Crannóggy Island

Those familiar with ‘Happy Jack’ during his sojourn on the Cranmer blog may recall the occasional dispute there between him and Carl Jacobs concerning The Shroud of Turin. The latter claimed the Shroud was a medieval forgery created by crucifying a living man. I posted two meditations on the Shroud on a blog I created during my “banishment” by Adrian Hilton – here  and here .  As someone who was given an image of Christ’s face from the Shroud at my Confirmation, and who has carried that image ever since, I have followed the scientific research down the years. I never had any real doubts about its authenticity.  Many believe the Shroud to be a true relic of the Passion of Christ. Many regard it as a human creation. I want to suggest another alternative.  But before all that ….    Introduction Many believe the Shroud is a true relic of the Passion of Christ. Many regard it as a human creation. Some view it no more than a scam to fleece pilgrims. For over a hundred years, it has been scru

Apologies for the delay in posting .... So, the "riots" have settled for now. What do we make of them and those who took part? Is it too simplistic to label them all "Far Right"?  A strange metamorphosis has happened over the last few weeks. On the one hand, Tommy Robinson, the Right-wing activist, has shapeshifted into a Left-leaning analyst of political protest. On the other, those who formerly occupied that role have suddenly embraced the Right-coded rhetoric of moral disgust and zero-tolerance policing.  Robinson has suggested that the riots are an all but inevitable response to white working-class grievances that have been ignored by the elites in the media and government. Progressives, on the other hand,  who once expressed support for those who participated in the George Floyd protests of 2020 have adopted a decidedly harsher line on the current anti-immigration protests. Back in June 2020, for example, the former head of British counter-terrorism policing, N