Christopher Howse

1 week ago | telegraph.co.uk | Christopher Howse

A question on a worthy website asks: "Why do we veil images in Lent?" The answer given is: "The veils are hard to miss and they serve as a reminder to get ready!" That is unconvincing. An old copy of The Catholic Enyclopedia says: "The crosses are veiled because Christ during this time no longer walked openly among the people, but hid himself.

2 weeks ago | telegraph.co.uk | Christopher Howse

Crowds used to wave handkerchiefs as the Queen went by. More recently they tried to catch her on their mobile phones. "I miss seeing their eyes," as Craig Brown quotes the late Queen saying in his masterly A Voyage Around the Queen. Both hanky-waving and mobile-craning are a sort of ritual, but I think the former is more like a liturgical act in the sense explored by Cosima Clara Gillhammer in her compelling new book Light on Darkness: The Untold Story of the Liturgy.

3 weeks ago | telegraph.co.uk | Christopher Howse

Once voted the worst shopping destination in the country, the town has repeatedly been promised regeneration but it has yet to materialiseChristopher Howse is travelling the nation to speak to local people about their high street, including how it has changed and what they miss... This week, Christopher explores St Chad's Parade in Kirkby, Merseyside. A surprising thing I found in Kirkby was a system for hiring artificial white funeral flowers, spelling out DAD or NAN.

3 weeks ago | telegraph.co.uk | John Sturgis |Pete Wedderburn |Christopher Howse |Rosa Silverman

Unpleasant behaviourHe caterwauled all the way home. On arrival, the first sign of recognition came when he met our dogs. He started preening around them. Preening around us would take a little longer. He had been gone exactly a week, had visibly lost weight, and his coat was stained with motor oil, presumably from slinking under cars. Pictures of him home safely were shared with the many people who had helped us - with champagne emojis. An hour after I had learnt he was safe, my phone rang.

3 weeks ago | msn.com | Christopher Howse

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