In England, Mother's Day was on Friday March 19th, a celebration for three Jamaican mothers who live in England. We're not in a position to visit them in South-East London, as we don't have a car any more. What with this and that, we weren't able to meet up till last Saturday 20th May. We… Continue reading Mother’s Day Visit
Driving again
I stopped driving three years ago, started to feel frightened of hitting other vehicles, or worse. Even in daylight. Carefully made my last journey up the hill to WeBuyAnyCar, was amazed to get back nearly half of what I paid for it new ten years earlier. (v. low mileage full, maintenance history—plus inflation?) But I'm… Continue reading Driving again
Storms
The songs I like best in this album by singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith are "You Made This Love a Teardrop" and "It's a Hard Life Wherever You Go". Each song is a dignified lament, as typified by the title "If Wishes Were Changes". Most sentimental songs in the world of Pop are about "me", my… Continue reading Storms
Dark Star
Live Dead explains why the Dead are one of the best performing bands in America, why their music touches on ground that most other groups don’t even know exists. A list of song titles would mean very little in terms of what actually goes on inside the album. Like the early Cream, the… Continue reading Dark Star
Escaping from a Festival
We're a bunch of old friends from University days, on our way to somewhere in Wales, in an old Land Rover. Without our copy of The Readers Digest Book of Roads (400 pages), cross-referenced to signposts, we'd have had no chance. Our route takes us up hill and down dale, in a maze of narrow… Continue reading Escaping from a Festival
The Sex Life of Thomas Traherne
Abridged from ‘High Delights that satisfy all Appetites’: Thomas Traherne and Gender Jean E. Graham The College of New Jersey graham@tcnj.edu The poetry of Thomas Traherne (written sometime before his death in 1674) has often seemed purely and innocently devotional in comparison with that of George Herbert, John Donne, or Richard Crashaw, poets whose religious… Continue reading The Sex Life of Thomas Traherne
Classical Music of Africa
This song by Sona Jobarteh is surely an Ode To Joy for our present age. The video shows a loving and idealized portrait of modern West Africa, steeped in traditional roots Up to the middle of the 19th century, classical music came from Central Europe. Sona has absorbed this tradition from early childhood, interwoven with… Continue reading Classical Music of Africa
Country boy down in New Orleans – Snooks Eaglin
Snooks Eaglin was blind, spent much of his childhood learning to play guitar. Allow me to share one of my favorite blues with you. It's illustrated throughout with some beautiful paintings
A Brush With The Past
From the age of 12, I went to King James I School, in Newport, Isle of Wight. It was built as a grammar school in 1613, with some latter additions to accommodate more boys.. Our art master was Mr Bell, a strict disciplinarian. We were not allowed to speak to one another during the 1½-hour… Continue reading A Brush With The Past
Living in High Wycombe
Wycombe is a great place to live if you don't drive. No traffic jams or parking problems. If you live in Abercromby Road, for example, it's a short walk along Desborough Road to the town centre, with its Eden shopping Mall, library, Hospital. If you are disabled, there are many facilities, including https://www.shopmobilityhighwycombe.co.uk/ You'll pass… Continue reading Living in High Wycombe
Eagle Flew Out Of the Night
Waking up at 3 am, I find a song playing endlessly in my head. Not just the tune, but some of the words too. It's one of the most extraordinary popular songs, more potent than anything by Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen. Peter Gabriel has his own explanation for how it hatched in his mind… Continue reading Eagle Flew Out Of the Night
Touched by the Printed Word
First published on Feb. 25th, 2009 I learned to read at my grandmother’s knee, at four years old. We used a Victorian primer, Reading without Tears: it proved itself worthy of the name and I worked through it in a few days, mostly on my own. I remember being frustrated with the word “parlour” near… Continue reading Touched by the Printed Word
Helpful advice to men—from the 16th Century
from On the power of the imagination, an essay by Michel Montaigne, translated by J M Cohen: "I have personal knowledge of the case of a man for whom I can answer as for myself, and who could not fall under the least suspicion impotence or being under a spell. He had heard a comrade… Continue reading Helpful advice to men—from the 16th Century
Don’t Give Up
Here's a track from Peter Gabriel’s album So; In this proud land we grew up strongWe were wanted all alongI was taught to fight, taught to winI never thought I could fail No fight left or so it seemsI am a man whose dreams have all desertedI’ve changed my face, I’ve changed my nameBut no… Continue reading Don’t Give Up
Mr Lehane is Back
Years ago, DBA Lehane had a website of Short Short Stories, now defunct. I'm delighted to see it's back at https://dailymicrofictions.com/ Mr Lehane often visited Wayfarer's and over the years our exchange of comments is worthy of being disinterred from the sands of time, like this fellow: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look… Continue reading Mr Lehane is Back
Revelations
Got out of bed this morning telling myself there's a close connection between sex and God. On reflection, love has to be in the equation: Love + sex = God This is surely why religion smiles on marriage but not one-night stands. As for homosexual relations, every religion so far as I know has frowned… Continue reading Revelations
A call from “Alma Mater”
Last night I got a call from a bright young woman in the Alumni department, clearly a student volunteer. They ring from time to time to see if you can donate to their charity in aid of disadvantaged students from overseas. this is from their website https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/ : Birmingham is a truly global university producing… Continue reading A call from “Alma Mater”
A Brief History of Politics?
