Black Lives Matter and language matters.
To promote Black Maternal Health Awareness Week we published a news item in Critical Mass about the shocking rates of mortality among Black women in maternity care. This attracted some criticism...
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On names and the meaning of words
Wilhelm Von Humboldt (1767 – 1835) was a linguist and a philosopher of language who tells this story about naming. A peasant was listening to astronomy students as they were discussing the stars. At...
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Trickle Down Treats
On mischief night I lock my door Against the knocking of the poor.“Trick or Treat?” I hear them cry.We need to eat or we will die!”“The treats are on the roof,” I frown.“Just wait and they will...
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Access and Adventure in Lakeland
This is my entry to the Kendal Mountain Festival Open Mountain Competition. It was not selected so I am sharing it here. Background The county of Cumbria is not well served by public transport. The...
View ArticleFUTURAMA
Recently the Guardian published this poem by Simon Armitage. I wanted to react to Cop26 – so many of my friends and colleagues have been emboldened by the conversation it has generated. And strange...
View ArticleThe Twelve Books of Christmas
For the Christmas edition of Critical Mass, Dave Middleton asked contributors for lists of twelve: books, songs, films; whatever we like. So naturally I chose books. Now Critical Mass is an overtly...
View ArticleStanton Family Christmas Newsletter 2021
Another Christmas letter written in strange times. We decided not to go on holiday this year. We have made do with day trips to the Lake District and occasional visits to see Katie in Manchester. Mind...
View ArticleTwo Christmas Poems of Hope
Here are two poems written about and around Christmas. The first speaks to our hopes; the second to the inevitable flatness as the holiday ends and we once more face up to reality. But all is not...
View ArticleTwelfth Night
Twelfth Night marks the end of Christmas. The decorations are all packed away and confined to the attic. The tree is out the back waiting to be recycled and the old year is finally and definitively...
View ArticleChildhood, Chalk and Cheers
Childhood’s boundaries are marked in chalk on walls and pavements. They are never completely erased and once you have crossed the border you can never return. You know you’ve crossed the line when you...
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