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March 2022

The World is Full of Suffering

Date Published: 10th March 2022

The World is full of suffering: I am writing this on Sunday evening, after a day of sun here in Edinburgh. Spring is knocking on the door – just – although the air is still a bit cold. This afternoon at three o’clock, I wrote the final sentence of the new No 1 Ladies’ Detective […]

World Book Day 2022

Date Published: 3rd March 2022

In celebration of World Book Day and recognition of those suffering in Eastern Europe, Alexander shares this new poem: In troubled times A poem for World Book Day, 2022 Somewhere as I write these linesArmies clash, the speechless innocent flee,The rumbling armour and the fire,And skies, once clear and optimistic,Darken with intended smoke;In the classroom, […]

A Story for March: From the South

There was an Italian town, possibly Verona, in which the people discouraged incomers and made it difficult for them to be accepted. In particular, they objected to the influx of southerners – people with names like Valentino, Salvatore, or Pasquale. These were typical Neapolitan or Sicilian  names, and these arrogant northerners regarded them with disdain. […]