Tess Parker 

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We take human contact for granted…until it’s gone.

On the Sanctity of Touch
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It’s Super Bowl Sunday but perhaps you might prefer reading about the superb owl—and the hidden, but readily available stealth wisdom, of evolution’s secrets.

The Superb Owl and Nature's Stealth Wisdom
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Goya and Gaudí or: the case for hope
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I wrote about the shifting role of the ultra wealthy in society, from the historic duties of patrons who invested in the public, to today’s plutocrats who gallivant in private. Rather than building cathedrals, they now build superyachts. Here’s why that matters — and how we might reverse the trend.

From Patrons to Plutocrats: Why Superyachts are the New Cathedrals
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It’s the weekend, which means it’s time for us to remind Substackers how much beauty there still is in this world! Jump into the comments to share your own recent photo of something beautiful you’ve experienced.

Please be sure to let me know where the photo was taken and your first and last name if you wish to be considered for the series…

In Search of Beautiful Things (and Creative Inspiration): February 2025
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The Huge Dopamine Hit You Need Today
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"That's when they suspended the constitution. They said it would be temporary. There wasn't any rioting in the streets. People stayed home, watching their televisions, looking for direction. There wasn't even an enemy you could put a finger on." — THE HANDMAID’S TALE by

Photo taken in Bampton, England; I stumbled across this hanging in the back garden of a house.

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The other favourite ‘tree as person’ photo I have taken.

I spotted this one in January, 2018, during a walk on Kinder Scout in the Peak District in bitterly cold weather. I sent it to my editor as a suggestion for the cover of my upcoming book Help The Witch. He then sent it to the cover artist Joe McLaren, who did a brilliant job of rendering it in ink.

Had to clamber over a barbed wire fence, rip my coat and trespass to get a photo of this folkloric monster pretending half-successfully to be a tree. I have no regrets.

Some of my recent pieces:

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