Kester Brewin

One of the sources I quote a number of times in Other is The Spirit Level – Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. The thrust of their thesis is very simple: by collating hundreds of studies over a long period of time they have concluded that the [...]

London is continually fascinating. As humans we are always quick to project personalities onto our creations; London the person is complex, darkly funny, steeped in history, welcoming all but criticising many, intelligent, crafty… a heavy drinker who enjoys the night. ‘London Nights‘ looks like a brilliant series of 10 radio programmes, looking at the city [...]

Looks like it could be an interesting day in Parliament Square today. Having been encamped by the Houses of Parliament since May, peace protestors have been served with an eviction order – meaning they have to leave the site by 4pm today. Rather than try to argue their democratic right to protest, the Mayor of [...]

Was great to have Si Johnston here before he left for his big trip across to Mongolia by motorbike. Many of you may remember him from brilliant stuff he did with church.co.uk and The Truth Isn’t Sexy last time he lived in London. It’s a massive trip he’s doing – some 14000 miles to the [...]

I’ve been in New York a few days now, and part of me feels it’s too short a time to make any sense of what I’m seeing, too soon to have any valid critique. But then I read Georg Simmell, who notes that the stranger in our midst is important because they ‘hold up a [...]

There is a lot of debate in the news at the moment about what should be done with the wbankers. Should there be a ‘maximum wage’? Should they be allowed to earn obscene bonuses even though their banks have virtually collapsed? Should we all be held to ransom with the argument that they will go [...]

Really nice day up on the South Bank at the Feast on the Bridge. Southwark Bridge was closed to traffic, and tables were set up along its length for people to bring and share food. People with hats full of salad and herbs wandered around adding to meals, and fantastic stalls sold everything from oysters [...]

Some photos of the ‘Pestival’ that was going on on London’s South Bank last night. Don’t ask too many questions… Just lots of insect-related madness to highlight our dependence on, relationship with and myth-making about what are essentially going to be the heirs when us higher mammals screw this world up. Get the flash player [...]

One of the podcasts I subscribe to is the BBC’s More or Less – a weekly look at the numbers behind the news. Teaching Mathematics one is always in need of some relevant applications, and this has it in spades. Their recent episode on sustainable energy was very interesting, but fell into the trap that [...]