SEVERAL DAYS AGO, in my post 'Medieval Monastery Murder Mysteries,' I wrote of the Brother Cadfael whodunnits by writer, Ellis Peters ― a fiction series which had delighted me in the 1990s. That reflection had been prompted by my recent re-read of 'The Leper of Saint Giles,' book five in that series. Through the story's …
WITH ONLY a few days to go before Christmas I completed, what was at that point, my thirty-fifth book for the year. It was therefore time to choose what to read next. I'd already dropped a few hints for presents, and hoped to be opening at least one of my desired novels on Christmas morning. …
Why There Can Be No Peace WORLD PEACE is repeatedly put forth as desirable ― and yet, wars perpetuate. In reality, peace is no more than a lauded end-state whose true function is to remain unattainable. Decade after decade, conflicts roll on around the globe. The flags may differ, but the outcomes remain the same: …
Why Saying “Hi” Still Matters THERE IS something almost quaint about the idea of greeting a stranger. A brief 'hello' exchanged on a pavement, a nod to a passing walker, a smile offered without expectation. In an age of constant purported connectivity, such moments can feel oddly subversive—small acts of recognition that dissolve detachment and …
Header image: Statue of Sir Edmund Hillary looking toward Mount Cook, New Zealand 'On 4 January 1958 Sir Edmund Hillary and his New Zealand party reached the South Pole. They were the first to do so overland since Scott in 1912, and the first to reach it in motor vehicles.' NZ History - https://nzhistory.govt.nz/ I …
Reading the Runes as the Year Turns As this year draws to a close, I find myself looking back not with relief exactly, but with a sense of reticent recognition. What has been a year of gradual recovery from a nervous breakdown has also been a slow and often uncertain re-learning of how to live …
EVERY CHRISTMAS tree has its quiet authority figures. By that I don't mean the the glittering baubles or strings of beads and lights, but the decorations that return each year, with the spirit of an old friend stepping back into the room, brushing off the cold and saying: 'Well then, here we are again.' My …
Introduction IN OCTOBER, 2023 I experienced a nervous breakdown. I wrote of this in June of this year, in my post titled 'The Raven.' Upon leaving hospital I inevitably did so laden with a cocktail of prescription drugs. One of these was the so-called 'anti-depressant,' Sertraline. Now, after gradually reducing my daily dose, I have …
THE NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE landscape is quiet now—the fields of Stallingborough stretch calmly toward the Humber, as its lanes wind sedately through the village. It is hard to imagine that this peaceful parish once gave rise to a woman whose unflinching courage challenged the very foundations of Tudor power. Anne Askew, born not far from these …
IN MY PREVIOUS post, 'History's Long Shadow on the Land,' I revealed my passion for historical fiction — especially that which covers the period from 1485 to 1714. Of all the chapters in England’s past, none grip my imagination quite like the Tudor and Stuart centuries. It was a time when England was reborn through …
RAVEN MOON 