inspired by a new blog: A Platform for Politics and Culture Speech evolved from homo erectus's point and grunt for catching game in a team. It's presented as a series of steps explained in a talk by Wittgenstein, transcribed in The Brown Book, appended here. Thus creatures and things could be given names. Then speech… Continue reading A Brief History of Politics?
The Origins of Speech, according to Wittgenstein
THE BROWN BOOKI Augustine, in describing his learning of language, says that he was taught to speak by learning the names of things. It is clear that who-ever says this has in mind the way in which a child learns such words as "man", "sugar", "table", etc. He does not primarily think of such words… Continue reading The Origins of Speech, according to Wittgenstein
God, Love, Marriage, Sex
In my view, God is not the Transcendent Being delineated in Scriptures, the one that intervenes in the workings of Man and the rest of Nature. My God is not nullified by Evolution theory. She is the the Whole SheBang: not just the Big Bang of said theory, but the ongoing Carer that never deserts… Continue reading God, Love, Marriage, Sex
The Blues
Back in '65 I acquired a battered and rusty National guitar, gift of a friend who also gave me various cassettes copied from LPs, including Alabama Blues by JB Lenoir. The only thing I learned to play was Big Leg Blues. I never got beyond the first line, couldn't play the chords. https://youtu.be/4zeANzfesQU
How this site got its URL
I transferred my writings to WordPress in 2015. Previously I'd used perpetual-lab.blogspot.com, still visible on archive.com. What name should I give it? I used the name of singer Tabu Ley Rochereau, who often performed with Franco Luambo's TPOK Jazz Band. This had been a favourite of mine since I first discovered African music through some… Continue reading How this site got its URL
An Old Cockney song
We've been together now for nineteen years, An' it don't seem a day too much, 'cos there ain't a lady livin' in the land As I'd swop for my dear old Dutch.
Good Vibrations, good migration
Revised on October 3rd Things have changed in my body & psyche. One is the worse for wear, the other has recovered after 6 weeks of insanity, diagnosed as an infection of the brain which like the common cold has cleared up by itself. During those 6 weeks my head ran wild ("Freak Out!") scaring… Continue reading Good Vibrations, good migration
Valley Creatures
Days pass. Not much wayfaring and not much writing. The two are connected. I had promised to dedicate a post to Lady in Red, who writes “I love it when you describe the places you walk through, bringing it alive for those of us who can only imagine both the countryside and the industrial areas… Continue reading Valley Creatures
High Wycombe has a Monopoly
from our local newspaper, the Bucks Free Press. I've corrected its numerous typos, excused by the fact that today is its publishing day, and Isabella Perrin was clearly rushed to get the copy ready in time High Wycombe MONOPOLY board release date and locations announced 15th August by Isabella Perrin , @IsabellaHPerrin Senior Digital Journalist… Continue reading High Wycombe has a Monopoly
Night Thoughts
I’m stuck. I don’t just mean stuck in some detailed area of life, as if performing some tricky or critical task and suddenly realizing I need three hands. That would be exciting enough. I mean globally stuck: my “I” suddenly immobilized whilst grappling with the entire universe. It’s one of those situations where we say… Continue reading Night Thoughts
“Thank You NHS”
I went up to the hospital for a blood test and took these snaps of the approach road. They've been painted here for more than a year, and reflect a massive manifestation of affection for our National Health Service since the pandemic hit us. At various points it has drastically overloaded its workers at all… Continue reading “Thank You NHS”
George Santayana
I came across his name when I was 17, but since then I've never seen it again till now: in the same book I borrowed, back in 1959. Despite extensive reading in the spheres of philosophy and religion since then, I've never come the name since, except in the book I borrowed then. I was… Continue reading George Santayana
Housewifery
HOUSEWIFERY is the efficient running of a house, and embraces problems of widely different natures. It includes the problem of running the house economically, seeing that the money available is spent to the best purpose. It includes keeping the house clean, for cleanliness and hygiene are the basis of healthy living. It includes a knowledge… Continue reading Housewifery
Holy Family
Ascension of Yemaya into the Waters 2019 I guess like other educated white males I haven’t understood the the accusation that came out so often last year in the Black Lives Matter campaigns, that people like me are “privileged”. Especially in the sense that there are things we may never be able to understand, such… Continue reading Holy Family
Invisibles
My guardian angel got her name by accident. It can be traced back to a difference between men and women, in which She (archetypal woman) does chores without remark or fuss. When she dares to interrupt His (archetypal man's) scholarly scribbling, and to ask him to lend a hand, he does so with a little… Continue reading Invisibles
From Etty, to God
