Whitby Abbey’s magnificent ruins tower above the North Yorkshire coastline. Nuns and monks first lived on the site in the seventh century, and finally left when King Henry VIII closed all monasteries, nine hundred years later. Over an even longer sweep of time, however, this clifftop place has inspired stories – from sunny and playful,…
Category: SPEAKING
At KAUST university in Saudi Arabia I spoke to students about the importance of sharing science stories.
Astronomy, engineering, medicine and maths: books of the Islamic golden age contain rich seams of knowledge from which we can learn today. Libraries across the world hold hand-copied manuscripts illustrated in vivid colours, their script intelligible to contemporary readers of Arabic, even though the pages were written centuries ago. When you see these books…