This week, the family of Mark Santer, announced his death
Our beloved father, Mark Santer, died at home on Wednesday 14th August. Over the last years and months, his numerous health issues were catching up with him.
He died peacefully at home with all of us at his
Reading Keir Starmer : Reform, Politics and Power
Posted on by James Woodward
I first met Kier Starmer in 2011 when he offered advice to Lord Falcolners Commission of Assisted Dying supported by Demos - see: https://demos.co.uk/research/the-commission-on-assisted-dying/ At that time he was Director of Public Prosecutions. His evidence was a
The invitation to be surprised? Art that touches the pulse.
Posted on by James Woodward
I first came across the work of Barbara Hepworth in 1980 during a visit to Aldeburgh. I had gone on a weekend party to a friend’s house on Crag Path which is the sea front road that’s offers an uninterrupted view of the North Sea.
The town became famous because of it
In praise of Anne Lamott ( Somehow: Thoughts on Love)
Posted on by James Woodward
I wish I could remember who it was who recommended the work of Anne Lamott ! I may have picked up a quotation from a website, a colleague or even on Amazon! Whatever the answer her work is vast, persistent, challenging, humane and so very very real. There is a quali
Inhabiting RS Thomas on his own soil
Posted on by James Woodward
It is a long way from Salisbury to the Llyn Peninsula. This was a pilgrimage of sorts to the RS Thomas Poetry Festival. https://rsthomaspoetry.co.uk/ The slow and wet journey north was worth every turn in the road and queue ad a number of spea
The White Road: a pilgrimage of sorts by Edmund de Waal
Posted on by James Woodward
After an unexpected day of sun over a bank holiday weekend the rain has returned. Deciding to do some thinning of shelves for a visit to my local charity shop I came across this book. I have tried to 'get into' on two or three times. Don'
Our complicated love affair with Work ? Reading Changing Gear by Hall and Stokes
Posted on by James Woodward
I wish that booksellers wouldn't tempt their readers to a three for the price of two offer especially while waiting for another delayed train on Waterloo Station. We all love a bargain - thank you Foyles - your stock are always carefully and enticingly packaged and set
In the midst of death, life persists –
Posted on by James Woodward
"In the midst of death, life persists. In the midst of untruth, truth persists. In the midst of darkness, light persists.” - Mahatma Gandhi
In my last blog, I shared some thoughts about a recent retreat at Fairacres in Oxford.
https://www.jameswoodward.online/blog/not
Nothing is Secure, Except God : visiting the Community of the Sisters of the Love of God
Posted on by James Woodward
I was first introduced to the Sisters of the Love of God by Geoffrey Connor, the Vocations advisor in the diocese of Durham in the late 1970s. I visited first the Convent during my first year as an undergraduate at Kings College London. These months of study were both exh
Lessons from a day of celebration at Sarum College
Posted on by James Woodward
Yesterday was the Sarum College 2024 Ceremony for the Presentation of Academic Awards. The days running up to this event, make many demands on a range of people working across the college. The choreography of our movement from College to St Thomas's Church
Faith, Hope and Carnage by Nick Cave
Posted on by James Woodward
Our lives are fragile, unpredictable and always deeply bound up with the unpredictable shapes of pain and grief. Even at our most complete and contented we live with the roars of fear, insecurity, regrets and limitations. Making sense of this and embracing the shapes an
Reading Such a Long Journey : A biography of Gilbert Shaw, Priest
Posted on by James Woodward
I believe that I may have had at least two copies of this book written by Rod Hacking ( now a neighbour in Salisbury but then an incumbent in rural Ely) and published by Mowbray in 1988. What happened to them I know not - beware of lending books out - they have a habit of
Saving Time by Jenny Odell
Posted on by James Woodward
I doubt very much, indeed, if anybody who has the time to read this book about time, would confidently be able to say that they had enough time! I have occasionally come across people who feel that they have too much time on their hands, particularly in older age. I hav
Awe explored by Dacher Keltner
Posted on by James Woodward
When was the last time that you were simply lost for words? A moment that took hold of you by surprise ? The glorious blue light that marks the beginning of a new day with the stars and moon beginning to shift? The majesty of a tree, rooted and standing tall? The smell
Try Softer ? In praise of grounded advice from Kolber.
Posted on by James Woodward
Where do you pick up recommendations for books these days? Half an hour on Waterloo station yesterday yielded a couple of books from Foyles, tempted of course by their buy one get the other half price offer! A trusted source is the Marginalian ( take a look-
On Digging Deep – a cluster of Books from Sacristy Press
Posted on by James Woodward
Perhaps you have some awareness of both the problems and possibilities that emerge from the way we articulate the shape and meaning of our religious convictions. What do you understand by God? How do we convey the presence, rationality and engagement of God amidst the com
Home Sweet Home?
Posted on by James Woodward
This is a very good book! We know our homes and make choices in relation to them but this book will change how you think about almost every aspect of your home!
“Our houses and homes,” Heathcote writes, “no matter what style they are realised in, no m
On interrogating the self – May on Politics and Power
Posted on by James Woodward
I guess that most of us wonder what this one life is about and particularly how we are living it.
They are questions perhaps for those of us firmly in third age but shared by other generations too. If I had one regret ( or to name one here ) it might simp
In Praise of Quakerism in the uncertain terrain for Religion
Posted on by James Woodward
John Hunt Publishing 2023
Many of the readers here will have experienced Quakerism in and through their presence of meeting houses and their active engagement in communities. Quakers are people living integrity with a single minded, focus on the tradition and dis
Advice in Time ? Inter-generational Wisdom.
Posted on by James Woodward
Now here is a confession! Not all of the books on my shelves either at home or here in my study at Sarum College have been read from cover to cover. You might be familiar with the dilemma. You buy a book on a recommendation. You hear the author at a writers festiv