". . . there is a remarkable woman who can give us vision and stability, who can help us to do good despite all the terror due to the Covid-19 virus. She speaks from another time of dread, the Holocaust."* From her journal: "You cannot help us, but we must help You and defend Your… Continue reading From Etty, to God
Green Book
Green Book is based on real people, real events. It’s really about two characters: Tony “Lip” Vallelonga, famous for dealing with trouble, from a clannish Italian family in the Bronx ; Dr Donald Shirley, classical pianist from aspirational Jamaican parents, who’s grown up in an airy-fairy virtuoso-land, and happens to be black. In the course… Continue reading Green Book
It
There is It and there is God, consisting of the sacred known and the sacred unknown. Together they comprise reality. The rest is illusion. Everyone wants a piece of It, to do it or to feel It in some way. The created world is made of desire. There are those who don’t feel It in… Continue reading It
How Religions Began
Note on Wednesday 17th August, 2025: I have scant recollection of writing this post, but then, I’m 15 years more elderly than then, and maybe should be forgiven. I wonder if any reader can relate to Simone Weil’s esoteric musings? Do tell what you think, in a comment. Or several, it would be good to… Continue reading How Religions Began
Gladness
I’m glad for everything, this life is precious, no time to waste in fretting. I’m especially glad that no one reads this blog any more. If no one comes I can say what to want to say on my own account. The marital bed is the Tabernacle of the Most High. This isn’t a quote… Continue reading Gladness
Eros, Agape and In-Godding
I learned that Roger Scruton had died earlier this year. I knew little about him, only that he was a philosopher ready to break ranks with his fellow academics for applying traditionalist views to criticize the unthinking conformity of liberalism à la mode. Of his several published books, one title leapt out: Sexual Desire. Most… Continue reading Eros, Agape and In-Godding
Knowledge of Angels…
. . . by Jill Paton Walsh Some readers will find there is altogether too much theology in this novel, especially of the medieval kind, with inquisitors, hermit scholars, narrow-minded nuns and much repression of thought and action. After first reading it 25 years ago and rereading recently, I get a different impression: that it’s… Continue reading Knowledge of Angels…
A Graceful Retreat
This is to say thank you to all readers and especially to Ellie Clayton, Phil Ebersole, IanInverness and Michael Peverett, for your comments on my recent Simone Weil posts. Also to those who clicked on “like”. Most especially to those who remained silent. It’s all valuable feedback. It’s become clear that reading Gravity and Grace is not… Continue reading A Graceful Retreat
Simone Weil on Evil
The text below is a bold rendering in idiomatic English of Simone Weil's La Pesanteur et laGrâce, chapter 15 "Le mal". Much could be said to introduce the author and her writings, not to mention the approach I've taken, which some may condemn as a paraphrase. My view is that the language of French intellectuals… Continue reading Simone Weil on Evil
Simone Weil on Politics & Justice
to Phil Ebersole, demonstrating Simone Weil's deep commitment as a thinker and activist; as well as, I suggest, her particular relevance to a world which has lost its once-revered guiding principles. See our exchange of comments in my last. ************* This is the last section of her essay on Human Personality: the Just and the… Continue reading Simone Weil on Politics & Justice
Gravity and Grace, by Simone Weil
See this article: The Famous Book she Never Wrote Excerpts: Every natural impulse of the soul is governed by laws analogous to physical gravity: except only grace. We must always expect things to turn out as if pulled downwards by their own weight, unless the supernatural comes into play. There are just two forces in… Continue reading Gravity and Grace, by Simone Weil
Guided Randomness
I’ve often asked myself “Do you believe in God?” but never got an answer, only that it’s an unanswerable question. A better one would be “What do you believe in?” One has to search within oneself, but not for some borrowed ideas and expressions, some flag of convenience to sail under and dodge the challenge. One… Continue reading Guided Randomness
Face-to-Face
The ghost of Christine Keeler is returning to public view, in the form of a TV series now on BBC, and a forthcoming exhibition in London, which I heard about through Natalie D'Arbeloff's blog, in which she says Christine Keeler was, in that story, simultaneously absolutely powerless and absolutely powerful. She was neither victim nor… Continue reading Face-to-Face
Delicious, not Precious
Contemplating mortality is not about being prepared to die, it is about being prepared to live. And that is what I am doing now, more freely and more fully than I have since childhood. The cancer has not made life more precious - that would make it seem like something fragile to lock away in… Continue reading Delicious, not Precious
Thomas Traherne: his outlook on life
An essay by Frances Towers in 1920, a few years after the first publication of manuscripts by Thomas Traherne from the 17th century. BETWEEN the covers of the Centuries of Meditation lies a spiritual kingdom. It has a close affinity with certain other kingdoms of the spirit, and the wanderer who crosses that threshold is conscious of… Continue reading Thomas Traherne: his outlook on life
Joyful Expressions?
