Last week I heard something that stopped me in my tracks. I was listening to a BBC presenter explaining the Beatles’ role in the social revolution of the 1960s, when individualism became the guiding creed of Western society....
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It was the distraction that the end of 2020 needed: a mash-up of a Jane Austen novel and the noughties teenage drama Gossip Girl. With all eight episodes arriving on Netflix on Christmas Day, Bridgerton was streamed by 63 million households within the first four weeks. Filled with colour, featuring beautiful people in eccentric costumes, and narrated by Julie Andrews, it is delightfully escapist viewing......
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It’s difficult to find the right words in response to recent events in Washington DC. But one phrase that seems apposite is contained in Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novella, Heart of Darkness: ‘The horror! The horror.’ ...
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Connecting with Culture looks back on the highs and lows of a challenging year...
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There is no lockdown on the Holy Spirit. There is no lockdown on ‘just happening’ to meet the person he’s put on your heart in the grocery aisle, or on him healing a friend sixty miles away, or giving you the right word (you know it was him) for a colleague on a call, or strengthening you for another day in the classroom, the same room, the Zoom room. ...
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One of the most evocative elements of the nativity story is the visit of the Magi described in Matthew’s Gospel. Some people think this episode is an insertion – a purely symbolic event that emphasises Jesus’ royal authority. But I think that if God exists, and his Son was born into his own creation, the story of the Magi makes sense. ...
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This pandemic proves how much we all need business. Take, for instance, the vaccine. It has not been provided by charity, nor government, nor even the NHS. It has come from business. ...
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Can we talk about the s-word? Priti Patel said it last week. Elton John tells us that it seems to be hardest word. ...
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How do you form an identity without a map, or face the future when the ground beneath your feet is turning to mud? Who and what is trustworthy in a ‘post-truth’ world where institutions are distrusted, and where the ‘adults’ often seem impotent or negligent? ...
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It dominated every front page and conversation last week. It had people glued to their phones, constantly refreshing feeds to find out any updates. It sidelined all other news, such that a vote in Parliament about a national lockdown barely got mentioned....
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