A long time ago, inspired by a radio show, I started making my own bread. The beginning of my newly embraced career as a baker was a bit bumpy. Following all the required steps and phases, I measured all the ingredients carefully, mixed them and left them for proving. Hours later I baked the risen dough and then left it…

A very popular app helps to learn a great selection of languages, from widely spoken ones like English, Spanish or Chinese to the very niche, like Hawaiian, Navajo or Latin or even a few made-up ones, like Esperanto or High Valyrian, the latter being of “Game of Thrones” fame. Considering the service’s wide-ranging line-up there’s a strange absence of the…

The passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on New Year’s Eve led to an outburst of articles, reports and mini-documentaries in the mass media. Most of them seemed to focus on differences between the late pope and Pope Francis, often presenting them as the figureheads of the polar opposite factions in the church, fiercely fighting for their respective corners. I’m…

A wee boy in the church was watching the priest, who had raised his arm and shown the congregation a white circular thing held in his hand. When the priest said: “This is the Lamb of God” the boy spontaneously thought that that thing wasn’t a lamb and didn’t even resemble it by any stretch of the imagination. Several decades…

“The stuff of nightmares” rather well describes last week’s weather conditions, as well as my recent efforts to keep the acres of car parks at St Joseph’s and Holy Family safe underfoot. The back-breaking and time-consuming, valiant, lone fight against the elements turned out to be mostly futile as a mix of snowfalls and short thaws followed by frost cancelled…