“As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.” [‘Proverbs’, chapter 26, verse 11]. It may not be a ‘proverb’ (the wise call it an ‘aphorism’) and it certainly does not translate into clear meaning or human application, but it is neither ‘completely wrong’ nor ‘completely right’: it just is human vomit up for grabs by any old dog.

May 28, 2026

Let’s clear up the right to name this well known verse of the Bible a proverb, first, though it appears more correct to call it an aphorism. Traditionally we make contradistinction between the forms of ‘saying’ known as aphorism and proverb respectively by thinking of proverbs as saying something wise or true (it is not … More “As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.” [‘Proverbs’, chapter 26, verse 11]. It may not be a ‘proverb’ (the wise call it an ‘aphorism’) and it certainly does not translate into clear meaning or human application, but it is neither ‘completely wrong’ nor ‘completely right’: it just is human vomit up for grabs by any old dog.

Ilan Pappé (2024) ‘Ten Myths About Israel’, London, Verso Press.

May 27, 2026

Some books just must be read and Ilan Pappé (2024 – with new preface on Gaza as well as the original of 2017 – Ten Myths About Israel, London, Verso Press is one of them. The edition of 2024 gives a necessary set of words about Gaza that now requires updating again, for as Pappé … More Ilan Pappé (2024) ‘Ten Myths About Israel’, London, Verso Press.

‘What’s something you’d love to see in the future, but know you probably won’t live to witness?’ This question is stuck in the mud of illusion, for as Thomas Hardy said, in a work no-one ever reads, “if a way to the Better there be, it Begins with a Full Look at the Worst’.

May 26, 2026

‘What’s something you’d love to see in the future, but know you probably won’t live to witness?’ This question is stuck in the mud of illusion, for as Thomas Hardy said, in a work no-one ever reads, “if a way to the Better there be, it Begins with a Full Look at the Worst’. There … More ‘What’s something you’d love to see in the future, but know you probably won’t live to witness?’ This question is stuck in the mud of illusion, for as Thomas Hardy said, in a work no-one ever reads, “if a way to the Better there be, it Begins with a Full Look at the Worst’.

It is the kind of ‘moment’ that might be used as an answer to the title of James’ Baldwin’s novel ‘Tell Me How Long The Train’s Been Gone’, wherein moments have duration and measure in so many domains including measures of time and the quality, rather than quantity, of our attention to a phenomenon: the time scales, for instance, of narrative, history and self-awareness wherein ‘reality’ is at a premium.

May 25, 2026

In the loosest of uses of the word ‘moment’, I want to identify a ‘moment’ as that period of time over which I realised that reality is constantly reshaped by the means of its description. It is the kind of ‘moment’ that might be used as an answer to the title of James’ Baldwin’s novel … More It is the kind of ‘moment’ that might be used as an answer to the title of James’ Baldwin’s novel ‘Tell Me How Long The Train’s Been Gone’, wherein moments have duration and measure in so many domains including measures of time and the quality, rather than quantity, of our attention to a phenomenon: the time scales, for instance, of narrative, history and self-awareness wherein ‘reality’ is at a premium.

Dining with Socrates

May 23, 2026

Inviting Socrates to dine at homewith us is, as always, your idea.You always leave out Xenophon, evenPlato is not asked to come dine with us.You know Soc. likes his words to be writtenin their limpid but authoritativestyle, and not storied over by thin talkfrom our poor crowd. Oh well! He’ll sit againAt our table’s head … More Dining with Socrates

The phrase might be ‘a Prince of the Theatre’ used as if royalty alone gave value to things. Yet Ian McKellen is such a Prince because he played Prince Hamlet so many times – the last time in his recent older age. This blog is Part 2 of “The good and the bad in preparing to watch The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet performed by Ensemble 84 at their new theatre in Horden, …

May 22, 2026

The phrase might be ‘a Prince of the Theatre’ used as if royalty alone gave value to things. Yet Ian McKellen is such a Prince because he played Prince Hamlet so many times – the last time in his recent older age. This blog is Part 2 of “The good and the bad in preparing … More The phrase might be ‘a Prince of the Theatre’ used as if royalty alone gave value to things. Yet Ian McKellen is such a Prince because he played Prince Hamlet so many times – the last time in his recent older age. This blog is Part 2 of “The good and the bad in preparing to watch The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet performed by Ensemble 84 at their new theatre in Horden, …

The good and the bad in preparing to watch ‘The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet’ performed by Ensemble 84 at their new theatre in Horden, from the text of the First Quarto publication, conventionally called by editors a ‘bad quarto’? Part 1 – dealing with ‘fears and self-doubts.

