Leicester Secularist, November 2011
11 November: Latest edition of the Leicester Secularist including a Secular Charter, Libya and the Left, Science and the Bible, Kinky sex and Secularism, Life, death and ... boredom, Organ 'donation', Wilf's odds and ends, NHS reforms, plus reviews, poems, cartoon and more.
Blog post - Occupy London
6 November: Richard Hopper writes on Occupy London the camp outside St Pauls that has seen the resignaton of several Church officials recently.
New Leicester Secularist Blog article
23 October: Harry Perry writes on Assisted Suicide. (Harry also writes on Euthanasia in the July-October editions of Leicester Secularist).
Leicester Secularist, October 2011
15 October: Latest edition of the Leicester Secularist including hospital chaplains, Secular Hall matters, Quorn school becomes a religious academy, president's column, secular music, Life, death and euthanasia part 4, review, poems and more.
Leicester Secularist, September 2011
20 September: Latest edition of the Leicester Secularist including "a tsunami of opinions on the riots and the aftermath of 9/11".
Secular Europe Demonstration
17 September: Several members took part. Some pictures on Facebook.
Leicester Mercury questions compulsory worship in schools
7 September: See Mercury: Compulsory religion is out of date.
Mayor visits Secular Hall
26 August: Visit by Leicester Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, to Secular Hall. Mercury: Soulsby visits Secular Hall. Leicester Talk: Sir Peter Soulsby Visits Leicester Secular Hall. See also Page 2 of September's Secularist for more info.
Draft Business Plan
8 August: The Board has launced a Draft Business Plan for Secular Hall. Your comments are invited. See Page 2 of September's Secularist for more info.
Shaikh Raed Salah and racism
1 July: A member of Leicester Secular Society who heard part of Raed Salah's speech in Leicester has contributed an article to our blog. You can leave your own comments there.
Arrest of Shaykh Raed Salah
29 June: Members of Leicester Secular Society who heard Palestinian activist and Israeli citizen Shaykh Raed Salah speaking in the city are concerned at his detention (and intended expulsion). Jews for Justice for Palestinians are among those to protest. See also background articles from Middle East Monitor, Leicester Mercury and Occupied Palestine (blog).
Terry Pratchett's 'Panorama' on assisted dying
27 June: A few days ago in a First Person column in the Leicester Mercury, Leon Pereira attacked Terry Pratchett's recent Panorama programme on assisted dying. LSS member Harry Perry responded in a letter in Monday's printed edition. Disappointing that the Mercury online doesn't carry it, so no link here. (If you find it, let us know!)
Who's Who of Radical Leicester
25 June: LSS Board Member Ned Newitt has published on the web his new Who's Who of Radical Leicester. Leicester Secularist. Several former members of Leicester Secular Society feature.
Leicester Secularist (June) out now
17 June: INSIDE: City Council Prayers setback; Linden School; A history lesson; The elephant in the room; Arab Spring; Secular Turkey? A meaningful referendum. PLUS President's column, forthcoming events, reviews of recent talks and books, poem, Board report, and more. Leicester Secularist.
Another bumper 22-page Leicester Secularist (April) out now
15 Apr: INSIDE: The case of Zaheer Mohammed; I love my country; Lord Mayor steps down; On Stalin; On humour; Getting to know - Bessie Hayes; Mayoral candidates on secular issues; Usama Hasan recants; Water Aid; Responses to the NSS consultation; Peace and anti-fascism; . PLUS President's column, forthcoming events, reviews of recent talks and books, Board report, and more. Leicester Secularist.
Crochet your Freethought Badge
3 April: LSS President Emma Chung has designed a pattern for a Pansy Badge to crochet.
BBC News features Leicester Census Campaign
16 Mar: SeeLeicester Secular Society uses buses for census message.
Leicester Census Campaign is Fully Funded
15 Mar: Many Thanks to all who contributed to put 'For God's Sake Say So' ads on Leicester's buses plus campaign leaflets. To support the BHA's national campaign click Census Campaign . Don't forget - if you're not religious, tick 'NO RELIGION' on your census form. More ...
Bumper 22-page Leicester Secularist (March) out now
11 Mar: INSIDE: 'Big Society' boost for Church; Banned ads on Leicester buses; Budget cuts hit equality; Babies sold by Church in Franco's Spain; Library News; Gay Ceremonies and the Archbishop; Secular Hall is 130; Forces Watch; Getting to know Richard Hopper; Sing for Water / Red Leicester Choir; Harry Stopes-Roe; Cycling supplement; NSS Secular Charter consultation PLUS President's column, forthcoming events, reviews of recent talks and books, Board report, and more. Leicester Secularist.
