Stories Behind The Story

Whitby Harbour On The River Esk The Abbess of Whitby: A novel of Hild of Northumbria Author: Jill Dalladay First published: 21 Aug 2015 352 pages. Chosen as handmaid to Eostre, the Saxon goddess, Hild would spend a year serving the goddess before she was wed. Her...

Most of the globe has already celebrated New Year, but the traditional Chinese New Year in 2019 is February 5th.   HAVING FOUND ITS ORBIT, China and the world waited for the first landing on the Dark Side of the moon. News of a successful landing came on January...

A Tibetan monk found himself in exile on a main thoroughfare in New York, selling hotdogs from his mobile stall. As he busied himself setting up his stall for the day, he looked up and noticed his former abbot coming towards him on the sidewalk. The monk rushed to...

One evening at dusk, an elderly priest arrived at the town gates to meet with a few of their members. A solider on guard pointed his rifle and demanded, “Who are you? Where are you coming from? And where are you going?” The priest stopped in his tracks. Then he said...

The famous conqueror of the ancient world, Alexander the Great, one day came across the philosopher, Diogenes. Diogenes was staring attentively at a heap of bones. “What are you looking for?” asked Alexander. “Something that I cannot find” replied Diogenes. “And what...

ROMAN FORUM and the Column of Emperor Phocas (left of centre) Conspiracies of Rome (Death of Rome Saga, Book 1) Author: Richard Blake (Richard Blake is a pseudonym for Sean Gabb. He is a writer, broadcaster and teacher, and lives in Kent with his wife and daughter.)...

Change Comes From?   A Tibetan monk found himself in exile on a main thoroughfare in New York, selling hotdogs from his mobile stall. As he busied himself setting up his stall for the day, he looked up and noticed his former abbot coming towards him on the sidewalk....

  IT’S NEVER TOO LATE to make a New Year’s Resolution! And one resolution we can all make is TO START! Here are a couple of encouraging stories to get us on track in 2018.   AN OLD PENCIL MAKER took his newest pencil aside, just before he was about to pack...

A student once asked anthropologist Margaret Mead, “What is the earliest sign of civilization?” The student expected her to say a clay pot, a grinding stone, or maybe a weapon. Margaret Mead thought for a moment, then she said, “A healed femur.” A femur is the longest...

THERE WAS ONCE an old monastery tucked away in the middle of a forest. For many years people would make a significant effort required to seek out this monastery. The peaceful spirit of the place was healing for the soul. In recent years, however, fewer and fewer...

Two monks were returning to their monastery one evening when they came across a stream in full flood. A beautiful young woman stood on the edge, looking anxiously up and downstream, desperate to find a way across. As the monks approached the crossing, the older of the...