Charles Brammall Characteristically lofty Netherlands American Richard Van Dyke is 100 years and 2 months old. Dick has a long history of relying on Jesus, having been raised Presbyterian (gotta love ‘em😌), and actively involved in church life for many… Continue Reading
Imagine this scenario: A little boy, I’ll call him Ali, born in Raqqa, once told an aid worker he had learnt to count by tallying airstrikes. His father had pledged allegiance to so-called Islamic State. His mother queued for bread… Continue Reading
Charles Brammall remembers Robert Duvall (1931 – 2016) Born between tides and uniforms, with navy father always departing, mother praying over maps and oceans,and a boy who said he was: “aimless, without distinction,”as if the Spirit of holiness sometimes hides… Continue Reading
Charles Brammall Rev Jesse Jackson (18 Oct 1941- 17 Feb 2026)Christian, US Civil rights activist & former Shadow US Senator, An ontological quandary clings to certain men as if a second shadow. If he builds his identity on proximity to greatness,… Continue Reading
Charles Brammall 48-year-old Dutch-American “Dawson’s Creek” leading man James Van Der Beek passed away on Wednesday. His life was characterised by Love, Loss, & Spiritual Awakening: “I don’t think I knew what it was to slow down before… to really… Continue Reading
Charles Brammall Val Edward Kilmer (1959–2025)once auditioned for The Outsiders by wrestling a friend on videotape in his parents’ living room. Shirts off, furniture imperilled, testosterone and theatricality grappling like Jacob and the angel– except with better lighting, more earnest cheekbones, and an… Continue Reading
Charles Brammall On a bright California morning in 2014, Dr Ellsworth Wareham pulled into his driveway, stepped out of his car, and lifted his golf sticks out of the boot. At 99, he still played regularly, still consulted, and still praised God for… Continue Reading
Charles Brammall “I gave my beauty and my youth to men. Now I give my wisdom and experience to animals.” — Brigitte Bardot “Holy s_ _ _. I did not know all that insane s_ _ _ Ms Bardot stood… Continue Reading
Charles Brammall As an adolescent, we always had New Year’s Eve with dear friends at their home perched high like an eyrie on the edge of a Lane Cove cliff. It proffered a panoramic vista of picturesque (and yes- picaresque:… Continue Reading
Charles Brammall Let me begin with an animal, because Christmas make more sense when we stop pretending we are above the rest of creation, or somehow exempt from the way absence quietly orders the world. Animals, after all, do not… Continue Reading