'And remember to give them hope.'Looking back, the words seem to echo. On 19 December 2023, Rachel Reeves was speaking from the pulpit at the memorial service of Alastair Darling in an overflowing St Mary’s Cathedral, the Episcopal one at Edinburgh’s West End.Then shadow chancellor, she paid tribute to the much-respected man she described as her mentor, most … [Read more...] about ‘Give them hope’ – four (or more) poems for the budget
human rights
Voices for humanity: Max Richter’s quiet protest
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Universal Declaration of Human Rights When Max Richter was composing The Blue Notebooks, his meditation on his personal experience of violence and that of the Iraq war, it was his wish to, "…invite the … [Read more...] about Voices for humanity: Max Richter’s quiet protest
Five poems for a general election in hard times
Don’t be afraid. The words shine in a dark space at the end of the Seamus Heaney exhibition. The words he texted to his wife shortly before he died in August 2013In fact his text message was in Latin: Noli timere. But the meaning inspired the Dublin street artist Maser to paint the words in English as a mural ‘For good people in hard times’ closer to Christmas that … [Read more...] about Five poems for a general election in hard times