A Humanist Hotline to a Secular Worldview
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January 2021 AA HumanistHumanist hotlinehotline toto aa secularsecular worldviewworldview Humanists celebrate science, progress, and the possibilities of human development and fulfilment. At the beginning of a new year, Humanistically Speaking looks forward to the liberating possibilities of effective vaccines against SARS- Cov-2 and we celebrate the wonderful ingenuity of the human species in protecting ourselves from microscopic predators. Also this year, the UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 1 – 12 November. The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals : of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Features this month Convention on Climate Change. Humanistically Speaking • Interviewing the CEO will maintain its focus on climate matters as we approach this event of vital importance for the future of • Being a Veggie humanity and our planetary ecosystem. • Life after Death with Maggie As the 46th President is installed in the White House, what will be the legacy of Donald Trump and will Joe • Cats & the Meaning of Life Biden and Kamala Harris address the concerns of the 74 million Americans who voted for him? • Another Book Giveaway We’re excited about 2021 and we look forward to • The Boris Bunch bringing you a cornucopia of humanist news and views from across the southern region and further afield. Stay • and much more tuned and stay in touch! Get your own Humanistically Speaking hot-lined direct from the editors [email protected] David Brittain Executive Editor, Humanistically Speaking Come in, sit down, put your feet up… Tap my face > Contents: Welcome to our last bi-monthly issue of Humanistically 1. Cover Story Speaking! 2. Editor’s Welcome From now on, we will be a monthly magazine, so future issues will be shorter, but more frequent, and hopefully 3. Breaking News more in touch with current events. Nevertheless we have 5. Book Giveaway an amazing, sumptuous issue – a joyous feast for your eyes – that includes another free lottery draw for HS subscribers 7. Amelie on being a veggie – this time for Stephen Bibby’s latest book, The Bullingham 9. Dear Darwin Bequest (find out how to subscribe at page five). Inside this issue, Young Humanists Ambassador Ronnie Barr 10. The Boris Bunch reflects on a difficult year for young people and Amelie 12. Advertisement feature Forbes explains how and why she became a vegetarian. 13. YouHu with Ronnie We’ve also included an article about a meeting with the late, lamented Barbara Windsor written by Bedfordshire 15. Interviewing the Chair Humanist Cathy Moorhouse who, as a BBC executive, lunched with Barbara and was impressed by her humanity 19. Thought for the Day and sense of humour. Plus contributions on our letters 21. Musings by Maggie page from Dorset Humanist Chris Smith (about the quality of HS), and from Brighton Humanists’ Roz Mercer, in which 23. Letters and emails she shares her thoughts about Marcus Rashford’s dad. 24. David’s book review There’s a controversial piece from Aaron about Boris Johnson’s performance regarding Covid which is certainly 25. Network contact map thought-provoking, so do tell us what you think. There is 26. Back page also a page for adverts: now we haven’t approached any potential advertisers yet, but we will. In the meantime, if you have anything you want to sell yourself, do get in touch CONTENT DISCLAIMER with us! Then there’s ‘Maggie’s Musings’ which are as ever Our editorial team consists entirely of considered and incisive, and David Warden’s book review, humanist volunteers. Articles are which is more than just about cats! written by them, or by our readers and contributors, and published at the Finally, we have a full and frank interview with Humanists discretion of the editorial team. We UK’s CEO Andrew Copson who has a New Year’s message strive to publish content in line with for all of our wonderful readers. So what more can I say? humanist aims and values but views Except that the whole team here wishes you the happiest expressed by writers are their own and not necessarily shared by the South Winterval possible in these difficult times. So read on, Central England Humanists Network or MacDuff, and we’ll meet again in 2021. Humanists UK. David Brittain © Rights to copy, duplicate or otherwise reproduce any part of Humanistically Speaking must be authorised in writing by the editors of the Humanistically Speaking editorial team. Page 2 BREAKING NEWS th Click image read to 125 birthday Did you approaching like our ‘8 Are you a member of Humanists UK? Values’ An exciting milestone is approaching and in case you are one of those persons hovering on the booklet? sidelines we thought we would give you a nudge in the right