Today is my birthday. Other than having enough time-off-in-lieu to be able to take the day off and head to Therme, it’s not really a special day. It’s not really a special age. But a new year, whether calendar or birth, brings new hope. The last couple of years have been hard. I’m incredibly unsettled. …
A personal reflection on peace Originally posted on Substack on Oct 23, 2025 I’ll be honest; until maybe a couple of years ago, Estonia barely entered into my thoughts at all. After 8 years living in near-tropical Hong Kong, which saved my life and reawakened my fascination with the sea, I would never have imagined …
Originally posted on Oct 01, 2025 on my Substack. Before I was cancelled for no reason. Like so many… Too much stuff in our life. Too many emails. Too many clothes. Too many bills. Too many gadgets. Too many mugs. Too many cables in the junk drawer. Too many started and abandoned hobbies. Too much …
Originally published on Sep 30, 2025 on my unjustly-suspended Substack I was probably 12 or 13 when I first discovered the concept of naturism, in a travel book about what was then Yugoslavia. It immediately made sense to me, because what value does swimwear actually serve? When it’s hot, particularly as a kid, you always …
Originally shared on my now-suspended Substack on Sep 25, 2025 I think most people are quite aware that swimwear doesn’t perform any of the required functions of clothing. It doesn’t keep you warm, it doesn’t protect you from the elements, and (other than the $$$$s “sharkskin” racing suits, which only aid speed, not buoyancy) it …
Originally published on Substack on Sep 25, 2025 In today’s society, we’re further from the concept of tribe than maybe we’ve ever been. Although maybe not. Let me explain… We all need tribes. It’s an essential part of healthy survival. Mankind developed in groups… typically extended families, which over time has migrated to church communities, …
Originally published on my suspended Substack on Sep 18, 2025 A personal reflection I see a lot about deconstructing these days. Commonly it’s about people leaving the church in general, either turning their back on Christianity entirely, or just becoming cheesed off with the complete absence of Christ-values in modern conservative evangelical theology, particularly in …
Originally published on Substack on Sep 15, 2025. The story is still coming, but slowly! This story is bubbling away, slowly but surely. As a kind of introduction to it, I thought I’d introduce our principal characters. This story is set in the late 10th century AD, as Christianity is spreading throughout the Viking communities, …
Originally posted on my now-suspended Substack on Sep 13, 2025 It is truly horrifying to me that anyone in any church, but particularly the leadership, would celebrate the life of a misogynistic racist who preached false Christ and made millions of dollars from hate speech. Unfortunately, in this country, after the Orthodox tradition, the second …
Originally posted on Substack on Sep 12, 2025 (well before my account was suspended). Happily very much back to full health now! Just over 2 weeks ago, I went into hospital. Very blessed to have private medical insurance through my job, so nice, small hospital, private room, friendly English-speaking doctor, all good… other than the …
Read more “I had the kind of surgery nobody wants to talk about”