Turn the Page

There is something very tragic about Prince Harry’s autobiography. In just three words the front cover summarizes the 400 pages that lie within: Prince Harry – Spare. Clearly Harry is a man traumatised by the death of his mother, resentful of an institution which he feels has let him down, and bitterly opposed to the press which has so often vilified him and his wife. But underneath it all is the...

Movies don’t always end as the credits start to roll. With series such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe the credits contain extra scenes with important clues as to what will happen next. Who can forget the menace at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron? Part way through the credits, the evil Thanos appears and declares that he will collect the Infinity Stones and gain ultimate power over the univers...

In 1942 the Maltese harbour of Valetta was the most heavily bombed place on earth. Occupying a strategic position between Italy and Libya on the one hand, and Gibraltar and the Suez Canal on the other, both the Axis powers and the Allies were desperate for control. But when the Italian air force launched its first raids in June 1940 the Maltese had no aircraft with which to defend themselves. That...

It’s not every day that a secret about the origins of our planet land on someone’s driveway. But that’s precisely what happened in March 2021 when a meteorite landed outside the home of the Wilcocks in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire. The carbonaceous chondrite had travelled for several hundred thousand years from somewhere between Mars and Jupiter but arrived carrying all its chemical secrets intact....

Purifying silver takes skill. To remove the impurities, it must be held in the middle of the fire where the flames are the hottest. But timing is everything and close attention must be paid by the silversmith. Leave the silver in the fire just a moment too long and the heat will damage it. The craftsman must wait until he can see his image reflected. At that moment he knows that the impurities are...

As the people of Seoul mourn the loss of so many of their young people at Halloween questions are being asked. How could it have happened? Where were those in authority when they were most needed? We might also want to ask where was God and why did he allow it to happen? Two thousand years ago the widely held assumption would have been that those who died were being punished for their sin. That’s...

In 1975 Britain’s economy was in trouble with inflation running at 20% and many major businesses struggling to stay afloat. An unpopular Conservative Prime Minister had lost the confidence of his MPs but was refusing to stand down. He had to be forced into a leadership contest which he lost. Although in the end he didn’t put his name forward, the favoured candidate to take over proposed swinging t...

These days we’re all on the lookout for ways to save money. No wonder then that the big supermarkets are each out to convince us that only they have the best deals. The irony, of course, is that they still want us to spend as much as possible. That’s why essentials such as eggs and bread are hidden in the middle of the store – by the time we’ve found them we’ve picked up lots of things we didn’t i...

Queen Elizabeth II will be remembered as one of the most famous monarchs in history. Her long reign was characterised by duty and service and touched the lives of millions. No wonder then that for her funeral some 500 heads of state and other dignitaries poured in from almost every nation on earth, and a global audience of 4 billion watched on TV. But as this most famous servant was laid to rest,...

On 18 th  August refuse workers in the City of Edinburgh walked out in a dispute over pay. At a stroke all the rubbish being produced by 140,000 households across the city had nowhere to go and quickly started to accumulate on the streets. Suddenly that which is normally hidden is there for everyone to see. It’s a stark reminder that if we are going to produce lots of waste then we need a con...

Born amidst the horror of the 18 th  century slave trade Joseph Bologne’s life chances were not promising. Destined for a life of servitude on a plantation in Guadaloupe he instead grew up to become one of France’s most celebrated musicians and composers. Handsome, charismatic and intelligent he was skilled at fencing and mixed in the highest social circles. By 1773 he was leading the prestig...

It has always been my opinion that the words ‘camping’ and ‘holiday’ don’t belong together in the same sentence. It was for this reason that many years ago when we did decide to buy a tent for our small family, we bought one that claimed to be able to accommodate 12 people. Now those of you who know about such things will understand that when a tent manufacture makes such a claim, they are obvious...

Since 1969 millions of passengers on London’s underground have heard the regular announcement that they should ‘mind the gap between the platform and the train.’ But for Margaret McCollum, this announcement held special meaning because the voice in the recording was her husband’s. After he died, she continued to visit their local tube station to hear his voice and was devastated when a new system...