direction, and it doesn’t have to cost anything. Click image below: Celebrating 125 years It is our AIM to get this into print during 1896 -2021 this year, and into those places where internet may not be available or viable. Prisons and hospitals are our key focus. As you are probably aware, if you're a regular to Would groups be interested in buying our magazine, humanist groups are the ‘ground copies? The more we can order the lower forces’ in our local areas informing people that we can get the price. EMAIL us with your Humanism exists whereas Humanists UK has the desired quantity - no commitment at this strategic view, influencing government and stage - and we will report back. national institutions. Together, these two approaches join up and support one another. We were immensely proud to release our Information broadcasting is an expensive FREEBIE extra in December’s issue of business and thus Humanists UK have a paid Humanistically Speaking: From Atheism to staff and raise money through memberships and Humanism: A Compact Guide to 8 donations, but you can also donate, be a Humanist Values. Inspired by many, supporter, a volunteer or just help in other written by David Warden with an afterword ways. by Executive Editor David Brittain, and designed by Aaron Darkwood, this 22-page Why not get on board to celebrate this massive booklet will help to answer those perennial milestone in Humanist history, and help be a questions such as “I’m an atheist, why part of the next chapter moving forwards. bother with Humanism?”. Let us know what https://humanism.org.uk/support-us/ you think, and then share it with everyone. Humanistically Speaking is for humanist groups included in the South Central England Humanist Network… but our readership is growing beyond this boundary Page 3 BREAKING NEWS Photogenic, socially- distanced humanists… Three key members of the Humanistically Speaking editorial crew (Aaron, David and Ronnie) were requested to stand as models during a drizzly day in December as students from Arts University Bournemouth wanted to capture our essence! They had already photographed members of faith communities and now it was our turn. Kept at Covid-distant Arriving late to the party…? spacing, we were positioned in a damp woodland setting and immortalised… See how far we have come from our 2020 original back issues of below. Jan Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec Like What We Do? Help Fund Us! Humanistically Speaking is created by unpaid volunteers, yet we do incur some costs and we’d like to expand our operations. Could you make a voluntary donation by Standing Order from just £1.00 a month? Or a one-off donation? We’ll leave our bank details here and let you surprise us. Please use HS DONATION as the reference. Account name: Basingstoke Humanists Sort 30 98 97 – Acc 33031168 • Running Costs • Technology upgrades • Leaflet printing • Travel expenses Humanistically Speaking is for humanist groups included in the South Central England Humanist Network… but our readership is growing beyond this boundary Page 4 “A gripping, exciting story with an Basingstoke Humanists member Stephen engaging hero, suitably unpleasant Bibby retired from the civil service in 2009. villains, great plotting and a very He enjoyed a busy decade as a magistrate, including a spell as chairman of his bench. satisfying conclusion. Highly During this time he was also writing imaginative with great scene children’s books and novels. setting. A new thriller writer is Collingwood’s Club, the first of a trilogy, sees born.” Amazon review of Stephen Ben Turner working in the world of Bibby’s first novel ‘Collingwood’s international finance. Initially befriended by Club’. Crispin Collingwood, he is sent on a mission to South America. In the second volume, A Humanistically Speaking has six copies of Ransom for Rhodes, Ben is blackmailed into a Stephen’s latest novel ‘The Bullingham trip to Southern Africa as he tries to locate Bequest’ to give away. Six winning names and free a kidnap victim. The plot of the will be drawn from a hat on 7th January. third, The Bullingham Bequest, is entirely Stephen will sign each book with the fresh but has links with previous events and winner’s name before dispatch – but to get characters. In this volume, the action moves your chance to win, you need to be a rapidly between rural England, Southern subscriber. Africa and a hair-raising encounter in the Australian outback. All three novels are Not a subscriber? No problem. Just email us written at a cracking pace and set in here, and type just one word ‘Subscribe’ in locations visited by Stephen either when the subject box, and you will be placed on working overseas or on the foreign trips he our list. After that, not only will you be has been able to undertake in recent years.