Mine Yours Ours July 24, 2026 - In the 1990s, the lakeside village of Iseltwald in Switzerland was largely unknown. Access was along a narrow road or via the water. Visitors were Swiss day-trippers and some Europeans tourists. In 2018, a South Korean TV crew arrived in Iseltwald to film a scene for the Netflix series Crash Landing on You. Fans of… Read More
A Mini United Nations: July 1966 July 16, 2026 - One of the founding aims of The School of English Studies, Folkestone was to create "a mini United Nations that really is united". On July 30th, 1966 the students and staff at SES were invited to watch the final of the World Cup. It was shown on a relatively modest-sized television in the Students' Common… Read More
Football Fussball July 9, 2026 - In the early hours of Monday morning my English son-in-law joined the 11.6 million who rose from their beds to watch England beat Mexico in the Azteca Stadium. Two days later, the Swiss beat the Colombians in Vancouver. Not since 1954 has Switzerland made it to the quarterfinal of the World Cup. For the Anglo-Swiss… Read More
Two Ears One Mouth June 28, 2026 - “We have two ears and one mouth, an equation that is easy to forget.” Peter O’Connell The complete quote, by the Greek philosopher, Epictetus is “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” My father was a good listener, a skill he learned from his… Read More
The Listening Eye March 20, 2026 - American Photographs is an exhibition currently showing at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It borrows its title from Walker Evans’ book of photographs, published in 1938. “Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long.” Walker Evans In 1980 I was a student in Paris. It was a year of… Read More
If a Body Catch a Body Coming Through the Rye February 24, 2026 - Our granddaughter has recently learnt to say ‘Hi’ and ‘Bye’, sounds that are accompanied by an outstretched arm and a small wave. As any parent remembers and any grandparent knows, it is a captivating and charming development in the life of an infant. Lia is generous and inclusive with her salutations. She greets the lady… Read More
Unmasked February 13, 2026 - “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask and he'll tell you the truth." Oscar Wilde In 1981, my final year at university, I took a… Read More
American Diner January 30, 2026 - I grew up on a diet of 1950s America. Following my father’s return from five years teaching in the US, he remained forever homesick for his adopted country. He would gladly have lived out his days in America where life, he said, was both more gracious and more fun than it was in England. Occasionally,… Read More
Blow, Gabriel, Blow January 14, 2026 - The playwright Peter Shaffer once made the observation that tragedy is not a conflict between right and wrong, but a conflict between two different kinds of right. The world is a noisy place and opinions about what’s right and who’s wrong are growing louder. In these early days of 2026, listening thoughtfully and integrating intentionally… Read More
In the Garden of Good and Evil January 5, 2026 - In May 2001 I attended a conference on trans-generational trauma, truth and reconciliation. People travelled to Germany from all over the world: the United States, China, Argentina, Serbia, Albania, Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. The fact that the event took place in the Bavarian city of Wuerzburg was not a coincidence. In March 1945 the Royal… Read More