The English Lions, the Polish Eagle, the Gallic Rooster… To the uninitiated ear, it might sound like a part of a zoo inventory while actually, all three terms relate to the national football teams taking part in the current World Cup in Qatar. In fact, animals might represent countries in more ways than sports. Many countries use animal imagery as…
Once, after a three-hour long drive, I finally reached my destination in the middle of nowhere. It turned out to be a ‘Pay and Display’ car park with a ticket machine. To my horror, it was taking coins only. My problem was that I had practically stopped using cash, preferring cashless payments as they’re more convenient to use and lighter…
When a month ago the date of King Charles’ coronation was announced, most of the population of the United Kingdom reacted with a great shrug of their shoulders. While there are staunch monarchists on one side and vigorous republicans on the opposite side, most of our fellow citizens are really indifferent to all things royal most of the time. I…
The Scottish leg of my priestly career started in Elgin. The parish priest and I covered a huge area between Lossiemouth in the north, on the Moray Coast and Tomintoul in the south, deep in the Cairngorms. To those unfamiliar with the area, it took an hour to drive between Elgin and Tomintoul along mostly winding roads. I was particularly…
“Utterly or obviously senseless, illogical, or untrue; contrary to all reason or common sense; laughably foolish or false.” This is a brief definition of the word absurd. It seems to increasingly define our lives’ social, intellectual and political aspects; the dividing lines get sharper and opposite views are dismissed as invalid, worthless or utterly absurd. Consequently, people get entrenched in…