May 21, 2026

The good and the bad in preparing to watch The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet performed by Ensemble 84 at their new theatre in Horden, from the text of the First Quarto publication, conventionally called by editors a ‘bad quarto’? Part 1 – dealing with ‘fears and self-doubts. I will be talking about my expectations of … More The good and the bad in preparing to watch ‘The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet’ performed by Ensemble 84 at their new theatre in Horden, from the text of the First Quarto publication, conventionally called by editors a ‘bad quarto’? Part 1 – dealing with ‘fears and self-doubts.

At a time when the arts is in crisis, Northern theatre companies need to get their act and actors together. The terrible waste of an evening at Elysium’s ‘Long Day’s Journey into Night’.

May 20, 2026

I blogged in preparation and noted that I had blogged on Elysium Theatre before, forgetting I saw their wondrous A Midsummer Night’s Dream (though, mainly because too elated, I didn’t blog on it – I remember thinking that Bottom was a real force in the play) thus: I have seen Elysium Theatre before and blogged … More At a time when the arts is in crisis, Northern theatre companies need to get their act and actors together. The terrible waste of an evening at Elysium’s ‘Long Day’s Journey into Night’.

Maybe life, at bottom, is quicksand! Comparing Henrietta Moraes’ life ‘to quicksand, deadly calm on the surface but inherently untrustworthy beneath’, Dom Moraes, her third husband is said by Darren Coffield to have ‘worshipped the shifting sand she walked on’.[1] That worship wasn’t quite that of a lasting religion and when it changed it disappeared from sight like a body sunken into quicksand does. However, Darren Coffield allows Henrietta Moraes to speak to us, if fitfully, again. This blog is a reflection on Darren Coffield (2026) Hen: Mistress of Mayhem Cheltenham, The History Press.

May 19, 2026

Maybe life, at bottom, is quicksand! Comparing Henrietta Moraes’ life ‘to quicksand, deadly calm on the surface but inherently untrustworthy beneath’, Dom Moraes, her third husband is said by Darren Coffield to have ‘worshipped the shifting sand she walked on’.[1] That worship wasn’t quite that of a lasting religion and when it changed it disappeared … More Maybe life, at bottom, is quicksand! Comparing Henrietta Moraes’ life ‘to quicksand, deadly calm on the surface but inherently untrustworthy beneath’, Dom Moraes, her third husband is said by Darren Coffield to have ‘worshipped the shifting sand she walked on’.[1] That worship wasn’t quite that of a lasting religion and when it changed it disappeared from sight like a body sunken into quicksand does. However, Darren Coffield allows Henrietta Moraes to speak to us, if fitfully, again. This blog is a reflection on Darren Coffield (2026) Hen: Mistress of Mayhem Cheltenham, The History Press.

‘crush, and snap its pale / Wrist’: Thought and image disturbed by thought. More on Kane Benjamin Crookes’ poems

May 18, 2026

‘crush, and snap its pale / Wrist’: Thought and image disturbed by thought. More on Kane Benjamin Crookes’ poems A little while ago I wrote naively about Kane Benjamin Crookes first volume Blooming Us (see the blog at this link). Promising then to return to it and his next volume at the time, I will … More ‘crush, and snap its pale / Wrist’: Thought and image disturbed by thought. More on Kane Benjamin Crookes’ poems

‘In cascades, folds’: give in to motives that fall away from you and ground themselves.

May 17, 2026

In cascades, folds: verse that gives in to motives that fall away from you and ground themselves. The fold in Leibniz’s philosophy – considered as an image of thought – has received considerable attention during recent decades, mainly because of the work of Gilles Deleuze. For Leibniz the fold often stands for continuous transformation and … More ‘In cascades, folds’: give in to motives that fall away from you and ground themselves.

That’s easy. I saw it yesterday. This is my reflection on Steven Soderbergh’s ‘The Christophers’, seen on Friday 15th May 2026 at Screen 4, 1330, Odeon Deluxe, Durham City.

May 16, 2026

The art of the unfinished: Betrayal, Revenge and Reparation. I reflect in this blog on what it means to ‘forge through’ an unfinished love story. It may be the biggest forgery of all, but does that matter? It certainly doesn’t if you act the role well enough and with attention to that love. This is … More That’s easy. I saw it yesterday. This is my reflection on Steven Soderbergh’s ‘The Christophers’, seen on Friday 15th May 2026 at Screen 4, 1330, Odeon Deluxe, Durham City.