Newspaper columns

The doorways of fatherhood

The thing about even the most humdrum of moments is that something of life’s larger mystery can come through them. Take this moment in Congo, a father holding his child in their home’s doorway. Neither seemed to mind me stopping. My sense is that both would be okay, even pleased, knowing their photo finally found

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Forget the bunker, we should be bonding

Here’s something on the always relevant topic of how to have a slumber party with a world leader. But first let’s touch on bunkers and surviving the apocalypse. Today is the anniversary of D-Day, the June 6, 1944 Allied invasion that helped end the Second World War, but not all war.

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We all need rescuing from this broken world

We can’t talk about rescuing mothers without talking about rescuing children, never mind rescuing starfish. But first, Hannah, my daughter. Not that she’s the only person in the world who’s ever been rescued. She’s not. But on a weekend to celebrate mothers, here’s her story.

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Learning about the meaning of life in your pyjamas

So I was walking the dog with another dog walker and he told me how his daughter puts her boyfriend to sleep by reading to him. Go on, I said, so he did. This father, Tim, told me about his daughter’s bedtime reading habits. And his. When Tim goes down, he reads, falls

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A spring reflection on forgiveness and renewal

Speaking of spring, here’s a thought. Given the choice to be a human who walks on the ground or a seed that’s planted into the ground, most of us would opt for the human experience despite the various headaches involved. Not that seeds can’t have their day in the sun, so to

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An exploration of love and loss

Before Sunday’s Academy Awards, here’s a family story. He was 18 and she was 26 and pregnant, so they had a so-called shotgun wedding to save face, his and hers and the parents and the face of the family dog for all we know. Despite the odds, the marriage of Bill and Anne

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