In 1966, when photographer Nat Finkelstein was photographing the artist Andy Warhol for a proposed book, a crowd gathered, trying to get into the pictures. Warhol supposedly remarked that everyone wants to be famous, to which Finkelstein replied, “Yeah, for about fifteen minutes, Andy.” That’s the anecdotal story (one of few) on how the famous quotation was born: “In the…

I used to travel proudly wearing my priestly robes or dog collar. I quickly discovered a pattern in how fellow travellers reacted to my presence. Either they had a polite and pious conversation (or, more often, monologue) or vented their grudges against clergy I didn’t even know. I found the former boring as my religious piety level has always been…

Words that can hurt you truly badly and acutely can only come from someone who knows you very well: a confidant, a very close friend, or – most often – your spouse. While being close to someone has many obvious benefits, it also makes you exposed and vulnerable. This is the risk we must take and the price we must…

Those who follow the European Football Championship have already heard a great selection of national anthems played before the kick-off and – most of the time – sung with great passion by the team’s supporters. In fact, the fans’ performance can be the sole impressive part of the game, as we saw at Scotland’s opening game against Germany. The peculiar…

How was the party? Yesterday was the king’s birthday. Did you know that? I only knew because it was shown in my digital calendar; otherwise, I wouldn’t have had a clue. Although we live in a country called the United Kingdom and have a hereditary monarch as the head of state, we all know that his political power is pure…