I’d never got round to reading the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, until I had the opportunity to see the play at Bath in May and thought I should do my homework. The strange scenario is that a young Indian boy, Pi, finds himself adrift in a lifeboat on the Pacific, all alone …
Lost in Translation
I read recently of the Bishop of Manchester attempting to use voice recognition technology to draft personal letters to clergy. He discovered that much Church of England jargon was utterly baffling to it. Each reference to Diocese became ‘darkness’. Every curate became ‘Kate’ – heaven forbid! Every benefice, and I like this one more, became …
Treasuring What We Have
Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God: But only he who sees takes off his shoes. This quote from Elizabeth Barrett Browning helps me to understand something which should be at the heart of Christian faith: God did not create our world and then depart to observe us from afar. God …
For Better or Worse
I’ve always loved children’s picture books and have taken great pleasure in them, as a child, as a parent and still now, when my sons are somewhat beyond being ‘read to’ and I have no obvious excuse to buy them anymore – though I don’t let that stop me. I have long been fond of …