Leicester Secular Society refuses to leave God out of campaign
5 Mar: Leicester Mercury once again highlights our Census Campaign in a feature by Peter Reeve, followed by a public discussion. See also this comment on our blog.
No Ban on Census Ads in Leicester
4 Mar: Press Release: Bus adverts which were branded "offensive" in London are on Leicester buses. We are campaigning to encourage people with no religion to say so on their census form later this month.
Forced marriages in Leicestershire?
28 Feb: David Maclean in the Leicester Mercury writing on a report raising "concern that some young people from Leicestershire might be forced into marriage."
Census Campaign on the Buses
25 Feb: Our bus ad campaign for an accurate census on religious adherence (or not) hits the streets of Leicester. LSS president Emma Chung sends this pic of a No.54. Send photos of your sightings to contact@leicestersecularsociety.org.uk
'New Look' Leicester Secularist (February) out now
13 Feb: INSIDE: 'Free' schools v. integration; On Sayeeda Warsi; Disabled toilets; Bikes v. Public Transport; Sex education; Uganda humanist schools; Responding; Muslim Brotherhood; Inspiring Muslim Women; Twin towers; Segregated swimming. PLUS President's column, forthcoming events, reviews of recent talks, Board report, and more. Leicester Secularist.
New Blog Articles
5-6 Feb: John Catt summarises the discussion on current events in 3 new Secularist Blog Articles.
Leicester Secular Society urges non-believers to make mark on census
1 Feb: Leicester Mercury features our Census Campaign in an article by Laura Elvin, followed by a public discussion.
Leicester Secularist (January) out now
7 Jan: INSIDE: Off-target bishop; Banner; One Law for All; Why attack secularism; Census Bus Adverts; Indoctrination and Education; City of Sanctuary; Secularist consultation; Helen Pettman interviewed; Listening; Nuclear Vacuum Cleaners; Bradley Manning; Religious belief survey. PLUS forthcoming events, reviews of recent talks, Board report, and more. Leicester Secularist.
2010
Leicester Secularist (December) out now
3 December: INSIDE: AGM reports and new Board; atheist spirituality; President Emma Chung interview; new LSS banner; Doorstep theist; Have your say - meetings and the Secularist; Membership renewal; book reviews. PLUS forthcoming events, reviews of recent talks, Board report, and more. Leicester Secularist.
Emma Chung elected President of LSS
7 November: Congrations to Emma, who is an award winning researcher at Leicester University. A report on this evening's lively AGM will no doubt appear in December's Leicester Secularist.
Leicester Secularist (November) out now
6 November: INSIDE: Ritual Slaughter; Faith, ethnicity and medical ethics; City of Sanctuary and supporting asylum seekers; a Buddhist atheist confesses; Sex and the church; 2011 Census Campaign; New 'Atheism' organisation; John Joseph O’Higgins - tributes; Morality of employment law; the case of Abdallah Abu Rahmah. PLUS forthcoming events, reviews of recent talks, Board report, and more. Leicester Secularist.
Leicester Secularist (October) out now
10 October: INSIDE: Where should we stand on the EDL? Launch of campaigns around the forthcoming Census and for an inclusive inaugural celebration for future Lord Mayors; Were the Nazis atheists? Attlee’s Great Contemporaries (review); LSS and the Pope's. Secularists questioned at a RC School. PLUS forthcoming events, poems, reviews of recent talks, Board report, and more. Leicester Secularist.
Leicester Secularist (September) out now
6 September: INSIDE: Protest The Pope; Beit Zechariah – A Palestinian Village Under Threat; Book donation; Radiation risks; Jimmy Reid. PLUS forthcoming events, poems, reviews of recent talks and trips, Board report, and more. Leicester Secularist.
Leicester Secularist (August) out now
3 August: INSIDE: The Lord Mayor’s Forget-Me-Not Appeal (for a centre of excellence for dementia care); Steady progress - Allan Hayes; disabled toilets; a new memorial to Tom Paine; library news the allusionist's dog; catch-22. PLUS forthcoming events, poem, reviews of recent talks and trips, Board report, and more. Leicester Secularist.
