On this day in history—May 6 1954—Oxford graduate Roger Bannister became the first person in the world to break the four-minute mile, at the Iffley Road Track. Watched by about 3,000 spectators, he smashed the mile in 3 minutes 59.4
Shakespeare and Donne created thousands of words between them - its a British trait that we can be proud of. Let's find new words for our time . This government’s war on woke includes opposing the ‘decolonisation’ of museums, history
The death of George Floyd is an image of brutality that appears on an American turn table which keeps going around and around for centuries. We have no reason in this country to be complacent but there are significant differences.
Shepherd.com is an easy to use well presented new site . Ben Fox it's creator asked me to make recommendations on this subject. https://shepherd.com/best-books/oxford-and-where-town-meets-gown Going with the theme .. here is Sculpting the Elephant: An Alternative Town and Gown Walking
Do you remember this? Radcliffe Observatory Quarter artist in residence, Weimin He, had 60 works of art on hoardings and my poem about the site was also on one. Tower of the Winds is a fabulous record of his six
Ben Fox had an idea that a punter interested in a topic, let's say China, will go onto a website and browse books about it which are recommended by respected writer . The punter then possibly buys the book or
When she interviewed me for her podcast, Yang May and I discovered a common passion for libraries and storytelling. I hope my stories are global but they arise from the web of connections to all continents that you find in
Reflections on Multi Culturalism In the Madras Courier Anurag Mishra and Paras Ratna posed the question, ‘To what extent can a society accommodate multiculturalism?’ As someone who risked my own future and that of my future children by marrying someone
When I read about Ashoka the 3rd century BC ruler of much of India, my curiosity was aroused. Ashoka began as a warlord but felt remorse at the waste of life on the battlefield. He invited followers of the Buddha