SPIRITED THINKING SINCE 1888
Constance Watson

Long division
September 28, 2021
We are living in an age of medical apartheid as the vaccine cautious are pilloried mercilessly for their doubts
Covid-19: The silent statistics
February 08, 2021
A recent report has found that 92% of people feel they have lost connection with others by not meeting in person. The survey, conducted by the Christian Conference Trust, revealed that almost all of the churches and organisations asked said that they fear they have lost connection with parishioners and community members as a direct
Hurrah for historical fiction
February 01, 2021
In these tough times, there is no better form of escapism than historical fiction. Don’t believe me? Try Bridgerton, the latest Netflix sensation to sweep the nation. Within 28 days of its release, the Regency drama had been viewed by an estimated 82 million households across the world in 83 countries (it has been most
Biden presidency: The PDA is back
January 29, 2021
One of the many things we will miss about former FLOTUS Melania Trump is her dedicated refusal to hold her husband’s hand. Melania’s seeming dismissal of her husband’s grip caused so much excitement that it was labelled “The Resistance”. One example was in August last year when the then President and his wife climbed down
Excuses, excuses
January 24, 2021
It is said that a bad excuse is better than none and anyone with a habit of missing deadlines, cancelling social engagements and bad hangovers can agree that this is surely the case. A child may prefer the age-old “the dog ate my homework” and its relative success allows for the development of many an
2020: The year of the book
December 13, 2020
This beastly year is coming to an end, hallelujah. As those of us that are still fortunate enough to be in employ prepare for a Christmas break, and those of us who aren’t stare down the bleak barrel of the future, there is surely one common comfort that can be sought. No, not the vaccine;
Covid-19 vaccination: Unanswered questions
December 10, 2020
To vaccine or not to vaccine, that is the question. For some, it isn’t a matter of debate. Many of us are rolling up our sleeves, lurching towards our local Covid vaccination hubs, elbowing the grannies and the diabetics out of our way as we do so, proffering bare arms and thirstily proclaiming, “gimme gimme
Know your eggs
December 06, 2020
The humble Scotch egg has this week become the posterboy for the British government’s unending incompetence in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. Surprising though it may be, this unassuming snack has fallen foul of fate, whose hand has plucked it from the back of the fridge to the forefront of every newspaper in the
Boris’s Christmas carrot
November 08, 2020
As another lockdown loomed this week and the nation despaired, prime minister Boris Johnson presented us with his Star of Bethlehem. Once again he promised the general public that if we abide by these stifling new measures, we’ll get our reward: Christmas celebrations. It is a promise that we are tiring of, as we feel
When activism becomes over-sharing
October 25, 2020
Lily Allen this week launched a sex toy in partnership with the adult company Womanizer. The popstar released a video in conjunction with the launch, in which she said “free yourself, feel yourself, love yourself” alongside a lot of other clichés on the same subject that I am far too prudish to quote here. Allen
Meghan, Harry and Tocqueville
September 24, 2020
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have put their heads above the parapet to encourage people to vote in the upcoming US elections on what was National Voter Registration Day, 23rd September. Speaking from their new home in California, the two take it in turns to perform a static script. “Every four years we are
Meghan, Harry and Tocqueville
September 24, 2020
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have put their heads above the parapet to encourage people to vote in the upcoming US elections on what was National Voter Registration Day, 23rd September. Speaking from their new home in California, the two take it in turns to perform a static script. “Every four years we are
Smaller wedding – stronger sacrament?
July 01, 2021
Lavish pre-lockdown weddings are yet to return, but scaled-back services are a blessing not a curse
‘I’ve got to be obsessed’
July 01, 2021
Lady Antonia Fraser speaks to Constance Watson about her latest historical biography
Who wants to live forever anyway?
June 01, 2021
As the government tries to keep us all alive, a raft of new material 
suggests there is nothing to fear from the afterlife
For a bestseller, just add religion
March 01, 2021
From Chaucer to Dan Brown, stories with an ecclesiastical hook succeed in distracting us from an increasingly Godless world
The Last Word for December 2020: Julian Sands
December 31, 2020
Constance Watson spoke with actor Julian Sands, who can currently be seen in the films The Painted Bird and Yeh Ballet. Mr Sands has just completed work on Terence Davies’ film, Benediction: The Story of Siegfried Sassoon.
‘Catholicism is a huge part of family life’: Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason interviewed
December 04, 2020
“An American voice came on the phone. ‘Hi, this is Meghan Markle. Want to play at my wedding?’” The call from Kensington Palace was for the 19-year-old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, and it led to the moment on May 19 2018 when he would play at Harry and Meghan’s wedding. After he got the call, he
Coming soon to the UK: a 170-foot monument to answered prayer
November 09, 2020
Go-ahead finally given for ‘the world’s largest database of hope stories’
Quarantined in Thailand, I came to understand the drama of solitude
October 14, 2020
Thailand is subject to more entry restrictions than there are pages in this magazine
Pope makes surprise visit to Basilica of St Augustine
August 28, 2020
Pope Francis made a surprise visit to the Basilica of St Augustine on Thursday to pray at the tomb of St Monica.
‘People here trust each other’: Can a Catholic student residence be saved?
June 12, 2020
When József Mák, student of physics at King’s College London, received notice of the impending closure of his accommodation, More House, his first reaction was not fear but sorrow. “More House is all about the community,” he tells the Catholic Herald. “That is its primary asset.” In an increasingly busy world, More House is unique
‘People want to see the church beautiful’: A Pugin restoration in London
May 22, 2020
A community in East London is coming together to restore its church to former glory. St Antony of Padua in the Diocese of Brentwood was built in the early 1880s by Irish immigrants (many of them dockworkers) under the stewardship of Pugin & Pugin architects. After a post-Vatican II refurbishment, it bears little resemblance to
How Glasgow’s Little Sisters of the Poor have responded to the pandemic
May 13, 2020
The sisters are continuing their work of care despite government delays and financial pressure
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