Quote for Today: David McCullough
Reading history is good for all of us. If you know history, you know that there is no such thing as a self-made man or self-made woman. We are shaped …
In a Land of Queens: Daughters of Yemen
Presided over by Queens in ancient and medieval times, modern Yemen has been called the worst place to be female. Women in Yemen are encouraged to stay home rather …
Portraits of a Nation: The Devastating Beauty of Yemen
Challenged by the unknown and unfamiliar, we often turn away. Can our curiosity help us to become better, kinder people? This is the first post of a series exploring foreign …
Quote for Today: Doris Lessing
Ideally, what should be said to every child, repeatedly, throughout his or her school life is something like this: ‘You are in the process of being indoctrinated. We have not …
Quote for Today: Rebecca Solnit
Her name was Asia. His was Europe. Her name was silence. His was power. Her name was poverty. His was wealth. Her name was Her, but what was hers? His …
Wistful Moments: Rebecca Bathory’s Presence of Absence
During our lifetime, places that are special to us either change or become abandoned, decay and disappear. Visiting places that we used to inhabit is disorienting, as feelings of absence …
Beneath the Garden: Il Giardino di Ninfa, Part 1
Forty miles from Rome, the ancient city of Ninfa has been overtaken by a lush garden. What stories hide here? In the Latina province of the Lazio region of central …
Quote for Today: Ray Bradbury
It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with …
Quote for Today: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Those places where sadness and misery abound are favoured settings for stories of ghosts and apparitions. Calcutta has countless such stories hidden in its darkness, stories that nobody wants to …
Quote for Today: Ben Okri
Only those who truly love and who are truly strong can sustain their lives as a dream. You dwell in your own enchantment. Life throws stones at you, but your love …