Another cafe has closed, which means I’m looking for somewhere to replace it, as well as trying to find answers to some of the questions I have about life…
An imaginative leap
In stories, we see the episodes – the devastation, the determination to rebuild, the triumph, hopefully. But what about the spaces in between?
Vision and hope in Liverpool
It was good to be in Liverpool and feel the energy of committed people who have a vision for what they want this part of the city to become
Resolute, but no resolutions
I know I want a better, meaningful life, but how can I get there when the hurt of the present is so strong?
Constantly moving happiness machines
What is the impact on us as individuals and society if our capacity to choose is engaged primarily in the matter of consumption?
Respecting the past
I often find it necessary to argue against some imagined suggestion that any happiness I might have in the future would somehow ‘cancel out’ the pain and anguish of losing Mark
Struggle and story
Nigerian writer and poet Chinua Achebe’s reflections on “meaningful optimism” – inspiration when hope seems in short supply
Caught between despair and hope
Sitting in Peckham, between spells of rain, it was good to hear Alice, urging me to see my life as part of something bigger and, like her, to try to make a difference
Recovering lost ground
We need to think not only about protecting what we hold dear, but also what to do about what has been lost
Bleak House
The realisation that we have another five years of a Conservative government, as well as the heavy rain, has intensified my sense of despair