Minipreach on BBC Radio 4
On the slow train up through the Balkans (proper six-seat compartments and restaurant cars), I scribbled a two-minute sermon for the BBC’s Daily Service. They recorded it at Greenbelt and … Continue reading
Hungary
I caught the early train from Belgrade to Budapest. As we approached the border, I noticed people sheltering from the rain in odd corners of the landscape. Serbian border control … Continue reading
Belgrade
The blueberry bushes along the railway line into Belgrade are covered in fruit. Neat little houses and gardens popped into view and the mixed woods and hills reminded me of … Continue reading
Macedonia
Home of Alexander the Great (but not so great if you’re from Persepolis), in dispute with Greece over the name and now the place for beautiful countryside, cheap dentistry (ads … Continue reading
Greece
Athens is rather empty – few people on the streets, shops have their shutters down, but relieved to hear it isn’t the economy: those who can afford it head off … Continue reading
Athens II
Met several groups today working with refugees. People stopped moving through Greece earlier this year when the migrant trail fizzled out: borders in the Balkans closed and Turkey agreed with … Continue reading
Athens
When I started this blog in Bosnia (2009) I had no inkling we might return to permits & visas so I’m using my EU passport while I can. Sat next … Continue reading
Beyond the niceties: building stronger Christian-Muslim relations
If you’re coming to the Greenbelt Festival in a couple of weeks, find me at the Treehouse at 12.30pm on Sunday. This is what the programme will say: Tolerating one … Continue reading
Hospitality & Islam: Mona Siddiqui
My review of Mona Siddiqui’s absorbing book appears in this month’s Third Way magazine. Amid an escalating refugee crisis, a tangle of wars in the Middle East and the presence … Continue reading
Eating grass
Ad on the London underground. I’m sure I’m not the only one who sees this differently after the news from besieged Madaya that Syrians are eating grass in order to … Continue reading
Refugees: what are we learning from the current crisis?
What are we learning from the refugee crisis? It’s not a new story, but it makes the news when something exceptionally distressing happens: the little boy who drowned, the abandoned … Continue reading
Hijab Scene #7 Mohja Kahf
Several Muslim women friends of mine have responded to the news today, appearing on TV, separating out the benefits for British Muslim women (& others) of speaking English from what … Continue reading
Catriona Robertson 