Author Archives: malcolmsmusingscom

Yesterday Boris announced a national lockdown. Twelve hours later there’s the predictable variety of responses. Vaccine fuelled optimism from previous days quickly evaporates. Many feel angry, frustrated, weary, apprehensive…; some want someone to blame – Boris is a convenient target; some speak out, supporting staff in schools, hospitals and care-homes; good Christian people respond withContinue reading “Blessed are the Weary and Groggy…”

Musing this morning on Genesis 13: Disputes: Abram has left home; he’s travelling around with flocks, family and possessions. He’s rich and successful, but his herdsmen quarrel with the herdsmen of his cousin Lot. The year has started with disputes – how we best respond to Covid, moving on from Brexit, returning to school; thereContinue reading “Disputes and Decisions”

When my eyes behold the starsThis heart of mine is filled with wonder.My poor mind cannot grasp their array.But the hand that spilled them thereAll across the wide heaven,Had a plan when He placed them that way. This was one of the first ‘non-church’ Christian songs I knew. Many years later I discovered that Elvis’Continue reading “Known Only to Him”

Musing yesterday on the story of Billy Elliot… Set in the 1984 miners’ strike, it’s about a mining community in County Durham. Mining was more than just a job, it was an identity, a way of life, a community that was being lost. Musing on losing community… The story seems to have particular poignancy asContinue reading “Losing Community”

Billy Elliot is set in the 1984 miners’ strike in County Durham; Billy is an eleven-year-old boy who wants to become a ballet dancer. Eventually Billy auditions for the Royal Ballet School; he‘s asked what it feels like when he is dancing and sings ‘Electricity’: I can’t really explain it,I haven’t got the wordsIt’s aContinue reading “Electricity”

On Monday Rachel and I went for a walk on Carlton Marshes, a local nature reserve. A muntjac deer ran close by. A buzzard sat on a gatepost; he looked at us as we looked at him. Some paths were very muddy; wellington boots were essential. Yesterday John and Kate, went to Carlton Marshes andContinue reading “Muddy Paths”

How do you solve a problem like Maria?How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?How do you find a word that means Maria?A flibbertigibbet! A will-o’-the wisp! A clown! Maria was different. The nuns required that she fit in – Maria wanted to fit in – but she didn’t. She was ‘a problem’.Continue reading “How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?”

I often return to musical theatre to reflect on life and faith …the Wizard of Oz, Les Misérables, Hairspray, Lion King… Yesterday I touched on ‘The Gospel according to The Sound of Music’ Climb every mountain,Search high and low,Follow every byway,Every path you know. Climbing mountains is active. This year has reminded us of theContinue reading “Climb Every Mountain”

Christmas always includes ‘The Sound of Music’. This year both the classic Julie Andrews film and the stage show were on television! Religion and politics come together: a young Austrian woman who believes that God has called her to serve Him is confronted by the power of Hitler’s Germany. I was reminded that much ofContinue reading “Maria, Martin and Donald (Religion and Politics)”

Scrooge asks the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Be: ‘Are these the shadows of the things that Will be or are they the shadows of the things that May be only?’ Did Scrooge have to remain as he was? Did he control his own fate? Are we victims of our past, controlled by forces outsideContinue reading “Scrooge: Humbug to Happiness”