricky business. If an ideology or faith challenges the supreme power of the state, what actions can be taken to reassert authority? In the 1950s and 60s the gulags and psychiatric hospitals were full of Russian dissidents, or people merely suspected of not toeing the party…
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Continue reading →: Art
I had a quick look at the annual exhibition of the Royal Academy of Ulster Arts on at the Ulster Museum. Two artists grabbed my attention, Diego Fabro for his painting with eerie blue lighting and Catherine Creaney’s portrait of a woman standing with her back to us in front…
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Continue reading →: Cracking stories – a pause -Week 6
Apologies to anyone who had been eagerly anticipating some new developments in the story of academe, terrorism and mystery. I have been beaten by deadlines that whizzed past as the working day took its toll on my energy levels. I will try to wrap the story up in Week 7,…
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Continue reading →: The times and tides of humanity
In the West the 1960s were a time of great hope. Feminism, black power and love-ins were accompanied by protest marches, violent repression and the assassination of prominent liberal politicians. We had a dream and it has been partially fulfilled. Queer bashing and paki bashing are no longer tolerated by…
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