On Saturday evening I enjoyed watching and listening to a concert by the Warwick & Kenilworth Choral Society given in Kenilworth School, during which the choir performed Gilbert & Sullivan’s comic opera Trial by Jury. I have personal memories of Trial By Jury; during my childhood and teenage years I sang in a girls’ choirContinue reading “Comic Opera of Gilbert and Sullivan – the Great English Comic Theme of People Pretending To Be Better Than They Really Are”
Category Archives: musings
In Commemoration of Anne Frank on the 85th Anniversary of Her Birth: the Power of the Pen, Mightier Than the Sword
Today (12 June 2014) is the 85th anniversary of Anne Frank’s birth. Coincidentally – or maybe, by synchronicity, for I was unaware of the significance of this date at the time – I only just finished reading The Diary of Anne Frank all over again, two days before writing this post. I first read AnneContinue reading “In Commemoration of Anne Frank on the 85th Anniversary of Her Birth: the Power of the Pen, Mightier Than the Sword”
Supernatural Power versus Rationalism: Sorcerers and Sceptics at Warwick Words Summer Festival 2014
Last night I went to a fascinating discussion between two authors at the final event of the Warwick Words summer festival. The talk was held in the beautiful 15th century Great Hall of the Lord Leycester Hospital, Warwick. Ian Mathie, author of Sorcerers and Orange Peel, spoke about his travels in remote African communities over many years andContinue reading “Supernatural Power versus Rationalism: Sorcerers and Sceptics at Warwick Words Summer Festival 2014”
Inspiration From the Parapet at the Top of the Tower of St Mary’s Church Warwick
As I sit here typing these words I gaze over the trees to the top of the tower of St Mary’s Church Warwick. The decorated parapet at the top of this tower is the highest place you can be in Warwick (which is this year celebrating its 1100th anniversary). I’ve climbed to that platform and gazed downContinue reading “Inspiration From the Parapet at the Top of the Tower of St Mary’s Church Warwick”
Harmony, the Music of the Spheres and Glimpses of Eternity
The other day I was at an inspirational concert in a village church in Warwickshire, Hatton Church, listening to a small choir called Amici sing a mixture of early music and contemporary music. They sang a capella music by such composers as William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons and Ralph Vaughan Williams. On one occasion the conductor pointed outContinue reading “Harmony, the Music of the Spheres and Glimpses of Eternity”
Hope That Eurovision Might Value Performers for Their Own Sake and Not for Their Country’s Politics
I was pleased to see Austria’s win in the Eurovision Song contest 2014. Not only was there the pleasure in seeing a country win that had not seen success at Eurovision for 49 years, but also I thought it a genuinely good song, performed beautifully by Conchita Wurst who has a wonderful voice. The standardContinue reading “Hope That Eurovision Might Value Performers for Their Own Sake and Not for Their Country’s Politics”
Kairos Moments in Life – Broken Priests and More Insights from BBC TV sitcom ‘Rev’
As I think again about the BBC TV sitcom Rev the word wrecked comes to my mind. Probably my favourite character in Rev is Colin the local vagrant, brilliantly played by Steve Evets. I described him as a philosopher tramp in my previous post on Rev. But there is a much darker side to Colin,Continue reading “Kairos Moments in Life – Broken Priests and More Insights from BBC TV sitcom ‘Rev’”
The Last Anglo-Saxon King and A Successful Invasion: Brutality, Beauty, and The Workings of Fate in Our Lives – in 1066
A Review of 1066 – What Fates Impose by G.K. Holloway I love to read a lively account of English history, and often draw principles from it that are relevant to our own lives. So when author G.K. Holloway contacted me recently to ask if I’d agree to read and review his book 1066 – What Fates Impose, IContinue reading “The Last Anglo-Saxon King and A Successful Invasion: Brutality, Beauty, and The Workings of Fate in Our Lives – in 1066”
Rocky Hillsides, Dark Valleys and the One Voice You Can Trust
In our lives we can often find that there seems to be one poem or a prayer which has been most helpful, most meaningful to us. For me this has been the 23rd Psalm: The Lord Is My Shepherd. In times of strong negative emotion, the words though I walk through the valley of the shadow ofContinue reading “Rocky Hillsides, Dark Valleys and the One Voice You Can Trust”
The RADA Student Who Felt Like Packing Her Bags and Going Back North
The BBC Radio 4 Today programme is often a source of inspiration to me. And today at 8.20am I heard an item about the party for former RADA students that the Queen will be holding in Buckingham Palace this evening (Monday 17 February 2014) I’m very interested in the life of an actor, partly because the acting world doesContinue reading “The RADA Student Who Felt Like Packing Her Bags and Going Back North”
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