Joy Clarkson

This post is a part of my series on what to do in towns and cities throughout the United Kingdom. I’ve also got entries on Manchester, Durham, Nottingham & Southwell. “If we could only, only, only, only go to Brighton…!” When I was fourteen, I was in a musical of Pride and Prejudice. I was a chorus member, and the most enjoyable scene took place in Brighton where Lydia, the youngest Bennet girl, goes to chase her “officer,” Mr. Wickham.

One of the backroads in Colorado I learned to drive on. 2010. When I was fifteen, my mother taught me how to drive. In Colorado you need to log fifty hours of driving time on a learner’s permit. I was eager to get my license, which symbolised freedom, agency, and adulthood. It meant I could see my friends, get a job, escape… at least when my siblings or parents didn’t need the car. It was a busy time for my parents, and my mom took on most of the brunt of teaching me.

Hello, lovelies! We got home last night after a week in Nottinghamshire. We had a lovely (and productive!) time, but I managed to catch a cold, so I’m nursing myself back to health with naps, tea, water, orange juice and (later) in the sunshine. Many thanks to everyone who interacted with my post about why I like Sally Rooney. Speaking of literature, one of the loveliest parts of this week was getting to spend some time in Southwell with Alison Milbank.

Once, after publishing one of my Saturday Missiveswhich included a playlist for autumn, someone replied to the post via email, writing the following: I enjoy your writing and it brings me joy and was excited to listen to your playlist for autumn but was bitterly disappointed with some of the selections. Do you actually listen to the explicit words? Out of curiosity, why does an accomplished woman who writes about good and beautiful things listen to smutty songs?

We got back to England just in time for Spring to arrive. This is our second springtime in London, and my tenth spring in the United Kingdom. I’ve come to dread winters here. I spent my formative years in Colorado and California. In California the Januarys are sometimes a bit rainy, but in February you can lament the lack of seasons while you take a walk on the beach in temperate 75-degree weather with an iced coffee in hand.

Six mornings of mouth-watering deliciousness “Why would anybody ever eat anything besides breakfast food?” Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation Hi, friends! I’m writing to you at about 3PM on a lazy Saturday in Hong Kong. You may be wondering: why are you in Hong Kong? There’s several answers to that question. The official one is business! Work brought my husband here, and I have some readers at a church in Hong Kong.

Dear Friends, I don’t know about you, but January has felt like it was approximately four months long. And this past week feels like it accounted for about three of those four months. Things have been wild and intense— at home and abroad. Personally, I’ve been in a book vortex: the manuscript for my next book is tentatively due on the 1st of February, so for the past week I’ve been buried in the sermons, visions, books, play, and biography of Hildegard of Bingen.

It has been a rather un-edifying week for news. As I type that, I think perhaps I a have been overly influenced by British understatement: it’s been a disappointing, upsetting, and disturbing week for news. First, there was the news that Philip Yancey, a best-selling Christian author (25 million books), confessed to engaging in an eight year affair with a married woman. I read The Jesus I Never Knew about a decade ago, and wasn’t overly moved by it.

It has been a rather un-edifying week for news. As I type that, I think perhaps I have been overly influenced by British understatement: it’s been a disappointing, upsetting, and disturbing week for news. First, there was the news that Philip Yancey, a best-selling Christian author (25 million books), confessed to engaging in an eight year affair with a married woman. I read The Jesus I Never Knew about a decade ago, and wasn’t overly moved by it.

In front of my favourite painting “Annunciation,” by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1898) at Philadelphia Museum of Art. Merry (almost) Christmas, friends! This week, the priest at my church asked me to share a reflection on the readings for this week (Matthew 1:18-25 and Isaiah 7:10-16). I thought I might share my thoughts here as well. Wishing you all a beautiful Christmas! What does it mean to live a Christian life?