Blog Archives

Moon journeys

Posted on July 26, 2019 by Jamie Jauncey

Fifty years ago last Saturday, in the crowded and sweltering public room of a cheap hotel, with an ancient fan creaking and whirring overhead, I watched the televised moon landing. I was in downtown Tehran. The commentary was in Farsi. … Continue reading →

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Dark Angels on Writing

Posted on July 4, 2019 by Jamie Jauncey

Over the years I’ve come to believe that people are sometimes drawn to Dark Angels courses in answer to an unspoken, perhaps even unacknowledged, need. They may not know it but at the moment they hear about our programme there … Continue reading →

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In Africa

Posted on June 14, 2019 by Jamie Jauncey

Last year my work took me around the world, from Auckland in February, to Rhode Island and Boston in October, with several European countries in between. I vowed to try and slow down in 2019, my seventieth year. It hasn’t … Continue reading →

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Three cities

Posted on April 12, 2019 by Jamie Jauncey

Place matters. It shapes thoughts and emotions. We have always encouraged people who come on our Dark Angels courses to connect as strongly as they can with the place where the course is held. We want that heightened awareness of … Continue reading →

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Across the great divide

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Jamie Jauncey

I’m watching Debate Night, the new BBC Scotland channel’s answer to Question Time. It serves to underline a question I have been asking myself more and more frequently in recent months: how do we engage with people who hold diametrically … Continue reading →

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Stranger at the Rodeo

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Jamie Jauncey

Lost in the hills to the south of Perth is a former schoolhouse, one of the four or five buildings in a hamlet gloriously named Path of Condie. The place feels like an eyrie, with brackeny valleys plunging away below … Continue reading →

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Acts of kindness

Posted on December 14, 2018 by Jamie Jauncey

In late January 1973 I arrived in Chile overland from Argentina. I was travelling with a group organised by the adventure company, Encounter Overland, whose regular itinerary, up until that point, had been the hippy trail from London to Kabul. … Continue reading →

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Paying attention

Posted on November 30, 2018 by Jamie Jauncey

Birnam, the village where I live, and neighbouring Dunkeld, across the river, have a combined population of just 1,100 souls. For our size we’re unusual in having an arts centre, fully equipped with a 150-seater auditorium, studio and meeting spaces, … Continue reading →

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Closer to the stars

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Jamie Jauncey

The last time I posted, nearly three months ago, it was with an unfinished story. My mother was in her final hours, and I wrote about how touched I was by the loving kindness she was receiving from the staff … Continue reading →

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Kind to the end

Posted on August 24, 2018 by Jamie Jauncey

The kindness – perhaps I should call it love – that abounds at my mother’s care home is almost overwhelming. She is in her last hours. Since early yesterday morning my brother and I have been taking it in turns … Continue reading →

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