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

Free to be who you really are…

“Real freedom is being free to be who we really are” says Épicène quoting Don Miguel Ruiz. But who are you? And are you free to be that person in public?

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Real freedom

The transgender association Épicène has chosen to highlight a quote from the Mexican author, Don Miguel Ruiz, who says (my translation), “Real freedom is being free to be who we really are.” … Read more

An Undeniable Truth

At the heart of the trans identity is a conviction that they have a right to assert and be recognised for a gender that does not correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth. What is the nature of this conviction and how does it stand up to being challenged?Read more

Changing stories

About the key role stories play in our world and how we can counter the potential damage their misuse might cause.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Changing stories

The following short text was inspired by writing The Boy in the Book (to be published soon) which explores a world where it is possible to modify reality by intervening in the stories we tell.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

Fun with local politics

Inspired by the construction of an incongruous object, this fable explores the arcane workings of imaginary local politics. Inspiré par la construction d’un objet incongru, ce fable explore les arcanes d’une politique locale imaginaire.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

the fun of local politics

A fable: It’s the height that counts

The pyramidal flying-saucer was perched atop a stout pole that resembled a launching pad.… Read more