Looking Back

Looking back…

152 years – Restoring… The fishing smack Jubilee was built in 1873, sailing from Lowestoft as part of the vast East coast fishing fleet for many years. She was bought by a Norwegian cargo company, renamed ‘Nordleys’, used as a cargo vessel, sold on to a Dutch company…

This week she returned to Lowestoft to be restored, to become a research vessel for scientists, explorers and environmentalists.   

80 years – Reminiscing… The Nene Valley Railway have been celebrating the 80th anniversary of Thomas the Tank engine. Reverend W Awdry wrote the first book in 1945.

A 14-mile ‘big birthday adventure’ train trip was on TV. Smiling children were enjoying the trip. Many parents were enjoying it too… reminiscing with nostalgia, remembering their love of Thomas and the other railway characters.

65 years – Reflecting… In ‘A Head Full of Music’ Cliff Richard recalls his first tour of the US in 1960: ‘The bill was split almost fifty-fifty between white and Black artists, which was great… but we were not allowed to travel together. There was a white-skinned bus and a Black-skinned bus.’

Looking back, he reflects on it: ‘It sounds preposterous… obscene… all of the Black artists quietly accepted it…’

2000+ years – Remembering… Earlier this week we practiced the songs for tomorrow’s communion service. We’ll sing: ‘Living, he loved me. Dying, he saved me. Buried, he carried my sins far away…’

We shall look back… remembering, reflecting on the old, old story, perhaps reminiscing on previous experiences confirming our faith and hope. We shall recognise the achievements of the one who lived and died, perhaps praying for personal restoration.