No blanket ban
22 Jul: Allan Hayes agrees with the Bishop of Leicester in a Leicester Mercury letter.
Asylum seeker support changes 'cruel'
21 Jul: LSS member Bessie Hayes quoted in Leicester Mercury article (followed by interesting comments - add yours!). See also Leicester City of Sanctuary.
Treat everyone equally
21 Jul: LSS member John Catt's Leicester Mercury Letter on banning the veil.
Humanist chaplain to work with every faith
13 Jul: Allan Hayes in Leicester Mercury.
Forget-me-not appeal on Radio Leicester
7 Jul: Extracts from interviews from the General Hospital with our members the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, Manager Emma Spencer and Head of Fundraising Tim Diggle, promoting the £100,000 appeal for a centre of excellence for dementia care in Leicester. BBC Listen again (starts about 8:20 on timeline).
What isn't wrong with Sharia law?
5 Jul: Maryam Namazie, who spoke in Secular Hall a few years ago, says "To safeguard our rights there must be one law for all and no religious courts". More from the Guardian.
See also International Day against Stoning (11 July)
Respecting each other, we can enrich our lives
5 Jul: In a First Person article in the Leicester Mercury, Allan Hayes looks back on his first days as Chaplain to the Lord Mayor of Leicester. Read and comment here.
Leicester strikes a blow for Secularism
27 Jun: Theo Hobson in The Guardian. Point of information in the light of some of the comments - Lady Mayoress and Lord Mayor's Chaplain are both voluntary positions.
Forget-Me-Not Appeal
25 Jun: Leicester Secular Society supports the Lord Mayor's appeal for a centre of excellence for dementia care. More at Just Giving. Please donate generously.
Lord Mayor stands by his decision
25 Jun: More from the Leicester Mercury including several Christian comments. For a more balanced discussion see the comments following the 23 June article.
Council Prayers discussed again on Radio Leicester
25 Jun: Former Lord Mayor Gary Hunt and LSS President Allan Hayes (in his capacity as Lord Mayor's Chaplain) take calls on Tony Wadsworth's show. Hunt pointed out that a crusader's helmet features on the Lord Mayor's chain of office and claims that the Lord Mayor's been hijacked. BBC Listen again (starts about 6 minutes in).
Council Prayers discussed on Radio Leicester
24 Jun: Tony Wadsworth hosts a discussion on this and other topics including comments from several members of Leicester Secular Society: BBC Listen again.
Lord Mayor stops Council Prayers
23 Jun: Councillor Colin Hall will not be including prayers in City Council Meetings. The 'unbroken tradition' dates back only to 2006! Quotes from Leicester Secularist, comments and online poll in Leicester Mercury. More from national press. NSS View.
Leicester Secularist (June) out now
18 June: INSIDE: New Lord Mayor and his team of secularists; Charity status and the need for a business plan; Constantine - Unconquered Emperor (review); Robert Owen; Terrorists; Penalised for not being RC; Evolution and the evangelist; The Free Gaza flotilla. PLUS forthcoming events, prize competition, reviews of recent talks, Board report, and more. Leicester Secularist.
AddThis Added
18 Jun: A message from our webmaster - You can now share our website with the AddThis button. It's below the Search box on our homepage and will be included on other pages as they are updated.
Cathedral 'Civic Service' without Lord Mayor
18 Jun: Breaking news: Lord Mayor Colin Hall will not attend this Sunday's C of E Civic Service. "I am Lord Mayor for ALL people of Leicester and not just those from C of E" - LeicesterMayor on Twitter.
LSS President on Radio Leicester
3 Jun: John Florance of BBC Radio Leicester interviews Allan Hayes: Humanist chaplain appointed by Lord Mayor of Leicester. UPDATE: Broadcast 6 June - BBC Listen. (Begins about 2:11 on timeline, expires early 13 Jun). Mayormaking, 27 May.
The great MMR and autism hoax
3 Jun: Simon Perry's latest Skeptic column in the Leicester Mercury. Lecture, 15 June. Related: Vaccine vested interests and swine flu scare: Al Jazeera (on YouTube); Morning Star.
A Humanist's 'Thought for the Day' on BBC
1 Jun: BBC Radio Leicester aired its seventh secular Thought for the Day by Eleanor Davidson (recorded before Eleanor became Lady Mayoress) - 'Families'.
Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress on BBC Radio Leicester
28 May: Colin Hall tells Martin Ballard why he chose LSS member Eleanor Davidson as his consort and describes their first meeting at Doris Connolly's funeral and the Forget-me-not charity appeal for a Dementia Care Centre of Excellence. BBC Listen (begins 1:32 on timeline, expires 4 Jun).
