Is Ronda "neat"? Cadiz, the Old City

Ronda- a far from “neat” history; Cadiz- a bit like Venice; but then not

“It’s a neat town”, said a member of an American tour party sitting nearby. “Neat”, applied to Ronda, probably translates as “dramatic, well-preserved, easily navigated on foot, and with good facilities for visitors”.  All true. But to an English ear, “neat” also suggests “tidy” or even “tame”. Applied to Ronda’s recent history, very much untrue.

Dante's Purgatory at Stansted Airport

Dante’s Purgatory at Stansted Airport

One of the illustrations that Botticelli made for Dante’s Divine Comedy (recently on show at the Courtauld Gallery) is of a cowed gaggle of naked souls arriving on the shores Purgatory. Why do I recall this drawing fresh (or rather stale) from a journey through Stansted Airport?

The image is apt for the scene in the airport’s vast new security shed.

The Venn diagram between criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism

The Venn diagram of Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism

Prompted by recent public controversies, I’ve been trying to puzzle it out. Why does criticism of “Israel” either equate or not equate (assertion dependant on stance of asserter) to anti-Semitism? Many eloquent Jewish writers have focussed on the question in the past few weeks, and influenced my understanding. I still feel it’s worthwhile working it through – so here goes.

Nerja: costa dystopia or hillwalking utopia?

I have never been on a flight to or from Malaga, Costa del Sol, which hasn’t been full or nearly so – and I travel mostly mid-week and avoid peak holiday periods. The departure gate waiting areas are interesting for the amateur sociologist.

Just after the Easter school holidays, the hobby was easy enough to indulge. At Gatwick there was a scattering of families with pre-school infants. Almost all the rest of the 180 or so passengers were what the Americans call “snowbirds” – the grey or white haired folk who migrate, either temporarily or permanently, from the frozen or wet northern parts to The Sun.

Beyond Hobbes's Leviathan: the Alarming Visions of JG Ballard

         Beyond Hobbes’s Leviathan: The Alarming Visions of JG Ballard

The 17^th philosopher Thomas Hobbes believed that, without a civilising authority, humankind is condemned to live in a state of nature, where there is war of all against all and life is nasty, brutish and short. In his book Leviathan, Hobbes proposed that there was a profound drive, or law of nature, to escape this fate:

Understanding the Causes of Murderous Militancy

Understanding the Causes of Murderous Militancy

(This post sets out my thoughts after reading some expert commentaries. It is does not purport to contain any original, let alone expert, views. It also concentrates on a historical perspective, rather than examining the process of radicalisation of Western citizens.)

Since Tudor times, Roman Catholics, or some of them, have been praying for the “Conversion of England”. Indeed, one eminent modern clergyman says that England should be viewed as a “lapsed” catholic country, so that praying for England’s conversion is equivalent to prayer for restoration of a lapsed catholic to the True Faith.

Don't follow the caterpillars in Spain

Don’t follow the caterpillars in Spain

Humans in general do not have a very happy relationship with creepy-crawlies. Most of us have a default assumption that creepy-crawlies are “nasty”, in the sense of probably in some way damaging to plants, fabrics, our structures, or our skin or worse.

There is something else as well. We can more or less anthropomorphise (and therefore think we understand) other forms of animal life, even dangerous predators (for example, sharks as psychopathic stalkers), but insects seem profoundly alien, especially those that do indeed do us harm.