Tenby

Black and white photo. People walk along a wide sandy beach with gentle waves. In the distance, a town with buildings and a church spire sits beneath a sky filled with scattered clouds.

St Govan’s Chapel. Home to a 6th century hermit who might also have been Sir Gawain, who met the Green Knight here. Either way, an extraordinary spot.

Stone structure with arched doorway stands amidst rocky cliffs and green grass under a blue sky. Pathway leads to the entrance.

Rocky cave opening framing a view of the sea and distant cliffs. Sunlight illuminates the rough, textured stone interior. Blue sky and scattered clouds are visible outside.

John Green’s account of his religious faith is very well done.

Jeff Chu:

So let me say the truth clearly: My marriage, formalized with vows made before God and according to the law of the land, isn’t just legal; it’s also sacred. It has made me a better Christian, a better family member, a better neighbor, and a better minister. I know love more deeply and completely now, and so am able to love better too.

🏳️‍🌈

The Old Priory, Caldey Island

Wooden chairs are arranged facing an altar in a small stone-walled chapel. A stained glass window illuminates the space, with a few candles burning on the left. The floor is covered with cobblestones.

A lovely altar reredos in a 12th century chapel attached to St Mary’s Angle.

Ornate altarpiece featuring a crucifix, flanked by two angels in a pastoral scene with cows and figures, set in a colourful rural backdrop. Vase of flowers on the right.

Today’s hike around the Angle Peninsula was tougher and longer than we expected, but what a landscape.

A rocky coastline extends into the sea, waves breaking on the shore. A small boat is visible on the horizon under an overcast sky.

Grassy cliff overlooks a sandy beach with gentle waves, bordered by rocky outcrops. People stroll along the shore under a cloudy sky.

Wildflowers bloom across a meadow. The field is covered with diverse grasses and blossoms, under a wide-open sky and distant rolling hills.

Tenby

Coastal scene with a sandy beach bordered by rocky cliffs and a row of colorful buildings perched above. People are walking, playing, and relaxing on the beach. A small structure and flags are visible near the base of the cliffs, with greenery covering parts of the rocks. A gray, cloudy sky is overhead.

Coastal view of a seaside town with a row of colorful buildings along the shoreline. A prominent church steeple rises above the houses. In the foreground, there is greenery with white flowers. The calm sea reflects light under an overcast sky, and a sandy beach is visible along the water’s edge.

A brief stop at the lovely Packwood House on the way to a Welsh break

A garden scene with a historic house in the background. The foreground features tall yellow flowering plants alongside dark, almost black, flowers. A grassy lawn and path lead to the house, flanked by greenery and vibrant red flowers. The sky is clear and blue, adding to the serene and sunny atmosphere.

Augustine of Hippo:

Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.

Justice Anthony Kennedy:

The generations that wrote and ratified the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment did not presume to know the extent of freedom in all of its dimensions, and so they entrusted to future generations a charter protecting the right of all persons to enjoy liberty as we learn its meaning.

I don’t know if this is well known to Americans, but the phrase “enjoy liberty as we learn its meaning” is new to me. Wonderful.

Via Jeff Chu

The Met Office is looking for names it could use for storms in the future.

A message arrives with some suggestions to consider:

BigOil, BP, Equinor, Exxon, Shell.

Progressive Politics When Our Parties Fail Us

Every now and again, you read a piece that makes the point you would like to make, only much more powerfully and coherently. That was the case for me with this article by Alex Evans on how we may be politically engaged at a time when the world feels politically hopeless. The solution is not denial. Indeed, he speaks quite openly about the need to prepare for a future Reform government.

Continue reading →

I have no experience of expensive homes on Fire Island, but queer spaces that feel like this are the real deal:

The palpable sense of community and liberation here is, he says, “what happens when people who are accustomed to a certain degree of fear no longer feel it.”

This jumped out to me amongst all that has been written about Walter Brueggemann this week:

Prayer is a refusal to settle for what is.

This hit home:

The underlying purpose of AI is to allow wealth to access skill while removing from skill the ability to access wealth.

A great morning hike on a new route for us above Kirby Knowle. We managed to get most of the way in fine weather with just a short period of rain at the end.

A scenic view of a lush, green landscape seen from a wooded area on a hilltop. The foreground is filled with various trees and ferns, leading the eye to a vast, open field. In the distance, more fields and trees stretch toward the horizon. The sky is partly cloudy with a mix of white and gray clouds, adding depth to the serene countryside scene.

A scenic view of a green, rolling countryside framed by a wooden gate in the foreground. The landscape features lush grass, scattered trees, and distant hills under a partly cloudy sky. Cows are grazing in the field, and a few buildings are visible in the background, surrounded by dense woodlands.

So I scramble in the rubbish, an archaeologist who stumbles across a buried film. An archaeologist who projects his private world along a beam of light into the arena, till all goes dark at the end of the performance, and we go home. Home is where one should be, as Dorothy said, clicking her ruby slippers, there’s no place like it.

Dark painting depicting a gold-toned, nude figure reaching towards a large heart shape on the left. The background is an abstract mix of dark hues with hints of red, giving a dramatic and intense atmosphere.

Derek Jarman

I appreciated these interviews on trans life in the UK.

It means being human, it means being a person, it means being authentic, living my truth, fighting every day, looking at all the people - online, in person, on TV - that don’t understand us, criticise us, and us not giving a damn and doing it anyway.

Time for a new username and domain. I have been feeling that “scivias” is a bit niche and I’d like to try something different.