I suppose theology is the study of what God is and isn’t. I’ve never looked into Thomas Aquinas, but am grateful for an excerpt from Why Rousseau Was Wrong*: Its positive attitude reminds me of a quote from Thomas Traherne recently published on this blog†. The excerpt above came from a summary‡ of how St Thomas… Continue reading Joyful Expressions?
Wise
Emerson, from ‘The Oversoul’
Unjudging
Dostoevsky, from Father Zossima's discourse in The Brothers Karamazov, freely rendered
Self-proclaiming
Whitman, from Song of Myself
Attracted
Gerald Bullett, from his essay ‘Dreaming’, 1928
Natural
Gerald Bullett has this to say about the excerpt:
Akin
Gerald Bullett, anthologist of The Testament of Light, writes this of the above excerpt:
Humble
Dostoevsky, from Father Zossima’s discourse in The Brothers Karamazov
Generous
from Miguel de Unamuno, The Life of Don Quixote and Sancho, tr. Homer P. Earle
Forgiving
from The Gospel according to St. John, a blend of three translations: Tyndale, Authorized Version, and Revised Version
Constant
Shakespeare, Sonnet 116
Blissful
Wordsworth, from Intimations of Immortality
Outreaching
Traherne, from Centuries of Meditations
Animal
Logan Pearsall Smith, ‘Desires’ from his book Trivia
While Unsleeping
A kind of liberation ensues when you accept the situation, displeasing as it may be, that you find yourself in at this moment. For example insomnia & remembrance of past mistakes—to name but one. For me, they are synonymous. Liberation is an art, the act of turning something round the other way. To embrace the… Continue reading While Unsleeping
Strange Angels
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVrZZymiGPI Strange angels - / Singing just for me / Old stories - / They’re haunting me / This is nothing like I thought it would be ¶ Well I was out in my four- door / With the top down. / And I looked up / And there they were: millions of tiny teardrops… Continue reading Strange Angels
Love Affairs
Farzaneh has an imagination, which directs his hero towards a variety of young women encountered during a year in downtown Vancouver, where “all types of girls can be found on the street”. At the end of the novel, in conversation with a waitress, he confesses “I like insecure, moody, promiscuous ice princesses who like to… Continue reading Love Affairs
Glad
My life has changed so radically in the last 7 days that I don't know what to say. Unless I write, knowing I'll reach a handful of readers, I won't have access to my true thoughts and feelings. Strange perhaps, but it's been this way for a long time. In ordinary consciousness, this radical change… Continue reading Glad
The unfairness started with Adam & Eve
Before that apple business, Adam and Eve were buddies, gambolling around the Garden with the other animals like a couple of kids and if they had sex at all, it was innocent sex. Then sly old Satan, dressed up as a snake, wriggled up to Eve, handed her the apple and aroused her curiosity with… Continue reading The unfairness started with Adam & Eve
The Bitter Taste
From Bryan White Occasionally, I like to revisit ideas that I disagree with, to see if I can find a reason to reconsider my position. It's a wonderful thing when something compels you to change your mind. It's like a whole new area of the game board opens up. Suddenly there are all these fresh… Continue reading The Bitter Taste
“Cancer, I Love You”
I’ve been following Arash’s World for years, always enjoying his essays and book reviews. I found his latest review of particular interest, and bought a copy of the book, very reasonably priced on Kindle. It’s inspired me to submit a review of my own, not in rivalry to Arash’s, but because I was given a… Continue reading “Cancer, I Love You”
Religious abuse?
My sister emailed me: I have been sorting through old books & I have just come across this New Testament belonging to you, do you remember it ? Let me know if you’d like it ? 2& half ins x 4ins in size ! I replied “Thank you! I would certainly like it, things like… Continue reading Religious abuse?
