Tag: happiness

  • A peace I’d never experienced before

    Siya Kolisi is the first black captain of the Springboks, the South African team that won the Rugby World Cup in 2019. In his recently published autobiography “Rise”, Siya tells how he grew up in Zwide, Port Elizabeth, where he experienced hunger and violence. He said, “I would scream with hunger. It went past being…

  • The Servant Queen

    On 6 February 2022 Queen Elizabeth II celebrated 70 years since she acceded to the throne on the death of her father George VI. She has reigned longer than any other British Monarch and is also Queen of 14 Commonwealth realms. The words of the National Anthem, which are a prayer, have been fulfilled in…

  • The Plight of Afghan People

    Afghanistan is no longer in the headlines, but the plight of the Afghan people is desperate. NATO forces, who were there for 20 years, have been withdrawn. The Taliban are in power. Many people have lost their jobs, the economy collapsed after foreign aid ended overnight, the currency has lost almost half its value, the…

  • This is my Father’s world

    The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, is being held in Glasgow. For nearly three decades the UN has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits. COP26 brings together world leaders from more than 100 countries in what is regarded as humanity’s last and best chance to secure a…

  • The only way out is through

    On the morning of September 11, 2001, Christina Stanton and her husband, Brian, stood on their balcony in lower Manhattan watching with horror as the second plane flew right over them and exploded into the World Trade Centre just blocks away. The plane’s impact into the South Tower blew them back into their living room…

  • Remembering Andrew Devine

    Andrew Devine has died, aged 55, the 97th victim of the Hillsborough disaster at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989. Andrew, then aged 22, suffered life-changing injuries because his chest was crushed and his brain was deprived of oxygen. His parents were told he would probably not live…

  • We’re the same as everyone else

    In a recent interview with Irish radio host Brendan O’Connor, who has a daughter with Down’s syndrome, the geneticist Richard Dawkins said it is “wise and sensible” to abort babies who have either Down’s syndrome or are deaf or blind in order to “increase the amount of happiness in the world.” In 2014 Dawkins told…

  • From Pitch to Pulpit

    Gavin Peacock has just published his autobiography, “A Greater Glory: from Pitch to Pulpit.” Gavin’s father, Keith, played for Charlton and Gavin’s ambition was to be a professional footballer. When he was 16, he left school to play for Queens Park Rangers. Later he played for Newcastle United and Chelsea. During his career he made…

  • It’s not good to be alone

    Personal relationships are very important. On a morning walk I saw young children going back to school. They were happy, smiling and singing. They were looking forward to seeing their friends and teachers again. Soon elderly people living in care homes will be able to see one close relative face to face after, for many,…