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Memories of Spain
(3 minute read) Leonard Franchi recalls a year spent in a land far removed from the stereotype of bullfights and beer and discovers a hidden desire to return.
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Triumph and tragedy at the registrar
(5 minute read) Martin Ketterer uses lockdown time to travel back into the lives of his German and Irish forebears, and discovers a world of colourful characters, drama and heroism.
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Once upon a time there was an election …
(5 minute read) Zoë Dukoff-Gordon on politics as story and why the recent UK general election felt so despairing.
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It’s okay to be broken
(6 minute read) Lizzie Wakeling offers practical advice on learning to cope with anxiety and depression and explains how singing badly and sewing well can help put you back together again.
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Mental health in an age of pandemic: three strategies for staying well in a crisis
(7 minute read) Clinical Psychologist Dr Michael Ross analyses the challenges of staying well, and offers some strategies for good mental health
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Editorial: Finding Direction in a World Turned Upside-Down
“Love, hope, fear, faith — these make humanity. These are its sign and note and character.” These words by the American poet Robert Browning were written long before anyone had ever heard of the word “coronavirus”. But they seem to sum up these days (of hope and fear), and offer us a challenge – how to live them well (with love and faith). Adamah was born in a world where people were materially rich but time poor. In just a few short weeks that formula has been reversed. Forced closures of workplaces mean millions now have time on their hands and no real guide as to how to use it.…
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The sounds of silence
(3 minute read) In his second reflection on self-isolation Richard Bauckham finds that forgotten sounds can be our best friends.
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Lost in golden times: how a 20th century literary masterpiece could help you cope with Covid woes
(5 minute read) Martin Ketterer suggests that Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited could be just what you need in this time of confinement.
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The Leningrad Symphony – Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony and how the Russians survived a siege
(4 minute read) The Russian composer Shostakovich began writing his symphony while the city was besieged by German forces. Kenson Li believes we can draw lessons for our current crisis.
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Poetry page
(2 minute read) We offer some haiku and tanka poems by Neena Singh, from her recently published One Breath Poetry: A journal of haiku, senryu & tanka (2020) and a poem by Richard Bauckham, Virus, specially written as a reflection on the coronavirus epidemic.
