[CANCER] Yes, It’s Back Again :-(
Well, so much for getting at least 2 years, and hopefully 5 years on Herceptin and Perjeta. Apparently the cancer is back - and this time it's in my sternum and chest lymph nodes - to be honest I haven't got loads of information in my head as, after the clear bloods/X-Ray scan from New Zealand, and the insistence that the pain I was feeling was torn chest muscles, I thought it was going to…
[SPEAKER] ‘Building a Presence Online’ for The International Association of Chaplains in Higher Education
I was invited to present for the Australian segment of The International Association of Chaplains in Higher Education online event (their in-person conference intended to be in Sheffield this summer has obviously been postponed til next week). As this was the evening after treatment, and would have been 'strange'o'clock', we did a pre-record at the end of last week. I spoke to Jay Robinson around this presentation, with a few Q&A afterwards. Building a Presence…
[MEDIA] Could TikTok teens actually make a difference in elections? @GetTheFocus
I chatted to a journalist from The Focus last week: Dr Bex Lewis, an expert in digital marketing and digital culture at Manchester Metropolitan University, says that humour as a way of critiquing our elected officials, is a longstanding British tradition. The risk with these videos in particular, she said, is that humouring Boris Johnson may not be as effective as serious criticism of his work. “He’s always tried to portray himself as a bit…
[WRITER] Find support through the screen for @ChurchTimes
I was commissioned to write a piece on technology and the church for the Church Times, for the post-pandemic special. The article starts: IT HAS been fascinating to watch long-running debates about the use of technology go mainstream. There have been heated online discussions about the importance of church buildings. Alongside weekly services, weddings and ordinations have been cancelled, funerals can be attended only by a few, and ministerial licensings are conducted on Zoom. Theological questions have been raised. Are “holy spaces” places that have…
[LIFE] Mental Health, Incurable Cancer and COVID19 – A Toxic Mix
I'm currently listening to Kate Middleton on YouTube, talking about mental health in a time of COVID19. Today, she's highlighting that faith doesn't mean that the very human conditions of anxiety and depression disappear, especially in current times, when 'the end' feels completely out of sight... although some people don't seem to be treating it this way. There's some hope with the potential Astrazeneca vaccine, but no guarantees. Meantime, we're all trying to find ways…