The familiar picture of Nostradamus (from independent.co.uk - The Independent listed eleven apparently accurate prophecies of his in their article of 14 December 2015!) When I first encountered astrology during my twenties, I also discovered the prophecies of Nostradamus. My first lecture at the Astrological Lodge in London focused on the sixteenth century French seer, who is the most celebrated of all mystical forecasters. As time went on, I became more and more convinced

Demeter and Persephone drawn by Walter Crane (1914) from https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/demeter-persephone-greek-myth-motherhood/ One of my favourite Greek myths is the story of Demeter and Persephone (who were named Ceres and Proserpina in the Roman version). This is because the myth covers something rather missing in the Judaeo-Christian tradition, the relationship between a mother and daughter. The Bible includes many stories about fathers and sons, and there are also

The musical Hair on in Sunderland in 2019! ( sunderlandecho.com ) ‘This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius’; so went the song from the 1960s musical Hair. The 60s were the optimistic decade of equal opportunities, new freedoms, and the exponential growth of pop culture, so it did feel like a new age, at least it did in Western Europe, North America, and Australasia. Even the Roman Catholic Church underwent reform! But where did such an idea come from? Is there such a thin

The circle of the zodiac (from astrologicalsignsguide.wordpress.com ) I am going to write four blogs on astrology. In this first one, I will try to establish what I think astrology is and how it works. This will help you to make sense of the other blogs, which are on three topics which relate to astrology in the modern world: -        The Age of Aquarius -        Ceres and the Asteroids -        The Great Eclipse of 1999 I have believed in astrology for fifty years, but I'm f

At 60 with Nat at the Chapel of the Magdalene at Chalet - we weren't going out yet! 1.     A Birthday Present in London The marvellous Monsieur Poulenc (photo from https://poulenc.fr/en/pictures/ ) Natalie and I had enjoyed two successful visits to Belgium in 2012; our friendship became stronger, and we saw each other regularly. We had a further short journey together into Wales, where we went to the Marian shrine in Cardigan before visiting Sarah Boss and the Centre of Mari

Crossing the Pyrenees on the Compostela Way (photo by Ratnadeva) - September 2008, a couple of weeks before meeting Natalie for the first...

My fortieth birthday party at All Hallows' Vicarage, Leeds 1. Head of Steam The front of the College at Ripon - it is a listed building,...

1. 1983: The Year of Coincidences What are ‘meaningful coincidences’? Sceptics would say that we experience so many interactions in our...

Having completed the blog about the ten highlights of my childhood, I am going to continue the process for each decade of my life. And so...

Last week’s election, apparently, resulted in the worst defeat for the Conservatives since 1832 (and it followed the 2019 election which...

Family photo, c 1958. On the left are Auntie Pam and cousin Patricia. My Dad is at the back. My Mum and brother Andrew are on the right....

The subconscious is a strange and wonderful thing. I have been interested in dreams and what they tell us since reading the work of Carl...

I have written a short novel with the title Diamond Jubilee. It starts out as a nostalgic look at the blues/rock music of the 1960s. It...

My daughter is 15 months old! When Natalie was half way through her pregnancy with Bea back in November 2021, I wrote in my blog,...

See the file below for the text of the talk. It was given at the Centre for Marian Studies meeting to receive honorary fellows, on the...

The third series of the BBC version of His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman’s trilogy from the 1990s, finished last week. Like J.K....

A few weeks ago, I was struck by something the priest said in his homily at Mass. In writing critically about it, I am not criticising...

My book Mary, Founder of Christianity was published on the 7th of April this year by Oneworld Publications. It was an exciting moment; I...

In the Theatre Beatrice Violet was born at 11.56 a.m. on Friday March 18th. Natalie had a planned Caesarian because of a previous...

This last week or so, the news has been pretty terrible. How did the human race get here? Some of the problems of history arise from how...