Life with a dog by Angela Caldin
I’m a bit late with my blog contribution this week because of circumstances beyond my control. It’s fair to say that not many people have noticed, apart from Trevor who has sent an email of admonishment this morning. The new year is now underway which seems a fitting time to correct the omission. The situation is as follows: our daughter and family have gone away for a short break at Lake Taupo and in a moment of extreme generosity I agreed that we would look after their dog. The dog in question… Read More
The ethics of the vaccine booster by Angela Caldin
‘Nobody is safe until everyone is safe.’ I take that to mean that, as we’re in the middle of a pandemic affecting the whole world, it would be logical to ensure that the whole world is vaccinated, not just the wealthy bits of it. Many developed countries, including the UK, the US and several EU member states, have rolled out booster vaccination programmes. The thinking behind the booster campaigns is that a third round of vaccination provides an extra defence against Covid-19, at a time when protection might be starting to diminish…. Read More
Man’s inhumanity to man by Angela Caldin
The images of those refugees on the border between Belarus and Poland are haunting me. Thousands of them are braving the cold along with extreme hardship in an attempt to get into Europe. Young people, old people, families with young children, people in need of medical treatment, all huddled and herded together with little shelter, food, water or medical attention. At least twelve have died because of the dreadful conditions. At first I thought they must be fleeing the harsh regime in Belarus, but now I understand that they are migrants and… Read More
To worry or not to worry by Angela Caldin
Case numbers of Covid-19 are rising again in the UK, but many people are going about their daily lives as though this was not a cause for concern. There’s a recent photo of the Conservative benches in the UK House of Commons in which the MPs sit squashed together shoulder to shoulder while their leader speaks at the despatch box. They look rather bored by whatever it is he is saying and you can see this from their facial expressions which are visible because the great majority are not wearing a mask…. Read More
Power and corruption by Angela Caldin
‘Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ Famous words from 19th Century historian and politician Lord Acton to Bishop Creighton. He also said, ‘I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption it is the other way against holders of power, increasing as power increases.’ I was thinking about these wise words in the wake of the revelations this week in the Pandora Papers which show how the love… Read More
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