Category: Opinion

COVID Spring 2022

It’s been a while since I wrote anything about COVID-19 however, I thought it might be worth a little update. Since I stopped updating charts daily, there have been substantial changes to testing and reporting including the ending of free Lateral flow tests. For that reason, I am not going to report on positive test… Continue reading COVID Spring 2022

Boris, Rishi #Partygate and standards in public life

We now know that the Prime Minister and his wife as well as the Chancellor of the Exchequer have been fined over the so called #Partygate. Meanwhile there are questions about Rishi Sunak’s wife -and therefore him benefitting from her Non Dom status so that she did not pay tax in the UK.   Some people… Continue reading Boris, Rishi #Partygate and standards in public life

Don’t forget who the real enemy is

Back after 911, there was a particularly intense period when anyone of Asian or middle eastern appearance was at risk from backlash.  Not only did people conflate the attack by Islamist extremists with an attack from all Muslims but also people who were not even Muslims but rather Sikhs and Hindus were conflated with the… Continue reading Don’t forget who the real enemy is

Why predicting the future is a risky business

A friend of my was teasing me the other day that my predictions about Ukraine not turning out to be very good.  He was referring to my argument here that if Russia’s aim was to strengthen its position on the international stage, become the primary regional player in Eastern Europe/Central Asia and push back western/NATO… Continue reading Why predicting the future is a risky business

The end of The World is not in Putin’s hands

One of the things people are most afraid of concerning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the potential for this to be escalated into a conflict between world powers with NATO sucked in and then the possibility of nuclear weapons being unleashed. Over the weekend, Vladimir Putin escalated the language on this. First, he warned that… Continue reading The end of The World is not in Putin’s hands

Ukraine War: What should we pray?

As Russia invades Ukraine, I’ve shared some opinion pieces talking more generally about the conflict and In this article, I want to talk specifically about how we as Christians respond to what is happening in Ukraine.  How specifically do we pray?  I want to suggest five specific things that we should pray: We pray specifically… Continue reading Ukraine War: What should we pray?

Russia and Ukraine -what next?

Today there is war in Europe.  We cannot underestimate the size of this conflict. Ukraine has a population of around 41.46 million, a little smaller than the United Kingdom, Russia is a permanent member of the UN security council with a population of 146 million and one of the largest nuclear powers.  The conflict is… Continue reading Russia and Ukraine -what next?

COVID-19: The next step to normality or a reckless risk

Boris Johnson has indicated that plans to end all COVID-19 regulations will be brought forward from the end of March to early March with further announcements expected after the school half term holidays. In practice, for England (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will continue to have their own regulations and guidance) this means that there… Continue reading COVID-19: The next step to normality or a reckless risk

COVID-19 update”after plan B”

Today sees the lifting of the additional COVID measures brought in for England in response to Omicron. Scotland has also seen some restrictions around events and gatherings lifted this week. The big change in England is the removal of the face mask requirement for indoor venues. Last week I updated my risk management assessment and… Continue reading COVID-19 update”after plan B”