The gospel according to TK Maxx?
James Cary
I’m a regular at retail store TK Maxx. I get all my shirts there, so I go in regularly to rummage.
In early August, I was startled to see Halloween gear already on display. Doesn’t Halloween come earlier every year? No surprise really: it’s now reckoned to be the UK’s biggest festival after Christmas. That’s strange for a Gen-Xer like me. In the 1980s, Bonfire Night was far more exciting; sparklers, fireworks, a giant bonfire plus the thrill of burning “the guy,” usually made from second-hand clothes stuffed with straw or newspaper. Written down, it sounds a bit Wicker Man, doesn’t it?
Are we missing the point of the Bible?
James Cary
We all thought there were four but actually there are five. Not Gospels, but tastes. There’s sweetness, sourness, saltiness and bitterness. And the fifth is umami, the Pete Best* of the culinary world that was there from the beginning. Umami is a meaty, broth-like, or savoury taste.
What’s your favourite taste? For me, there’s nothing better than a juicy ripe sliced tomato with olive oil, salt, red onion and basil, accompanying a medium-rare T-bone steak with some twice-cooked chips. And mustard mayo. There’s a restaurant in Stellenbosch in South Africa which did that to perfection. One day, I hope to return there for that transcendent experience.
Western civilisation is floundering and teetering
Are we comfortable in our own skin? How do we feel about being human? If we call ourselves evangelicals, we are nervous about thinking about ourselves too much. After all, that way lies narcissism.
Narcissus was a beautiful youth who rejected Echo, the nymph, and fell in love with his own reflection in a pool. There he lay, transfixed by his own image, until he was changed into a flower that bears his name. Is this really any different from staring into phones, taking selfies and posting them, ever so slightly enhanced and filtered, on Instagram?