It’s often said that football is like a religion and if we know anything about religion it’s that it stirs deep and passionate emotions. So, imagine the dismay that was felt in 1921 when the Football Association deemed the game ‘unsuitable for females’ and banned any associated ground from hosting their matches. At the time women’s football was hugely popular. Just a year earlier some 53,000 had p...

Queen Elizabeth once said this about the parable of the Good Samaritan: ‘The implication is clear. Everyone is our neighbour, no matter what race, creed or colour. The need to look after a fellow human being is far more important than any cultural or religious differences’. So, it seems just a little awkward that while a service was being held to commemorate the 5 th  anniversary of the Grenf...

The idea of Queen Elizabeth having tea with a cartoon bear might have been considered rather frivolous. Was it really appropriate for the nation’s sovereign to be seen pulling a marmalade sandwich from her handbag and tapping out the opening bars of a rock anthem on a teacup and saucer? But perhaps we shouldn’t have been at all surprised. This after all is a monarch who often speaks about her Chri...

This weekend the nation will gather to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. While the world has changed out of all recognition, she has remained steadfast and consistent. A devoted servant from the start she has sacrificed her life for the benefit of others. As Prince Charles expressed it on the anniversary of her succession on 6 th  February, ‘The Queen’s devotion to the wel...

Regime change from the outside in doesn’t seem to have much to commend it. Western attempts to force such change in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya led to long drawn-out conflicts costing many thousands of lives and billions of dollars. Clearly Putin wasn’t paying attention. He thought he could buck the trend with a swift toppling of Ukraine but has instead found himself in the same quagmire of a cost...

For those of us who pray the Eurovision Song Contest is a lesson in perseverance. Since the beginning of the century the UK have begun each year with high hopes only to see them repeatedly dashed. The temptation to give up has been very real. When Engelbert Humperdinck finished 25 th  in 2012 with only 12 points many were saying it was time to quit; and when our entry in 2021 received the dre...

For decades Russia’s biggest annual parade was the November 7 th  celebration of the October Revolution. In 1935 one of the invited guests was a 71-year-old textile worker. Sadly, she was too short-sighted to see Stalin and called out, ‘I’m going to die soon – am I really not going to be able to see him?’ Suddenly a car pulled up and out got Stalin. The woman burst into tears and exclaimed, ‘...

The British film Operation Mincemeat tells the incredible true story of perhaps the greatest deception of the Second World War. In 1943 the Allies were planning to invade Sicily but in order to minimise resistance, needed to convince Hitler they were going to come ashore in Greece instead. The deception involved planting false papers on a corpse that would wash up on the beach in Spain and find th...

Drowning in debt and too proud to declare bankruptcy John Darwin decided there was only one thing left to do. He faked his own death and had his wife claim on his life insurance. But when he later tried to ‘rise from the dead’ by claiming amnesia his story quickly fell apart. Interviewed after his eventual release from prison John observed, ‘Pretending you are dead is quite easy, coming back to li...

Once again, the Oscars ceremony in 2022 will be remembered for something that shouldn’t have happened. Presenter Chris Rock made a joke at the expense of actor Will Smith’s wife. Smith saw red and responded by walking onto stage and slapping Rock hard across the face. As the audience sat stunned, Smith returned to his seat and shouted at Rock not to mention his wife’s name again. The fallout has b...

One of the most distressing aspects of the war in Ukraine is the apparent blessing being given to it by some in the Russian Orthodox Church. When our religious beliefs become so warped that the taking of innocent life is considered acceptable before God, something has gone seriously wrong.  Speaking in a different time and context Jesus issued a challenge to those whose interpretation of reli...

My first mobile phone was a Phillips Savvy. It had an aerial poking out of the top, a tiny screen and could store up to ten text messages. These days I would be embarrassed to be seen with it – it’s a relic from the past. But this week the Royal Mint has reminded me that at the heart of every obsolete piece of tech lies a nugget of gold. Literally. It may be small, but it remains as valuable as it...