The Open University

Floodlit rugby stadium. Image credit: Thinkstock

Siblings in the scrum: long history of brothers makes rugby a family affair

30 September 2015

It’s well known that family plays a key role in a child’s initial socialisation into sport and his or her continued participation. This family involvement is certainly evident on a Sunday morning at my local rugby club where siblings of both genders and all ages participate in a range of activities. Add to this the […]

People at a music concert. Image: Thinkstock

Why Ibiza club music at a classical concert is a clash we should embrace

12 September 2015

London’s Royal Albert Hall has seen a lot this summer: a performance of Beethoven’s Sixth from memory, a concert reflecting the supposed tastes of Sherlock Holmes, a concert telling the “Story of Swing” and Jarvis Cocker leading an “underwater dream” with music ranging from Echo & The Bunnymen to Debussy. But it was the Ibiza […]

TV series lifts the lid on ancient world’s greatest philosophers

28 August 2015

Genius of the Ancient World follows historian, Bettany Hughes, on her quest to explore the wisdom of the three greatest philosophers of the ancient world: Buddha, Socrates and Confucius. These three celebrated philosophers, who lived during a period of intense intellectual development (600 – 500 BC), were trailblazers. They were the first individuals to apply […]