Andrew Scott

The website for Shifting Stories is at shiftingstories.uk, Learn about - and discuss - the ManyStory Approach to change.

Today is publication day for my book DO NOT GO GENTLE: The Case Against Assisted Death. Kim Leadbeater's bill was the catalyst for writing it, and at the time, it felt like the task was urgent. Back then, the positive stories about assisted death sounded to me like fairytales. I wanted to explore the reality of assisted death more deeply. Justifications offered by supporters were so often mindless mantras about rights and "choice", but I wanted to see how it all fitted together, and what choices it gave to vulnerable people in reality. The writing period was a strange time. Every day I faced the fact of mortality, the nature of pain and suffering, and the darker sides of human nature. Yet I was also completely uplifted by the selfless compassion that humans can show to one another, when life is ebbing away. This week, Leadbeater's bill runs out of time. There is already talk by pro-MPs and lobbyists of flooding the private members' bill ballot, so that a similar bill arrives in the next parliamentary session. In the meantime, the public has some time to think properly about what kind of society we actually want. Is it one where state-sponsored death is treated as a solution to social ills? Or can we stand together to get something better, and far less bleak? Though times are hard, I still hope for the latter. I also hope that my book will be widely read, and especially by those tempted by fairytales.

@judesgray @grahamscheper I was about to post this! Glad I checked to see if someone had beat me to it! #Molesworth

There’s a cool feature in Latin, the gerundive, which is a verbal adjective implying that something should/must happen. A few of them survive into English words: If someone should be revered, they are “reverend”. If something must be cut away, it is a “dividend”. My favorite: if a story is so good that it simply must be read by everyone, it is “legend”! Latin reverendus/a, dividendum, and legenda. Pretty cool that what is sometimes a difficult concept for Latin learners is actually present in English, albeit rarely. Do let me know if there are any good ones I’ve missed.

Orchestra led by the inimitable Zoë Beyers - who happens to be married to one of my oldest friends...

This evening's Choir and Chamber Orchestra Concert of "Angels Unawares", by Sir James MacMillan, performed by The Sixteen and conducted by Harry Christophers, with the Britten Sinfonia and soloists Elizabeth Watts and Matthew McKinney, from the Vatican's Sistine Chapel.

Is this a scam by Puffin Insurance? We took out insurance on a future trip to Jordan and Israel. The trip has now been cancelled (for obvious reasons). We only get half our premium back although (as far as I can see) they have had no exposure to any risk. Am I missing something?

@BebopJosh @theblessedsalt Research the use of ‘adelphos’ in Scripture. I’ll wait…

I don’t understand what you think this conversation is about, but the Bible lists Christ’s literal brothers, mentions sisters, and Matthew straight up said Joseph knew Mary after Christ was born, so I don’t get why you think otherwise and have to invent complex theories and imaginary discussions to prove it.

> “Joseph didn’t sleep with Mary UNTIL Jesus was born. Obviously they had sex after.” So Jesus won’t be with us after the end of the world? > “What?” He said: “I will be with you always UNTIL the end of the age.” > “Well He didn’t mean it that way.” It’s the same word and phrase construction in the Greek. > “Well, uh, hey what’s that??” *runs away*

@KingdomLifeMT @MichaelTalbot87 @1776FanGirl @michaeljknowles Study the use of adelphos in Scripture…

@MichaelTalbot87 @1776FanGirl @michaeljknowles Or, here me out .. she says that because she was at the time a virgin. There are multiple references to Jesus brothers in the NT

When it comes to the perpetual virginity of Mary, do you agree with the Catholic view or with the view of Protestant reformers Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Wesley?

@Yetanothersue @revpaulwhite I wonder which is more likely: that the Son of God was limited by the culture of His time; or that you are limited by the culture of yours?

@revpaulwhite Considering the culture of the time, Jesus would have been foolish to select women. Although, who described those particular followers as ‘apostles’ or ‘disciples’?

Yes, the first disciples Jesus chose were all men. They were also all young and Jewish and one of them was Judas, but let’s just concentrate on the gender, shall we?

@BruvverEccles @ColeFusionHQ My brother had a friend whose surname was Stopyra, but we always knew him as Gobby (from stop-ear to stop-mouth, to gobstopper, to Gobby...)

@ColeFusionHQ We had a schoolteacher who walked with a limp like a machine, so his nickname was "Clank". Once on a long coach trip he joined in our Just A Minute game. The topic on which people had to talk was "ghostly chains".

British nicknames are an unregulated industry. a 5'6 tradesman called Anthony is professionally known as Shetland Tony. a man who lost an eye is called Keth. a quiet man wore a yellow jumper once and became Mumblebee. what's the best nickname you've ever heard

New blog post: Feedback as Projection... ascotttraining.blogspot.com/2026/03/all-fe…

Mary Shelley was well ahead of her time!

Really?… I’ve heard of posthumous, but…

But surely a hermit who takes a newspaper is not a hermit in whom one can have complete confidence.

@weejoy @BruvverEccles @SJHull2 You are much mistaken; have you not read that the Lord God commanded graven images on the Ark of the Covenant? Iconoclasm is an error.

@BruvverEccles @SJHull2 Rome was corrupt too, and did not deserve the trust of Christendom. We're all doing better now. Also you guys need to stop venerating graven images.

This unassuming patch of stones is the spiritual home of the ChurchofEngland. It was here that Thomas Cranmer gave his life so that all could meet Jesus as recorded in the Bible. To be Anglican is to find hope in the Bible like no other, and to discover one's true self in Christ.

@louiseallain @KingBobIIV The Lake District is a better option!

@KingBobIIV First time I’ve ever wanted to move to Wales. 😕

Ok...hear me out a minute.... You thinking what Im thinking?

Really pleased with initial response to our Day of Practice and Discovery about the use of Nancy Kline's ThInking Environment in HE. So if you are thinking of coming, you'd do well to book early. teinhe.co.uk It will be a great day of thinking! #TEinHE #TEinHE26

@BruvverEccles @JeremyTate41 There are even a few of us still singing the Gregorian Chant, which the Church teaches us should be given pride of place in liturgical services. Sacrosanctum Concilium 116

@JeremyTate41 There are plenty of churches and cathedrals featuring Mass settings by Byrd, Tallis, Palestrina, Monteverdi, Haydn, Mozart... and lots of rubbish elsewhere.

And honestly, I’m a convert to Catholicism, but how did Catholics trade this for what sounds like bad 70s music, can we go back already?

@AmnestyUK I remember when Amnesty was a human rights organisation; I wrote many letters in support of political prisoners... (Showing my age, I suppose)

A step forward. A step back. On Wednesday 18 March the UK’s House of Lords passed several changes that partially decriminalise abortion and pardon women who have been convicted under a 1861 law. Those women should have never been criminalised. This is a historic step ahead in the fight to decriminalise abortion and the right to health. However, we also need to consider the wider context. The amendments were passed as part of the Crime & Policing Bill, which has measures to restrict the right to protest even further. A bad bill, with a good win. This contradiction shows us clearly the difficult moment we live in: how hard it is to protect and advance all of our human rights. Historically it’s been through protest we’ve won women’s rights. We need both the right to protest and the right to safe and legal abortion. We can’t have one without the other. Our rights are interconnected.

@BruvverEccles I saw an identical post from @sitsio yesterday, so I’m guessing yes, in both cases.

New blog post on the not-conference that, to my surprise, I find myself coordinating. ascotttraining.blogspot.com/2026/03/thinki…