Unlike quite a few of my friends, I never had the pleasure of meeting Sean Hughes, the gifted writer and comedian who died yesterday. I was aware of his comic genius, but I’d never read this poem, which was reproduced today in The Guardian. I hope someone is asked to read it at his funeral! … Continue Reading
Category
Universal Humanism
The Future of Humanism
“Humanism is now facing an existential challenge and the idea of “free will” is under threat.” This is an excerpt from an article by the Israeli academic and thinker Yuval Hariri who book “Homo Deus” I’ve been reading recently. The article in the Financial Times is well worth reading for anyone who thinks that Humanism … Continue Reading
Louise and James’s Humanist Wedding at the Principal George Street
Sometimes the best weddings are when things go wrong. Like when the groom realises that he’s left the Marriage Schedule at home, and it’s only half an hour till kick off… I will never forget James’s expression when I turned up at the Principal George Street, and he realised that there was one important element missing from … Continue Reading
Ayns and Chris’s Humanist Wedding at Dalduff Farm
Earlier this year, I found myself over in deepest Ayshire where Chris and Ayns had booked Dalduff Farm for their wedding. It had been a long journey from our first contact, but I knew we were going to have a great day. We did! I’d been hoping to hear from them afterwards, because … Continue Reading
Regrets: I’ve had a few…
If you follow my blog, you’ll know I was delighted to be nominated, and then shortlisted for the Vows Awards a couple of weeks ago: that was entirely thanks to the many couples who voted for me to show their appreciation for the ceremonies that I conducted for them. I have been a celebrant for twelve … Continue Reading
Seeing with your Head and Heart
Ditte of First Light Weddings is one of my favourite photographers, and I’m delighted that she’s found the time to contribute this heartfelt story to my blog. Seeing with your head and heart – why you should have an unplugged wedding ceremony I often lament the fact that we forget to look with our … Continue Reading
Chuffed
I feel very honoured to learn that I’ve been shortlisted for a Vows Award: I’m told that I’m the first celebrant ever to be nominated, so I’m chuffed! My sincere thanks go to all the happy couples who voted for me. The awards night is 20th November, so, fingers crossed!
What is Humanism?
Despite the popularity of humanist ceremonies in Scotland, most people still don’t know what humanism is, so I was delighted to be asked, as the Honorary Humanist Chaplain to the University of Edinburgh, to give this talk at 6.00 pm on Tuesday 19th September at the David Hume Tower in George Square. It’s been organised … Continue Reading
Humanist Weddings in Scotland – More Popular than Ever!
It made me laugh when I saw my photo with this headline, but I really don’t think it’s all down to me! Yes it’s a big story, but there’s another one in among the statistics published by the National Register of Scotland: the continuing rise and rise of humanist marriage. While ceremonies conducted by Humanist Society Scotland … Continue Reading
Meredith and Joel’s Humanist Wedding at Carlowrie Castle
“I wanted to thank you for all that you did for us leading up to our ceremony, and of course the ceremony itself. It was an amazing day, and everything was perfect. Joel and I can’t thank you enough.”