Secularists Appointed as Lady Mayoress and Chaplain
27 May: At his Mayormaking in Leicester Town Hall incoming Lord Mayor of Leicester Colin Hall named Eleanor Davidson as his Lady Mayoress and Allan Hayes as his Chaplain. LSS Press Release; Lord Mayor's website; Forget-me-not Appeal; Leicester Mercury.
Religious Privilege in School Transport Subsidy
26 May: New entry on our Blog from John Catt. Read on - post your comments. From the Loughborough Echo: Non-Catholic family face higher school bus fares.
Christianity – When Did the Killing Begin?
21 May: Harry Perry launches a quest to discover which Christians first abandoned their commandment forbidding murder. Read on - post your comments ..., (Relating to Prof Andrew Tobin's talk Science and Faith)
A Humanist's 'Thought for the Day' on BBC
21 May: BBC Radio Leicester aired its sixth secular Thought for the Day by Eleanor Davidson - 'Art'.
LSS member on Radio Leicester
19 May: As Paul Seymour gets planning permission for a natural (green) burial ground at South Croxton, BBC Radio Leicester's Tony Wadsworth interviews Seymour and Humanist celebrant Eleanor Davidson. BBC Listen (begins about 1:06 on timeline). More from Leicester Mercury.
Leicester Secularist (May) out now
17 May: INSIDE: General Election; Oxford Trip Preview (10 July); LSS in 1910; Everyday life in Palestine; Gaining influence; Humanist ex-MPs; a poem; Guilt; Ingersoll on the Bible. PLUS forthcoming events, reviews of recent talks, Board report, and more. Leicester Secularist.
Bite the Bullet - Vote Tactically
4 May: New entry on our Blog from Harry Perry, relevant to Thursday's general election. Read on - post your comments ...
International Workers Memorial Day
28 Apr: Vice-President of Leicester and District Trades Union Council Paul Southwood (a LSS member) presided at the Town Hall Square commemoration. Leicester's Lord Mayor, City Council Leader, and the Oberbürgermeister of twin-town Krefeld were among those laying wreaths by the memorial tree.
Hypocrisy of MPs over the issue of privacy
28 Apr: LSS Member Doug Holly is one of the signatories to a letter in the Mercury.
To Vote or Not To Vote
27 Apr: New entry on our Blog from Harry Perry, summarising our recent debate and explaining his own reasoning for supporting the majority. Read on ...
Two LSS members' letters in Leicester Mercury
26 Apr: From Caroline Moles - Time to get rid of Trident and Harry Perry - It's religious indoctrination in schools that secularists oppose.
Blasphemy law revived
23 Apr: Just 2 years ago we celebrated the repeal of common law blasphemy offences. With the sentencing of Harry Taylor it returns with a vengeance under another name. Pickled Politics
The framework for our faith schools is flawed
23 Apr: Allan Hayes continues the Leicester Mercury debate on the iniquities of sectarian schools.
Another humanist 'Thought for the Day' on BBC
20 Apr: BBC Radio Leicester aired its fifth secular Thought for the Day by Eleanor Davidson - 'Gardening'.
'Morality' and Brain Science
20 Apr: New entry on our Blog from Harry Perry.
Why we must get to know one another
19 Apr: First Person article from Allan Hayes in Leicester Mercury.
How marriage can be a living hell
15 Apr: Letter from Alan Pendragon countering the idealisation of marriage.
Leicester Secularist (April) out now
11 Apr: INSIDE: Sieze the Opportunities (from President Allan Hayes); Library News; a Christian Code for Living; Appeal for Nominators; Why Evolution is True (review); Science; a Secular Martyr; Nottingham Secular Society; Why can't I own a Canadian?; Facebook; . PLUS forthcoming events, reviews of recent talks, Board report, and more. Leicester Secularist.
Secular critique of faith schools
8 Apr: Harry Perry corrects a mistaken belief that secularists are against teaching about religion in schools (Leicester Mercury letter) as asserted by Stephen Warden (see Backing socially corrosive policy?).
The Creation? It is beyond belief
7 Apr: Simon Perry's latest Skeptic column in the Leicester Mercury.
A new Secular Society for the East Midlands
31 Mar: Just announced - the launch (actually re-launch - there was one in the 19th century) of Nottingham Secular Society on 21 April 2010.
