The historic city of York. The pace of Leeds and the passionate Elland Road fans. The beauty of the Dales. The east with its beautiful coast. The pint at the Robin Hood after football! But also, the M62. The traffic jam at Junction 32 at 5pm. The modern beauty of…

A few years ago, an Italian singer called Max Pezzali sang a song called ‘Quello che comunemente noi chiamiamo amore’ which translates as ‘What we commonly call love’. It is an interesting song, which — as the title suggests — explores what love is. About love he says, “Is it…

I’ve stopped reading the bible. Not forever. What I mean is I keep on stopping. It happened again this morning. It was there on the table, lying open. Light, life, love. Sacred awesome holiness just a glance away, but I was late and had shreddies. I’ve heard some amazing things in the early hours when I’ve sat down with a coffee and that book. Not always, often it can…

Here we go. 2023. The earth has completed another trip around the sun, following its orbit. Probably you’ve finished celebrating too and now you’re back in the same cycle of the good old 2022. Study, or work (or maybe both), house, bed, music. Take down the Christmas decks, mute all…

There is a saying that recites something like ‘family meets up only at weddings and funerals.’ Now, I don’t know whether this is totally true, but it got me thinking. Of course, these two kinds of events represent the apotheosis of life. The first one, marriage, is the representation of…

Autumn is upon us. You’ve caved and turned the heating on, left the house only to come rushing back for your coat, noticed the warm air escaping and cold air biting your lungs. You’ve clocked the leaves, colouring, wrinkling and falling; seen kids wander towards the mulch for a play…

“In what place and during what historical era would you like to live?” This is a question that very likely most of us have been asked at least once. My answer has always been quite straightforward “Here and now”. Very good Christians would say “During the time of Jesus in…

Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start with prayer. It can be awkward… you know when you’ve left it a while… it leaves you tip toeing through a few deistic superlatives before bashfully cutting to the chase. You’re really great God, I can always count on you, your promises…

Dante Alighieri in Italy, Robert Burns in Scotland, Shakespeare in England. These are some of the names that come to my mind when I think about poets and literature artists. I know who they are, but don’t ask me to recite one of their poetries, I’ve never been good at…