The (im)possibility of magic

A flash fiction about the impossibility of magic and the possible transgression of trying to make magic work in reality.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Fêtes des Vignerons, Vevey, 2019

“Magic is the eruption of the impossible in the domain of the possible,” the old professor said, leaning forward and lowering his voice as if he were part of a conspiracy.… Read more

At the turn of the year…

I wish you good health and happiness, but, above all, I wish you courage to make the changes necessary for the challenges present and to come.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Writing despite setbacks

Looking back over the past year, my vision is necessarily coloured by who I am and what I’ve  done.… Read more

In the beginning was the separation…

Rather than founding history on an original sin, a more satisfactory perspective has the perceived separation of the individual from the world as the onset of modern times.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

A fall from grace?

I like to imagine that there was a time when all living things were part of an indivisible whole.… Read more

Gender: being true to yourself?

Under the common banner of LGBT, the first 3 categories are about sexual orientation, whereas the T is about gender identity. This difference has far reaching implications as does the diversity of identities and expressions cohabiting as transgender.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

gender identity

A fraught assumption

Out walking I had a long conversation with someone about gender.… Read more

Girls’ voices. Boys’ voices.

Seeing girls singing in St Georges’ Chapel choir during the broadcast of the King’s Christmas speech awakened long-forgotten longings…

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Screenshot from the BBC broadcast of the King’s Christmas message

Girls singing in the choir

It may have gone unnoticed by many, but what moved me most about the King Charles’ first Christmas address was the presence of girls in the choir of St George’s Chapel, Windsor, very close to where I went to school as a teenager.… Read more

No life without stories

Stories are our way of making sense of a senseless world. As such, they are a great strength, making thought and action meaningful. But they are also our greatest weakness, because we blindly believe them to be true.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Life without stories
Beauty can defy our ability to codify it in a cogent narrative.
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Posture and Greatness

Why do the words of some seem filled with a quiet, unhurried power, a presence that impresses, whereas most of the words uttered by people lack presence?

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Prof Bernadette Charlier
Prof. Bernadette Charlier giving her farewell lecture at Fribourg University

Posture – a tricky concept

In her farewell lecture yesterday evening at Fribourg University, Prof.… Read more

Fact or fiction?

Confronted with ‘alternative facts’, it’s reassuring to compare them with what we know to be fact. However, fact is not so easily distinguishable from fiction as the following extract  illustrates.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Confronted with the so-called ‘alternative facts’ of politicians and others in positions of influence and the deep-seated anxiety they can provoke, it’s reassuring to compare their fabrications with the truth of the reliable reality we call fact.… Read more