Author Archives: malcolmsmusingscom

Jotham told this story about talking trees: Once upon a time the trees decided to choose a king. First they said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’ The olive tree refused, saying, ‘Why Should I quit producing the olive oil that blesses both God and people, just to wave back and forth over theContinue reading “Talking Trees…”

…The Pirate Drama. Yesterday at The Seagull folks were preparing for the Pirate Show. Changing scenes will create a pirate ship, the sea, a treasure island… The publicity says: Avast Ye Landlubbers! Shiver Me Timbers! It’s time to batten down the hatches, hoist the jolly roger, mop the deck and join us on this swashbucklingContinue reading “Changing Scenes…”

I first watched TV at Mary Pratt’s house. Mary was my primary school friend who, in the days before we had a TV, introduced me to children’s weekly cowboy films – The Lone Ranger and The Cisco Kid. At school we played ‘Cowboys and Indians’ in the playground. In both the films and our gamesContinue reading “Sanitized or Un-sanitized?”

On last night’s news we heard about The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex. Apparently the hospital’s ceiling collapsed in an Intensive Care Unit and fell onto a patient on life support. The patient was intubated and had not been harmed. They declared a major incident, Essex County Fire and Rescue Services were called andContinue reading “Outside Looks OK…”

Colours of day dawn into the mind,The sun has come up, the night is behind.Go down in the city, into the street,And let’s give the message to the people we meet. So light up the fire and let the flame burn,Open the door, let Jesus return.Take seeds of His Spirit, let the fruit grow,Tell theContinue reading “Colours of Day”

I first met the ‘Would you rather…?’ questions as ludicrous choices that children asked: ‘Would you rather …lick a slug or kiss a frog?  …have huge hands and tiny feet or tiny hands and huge feet? They then became more interesting choices ‘Would you rather …live in Hogwarts or Narnia? …be the best player inContinue reading “Would You Rather…?”

Yesterday morning I visited Frank, a gentleman in his late seventies. I’ve known Frank for many years. For most of his working life he was active, physically fit and clear thinking. Now he has many aches and pains, he has medication for his depression, he’s constantly frustrated by his failing memory. I sensed that FrankContinue reading “Am I Past My Best?”

‘Tools With A Mission’ is a Christian charity that sends donated tools to the developing world. Yesterday we heard the story of Deliphar in Zambia. Deliphar’s family was struggling. They had managed to pay for some of their children’s school fees, but didn’t know how they could afford to feed them. Deliphar joined a tailoringContinue reading “The Happy Ending”

Yesterday I was entertained by my friend Tim’s rant about the creme eggs costing £1. I was still having the odd chuckle when I discovered a story about creme eggs – on page 3 in The Sun. Under the predictable headlines ‘Living the Creme’ and ‘Eggsclusive’… creme egg superfan Zara Winstanley was reported to eatContinue reading “No Amount is Enough”

Elspeth wanted to give her daughter, Marie, an owl box for Christmas. Jerry looked up how to make one and made it for her at Men’s Shed. It’s now installed. It’s up to Marie’s owls whether they use it. They can take it or leave it. We spent yesterday with our friends Tim and Jill.Continue reading “Take It or Leave It?”