Scientist's challenge to local MP
30 Mar: Science journalist Michael Brooks PhD will challenge Bosworth incumbent David Tredinnick MP at the polls over his backing for astrology and homeopathy. Appeal for Nominations. More from Humanist Life, Leicester Mercury.
We could learn from Dutch schools
29 Mar: In the Netherlands, where teenage pregnancy is rare, 'sex is regarded as a normal, natural, and enjoyable activity; without a whole burden of sin and blame being attached to it', writes LSS member Wilf Gaunt in a Letter in the Leicester Mercury.
Prayer and Care
27 Mar: While a Leicester father prayed, the mother sought human help and saved the life of their sick child. Leicester mum's praise for workmen who saved son's life.
Catholic schools use their powers
26 Mar: Allan Hayes responds in the Mercury to Subhash Varambhia's letter (see 25 Mar below), pointing out that the discrimination goes beyond the issue of pupil admission into staff employment although, almost all the funding comes from taxpayers, not the church. Read here ....
Good Schools for Everyone
25 Mar: Leicester Mercury publishes a (watered down version of a) letter from yours truly about the sectarian admission policy of a state funded school (as raised by Subhash Varambhia). See my original on the Leicester Secularist Blog.
We are beginning to mirror the last days of Rome
20 Mar: Wilf Gaunt in the Mercury again - this time a letter expounding his personal take on our long involvement in Afghanistan.
Jaundiced view of secularists
19 Mar: Leicester Secular Society Treasurer John Catt addresses another reader's misconceptions about the values of secularism and about the supposed benefits of 'faith' schools in a reply in the Leicester Mercury.
A Taliban-style approach to the facts of life
18 Mar: LSS member Wilfred Gaunt praises the enlightened Dutch policy on sex education in his First Person column in the Leicester Mercury.
Funeral of LSS member Michael Foot
15 Mar: Michael was an Honorary Member of Leicester Secular Society and also the British Humanist Association. At the non-religious funeral, Neil Kinnock alluded to Tom Paine and Gandhi: "Michael's religion was humanity, his country was the world ... his great soul goes striding on". More from BHA ...
Promoting a better society
15 Mar: Lecester Secular Society President Allan Hayes explains that Secularism "vigorously promotes a civil society where people are free to have a belief, or not". Leicester Mercury letter.
Leicester Secularist (March) out now
13 Mar: INSIDE: Leicester's Atheist Bus campaign, Twin Towers, Secularist of the Year winners, The Pope and the Equality Bill, God and Haiti - Sentamu explains, Members' poetry, The Society and Secular Hall, Antisocial Behaviour, Islamophobia or Muslimophobia, Homeopathy, Deaths of Michael Foot and Roy Cobb. PLUS forthcoming events, reviews of recent talks, and more. Leicester Secularist.
Religious chemist denies patient prescribed medicine
10 Mar: A pharmacist refused Janine Deeley her pills at a Lloyds pharmacy in Sheffield. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain said pharmacists were obliged to serve the interests of patients first, but were not required to act against their religion. Daily Telegraph ...
Briitish Humanist Association Manifestos
8 Mar: The BHA (to which LSS is affiliated) has published manifestos for the upcoming local and general elections, which you can use to ask candidates the kind of questions you want answered. More ...
New posts and comments on our blog
4 Mar: Recent topics include: Sex Education and Religion, Homeopathy, Saying Sorry (on the British children sent to a harsh life in Australia), Assisted Suicide, Casualties of War and The Morality of War. Read Here ...
Blasphemy crime resurrected in Liverpool
Harry Taylor left anti-religious cartoons in the multi-faith room at Liverpool's John Lennon airport (named after Taylor's atheist hero). Now he's convicted of the new offence of "religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress". The jury all swore their oath on the Bible. More from NSS, Liverpool Daily Post, BBC, Telegraph, Glucifixion (YouTube).
Calendar Upgrade
2 Mar: A message from our webmaster - Calendar upgraded today. LSS and Secular Hall events now show icons. Upcoming list on our homepage not quite right - will fix when time allows. What's On ...
Stop this religious takeover!
1 Mar: Leicester Mercury letters: Allan Hayes on the government's accession to the demands of the Catholic Education Service on Sex and Relationships teaching. Responses from Mark W Jacques, Stephen A Warden (both 5 March, the latter attacking this website) and John Kirk (8 March).

Earlier LSS News: February 2010

News from Leicester Secular Society updated 11 November 2011 b