As simple unexpected acts of kindness go, this one will take some beating. I was on a train from London to Plymouth last Friday afternoon, on my way to a reunion of some university friends, among them people I’d not clapped eyes on for more than 30 years. Oddly, I found myself getting nervous about… Read More Adrian Chiles: A stranger on a train – and a small, stunning act of kindness
We went down to the edge of the water You were afraid to go in You said, There might be sharks out there in the oceanAnd I said, I’m only going for a swim I was swimming around in a circleI wasn’t always in viewYou said, We might get into red flag dangerAnd I am… Read More SINEAD LOHAN – No Mermaid
Hong Kong (CNN): When Ho Feng Shan died at the age of 96, he took a secret to his grave. The only clue was a single sentence in his obituary in 1997. Throughout his long life, Ho never mentioned his heroic deeds during World War II – not to his wife, his children or friends.… Read More Ho Feng Shan: The 'Chinese Schindler' who saved thousands of Jews. By Wayne Chang
The legend of Simone de Beauvoir—of how an obedient Catholic schoolgirl cast off her rigid, patriarchal upbringing to become the high priestess of existential feminism – is often narrated as a love story. Her biographers trace her escape from the bourgeois Parisian milieu into which she was born, in 1908, first to the Sorbonne and then… Read More Simone de Beauvoir’s Lost Novel of Early Love. By Merve Emre
Chen Tianshi has kept a secret for the past 32 years. The former student activist was a key organiser of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 and was arrested in the aftermath of the massacre. Out of the bloody crackdown, unlikely friendships formed between some protesters and their captors. Today, on the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen… Read More Joyce Cheng: Tiananmen Square protesters remember the bonds they formed with the Chinese police who held them captive
A few days into lockdown, a Facebook notification suggested I join the local Mutual Aid, a community group that helps and provides companionship to the most vulnerable. I thought, fantastic, a focus, and clicked through to the WhatsApp group, desperate for distraction. But the group seemed inactive; there were very few messages. Days and weeks passed… Read More Daniella Isaacs: What my lockdown calls to an old man taught me about laughter, life – and myself
And night has come upon my land, the carrion birds encircling and prayers ascend on pyres lit, the shadows fast descending And leaders know not how to lead, they gape, they watch in silence while each new day brings grief afresh, no help, no rest, no guidance And those who come with sturdier boats, will… Read More Nandini Sen Mehra: And night has come upon my land
NB: Once in a while, very rarely, something appears in the media that reminds me of Goa, where my mother was born, in village Saligaon, in 1924. And which reminds me of my Goan heritage. My thanks to the author for a sprinkle of sossegado in this troubled world! Dilip Lucy Aunty, as Lucy Fernandes… Read More Remembering Lucy Aunty
It was a summer’s day in Byron Bay, Australia in early 2003. The sun was shining and Gianna Mazzeo, who’d been basking in its rays for most of the day, decided to freshen up with a swim. As she was coming out of the ocean, Gianna noticed a group of men playing soccer further up… Read More The couple who met on the beach at Byron Bay
World’s Largest Virtual #Hallelujah Chorus O Holy Night – André Rieu André Rieu – Beethoven’s Ode to Joy Little Drummer Boy (African Tribal Version) Ave Maria – André Rieu & Mirusia Christmas in Vienna 2008 (HD)
After the truth-shower 