The Free Soul
I've written several times about spiritual writings from the thirteenth century: Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe. Each risked being fingered by the Inquisition as a heretic, and took steps to demonstrate orthodox obedience to the powerful Catholic Church. Marguerite Porete stands out from the others and is the most interesting by far. Almost… Continue reading The Free Soul
The Steps
From Bryan White So how did I get here? And what do I do now? There's a point when your kids are still little. They're little, but they're not babies anymore. They're starting to need their space. You're not just a young couple with a baby; you've officially reached that turning point where you're a… Continue reading The Steps
The Steps
So how did I get here? And what do I do now? There’s a point when your kids are still little. They’re little, but they’re not babies anymore. They’re starting to need their space. You’re not just a young couple with a baby; you’ve officially reached that turning point where you’re a “family.” So you… Continue reading The Steps
Finding my Way in the Void
The Void and I: A Story About Everything Scene one: I don’t believe in God, I think to myself ...Numbers make sense to me. God doesn’t make any sense. Thus begins a longish essay by Zat Rana. I marvel at the parallel paths in our writing and experience. He reminds me of me, never mind… Continue reading Finding my Way in the Void
Smarts
From Bryan White From time to time, I come across these women online complaining that "Men are intimidated by smart women", and I can only presume that they're talking primarily about themselves, prompted by some personal experience that they found exasperating. The thing is, I'm not sure if this is something that's actually happening, or… Continue reading Smarts
The Fraud
(writing from Mumbai) As he sat in his armchair thinking about how useless his life had been, he couldn’t help contemplating his own mortality. Had he fallen from his motorbike a few inches further to the right, the van's tyre would have run over his head. Not that he was afraid of that possibility at… Continue reading The Fraud
An open letter to the person complaining . . .
A post from Bryan White Dear Sir or Madame, or however you're supposed to formally address the fragile star children from the planet Zir who have recently come to walk among us I saw a comment you left somewhere the other day, saying that you "can't stand" when people start sentences (or maybe it was… Continue reading An open letter to the person complaining . . .
200 Words
On Twitter, Brian Spaeth set himself the goal of writing 200 words of work in progress each day. It sounds like a good exercise, though in my case there is no novel or other ongoing project that begs attention. A while ago, trying to understand the possibilities in Twitter, I set up a Tweet of… Continue reading 200 Words
The Book of Margery Kempe
Margery Kempe was a bloody-minded woman, living in a time when England was still Catholic. Bishops, priests and friars held worldly and spiritual power. bloody-minded: Chiefly Brit. Perverse, contrary; cantankerous; stubbornly intransigent or obstructive. Cf. bloody adj. OED She came from the provinces, had no education and bore 14 children to a husband socially beneath… Continue reading The Book of Margery Kempe
The Coffee House: a brief history . . .
. . . from De Quincey to Starbucks Coleridge had published Kubla Khan in 1816. The first English translations of the Arabian Nights in the early 18th century had provided an aura of magic and violent intrigue. And The Travels of Marco Polo had been widely available since the Middle Ages. As a result, the… Continue reading The Coffee House: a brief history . . .
Hilltop reverie
I went up the hill, the one at left with the rainbow. That’s how I view it from my study window, which I’ve outlined in black in the righthand picture; which in turn was photographed from the grassy slope outlined in black on the left. It’s certainly a town for lifting up one’s eyes unto… Continue reading Hilltop reverie
Angels, Chaos, Truth
The last two pieces posted here have left important questions unanswered: What can we really know? What kind of consequences may follow inaccurate assumptions? Do we have any chance of explaining the unexplained, and should we even bother? Is there a wisdom we can call upon, or allow to reach us, which we can use… Continue reading Angels, Chaos, Truth
Kant’s Trick . . .
. . . or all the philosophy you don't need to know, in 711 crisp words, by Bryan White. “How can I help seeing what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four.” “Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You… Continue reading Kant’s Trick . . .
Girl with a Pearl Earring
From Bryan White I just finished reading Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. A few posts back, when Vincent said that he was "inspired" by books that he was waiting to get in the mail, I was in a similar situation at the time with this book. It was sitting on my bookshelf,… Continue reading Girl with a Pearl Earring
Who Sleeps with Katz
There are certain authors, that is to say certain books, that we are especially glad to have discovered. And when we discover something new and significant in our lives, the moment when it occurred is memorable. I discovered Todd Mcewen by looking up “happenstance” in the OED and finding an illustration of its use in… Continue reading Who Sleeps with Katz
a wayfarer’s notes 