musings on places and journeys
23 November 2025, New York On Sunday afternoon, with a couple of hours to fill between a very enjoyable lunch with the charming and always-erudite Chris White and a glorious Evensong at the St Thomas’s Fifth Avenue, I spent time at MoMA in West 53rd Street, New York’s world-leading museum of modern art. It’s the … Read more
8 November 2025, New York If one of the most arresting contemporary buildings in New York – a skyscraper opened last month that occupies a whole city block bounded by Madison Avenue, 47th Street, Park Avenue, and 48th Street – is the new JPMorgan Chase global headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, one of New York’s most … Read more
6 November, East Village, New York As I walked in, Beth Pratt cut a striking figure in the dining room, clad in shocking pink and the more arresting because she was clutching a large stuffed toy mountain lion. An eccentric choice of accessory, I thought, but then remembered that this was a dinner in New … Read more
As from Washington DC, Sunday 26 October 2025 On Sunday I had the pleasure of preaching at our ‘sister parish’, St Paul’s K-Street in Washington DC. The link between our two parishes dates back well over a quarter of a century, and arose from the instinct of one Faye Campbell – an itinerant worshipper who … Read more
15 October 2025, New York. “And one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages…” (Jacques in Shakespeare’s As You Like It Act 2, scene 7) I grew up idolising Annie Lennox, her life and mine a world apart save that we were both born in Aberdeen. Last night she launched … Read more
10-12 October 2025, Boston, Massachusetts. ‘In God We Trust’ is the official motto of the United States of America, a phrase that has twelve letters. Some say that a better and certainly a more venerable motto is ‘E pluribus unum’ which, having thirteen letters, is not only older but is symbolic of the thirteen colonies which … Read more
It’s a new soundtrackI could dance to this beat forevermoreThe lights are so brightBut they never blind meWelcome to New YorkIt’s been waiting for you (Taylor Swift – ‘Welcome to New York’) The word ‘nickname’, which I had assumed was a modern term, turns out to be from the Middle English phrase ‘an eke name’, … Read more
29 September 2025 San Francisco, California Why is it that when we step into certain places we feel happy and sense that we belong there, while stepping into other places leaves us feeling at best neutral and at worst downright scratchy or uncomfortable? What is it that makes a house into a home, and a … Read more
26-29 September 2025, New Camaldoli Hermitage, near Big Sur, California I think that Christian retreats are – essentially – of two sorts. There’s the ‘tidying up the garden’ sort, which usually involves a bit of spiritual dead-heading, perhaps some sweeping up, pruning and edging, and – if you’re lucky – some seasonal planting. These are … Read more
25 September 2025 at Hong Kong Airport, about to head East One of the earliest, greatest films ever made was ‘Around The World In 80 Days,’ based on Jules Verne’s novel of the same title, in which David Niven played Phileas Fogg. In 1956 it won the Oscar as that year’s best picture. Astonishingly, it … Read more