Author Archives: malcolmsmusingscom

This weekend… Eight-year-old Kai Tiffen won his first adult darts tournament. Kai started throwing darts at 18 months… he’s 4ft tall, so needs a step to collect his darts from the board… he needs permission to play in adult matches held in pubs… he won ‘The Wheatsheaf Open’, Sunderland, beating twenty-eight adults, including county players,Continue reading “Kai, Sarah, Jasmin, Seymour – and Me”

Through the 1960s many artists recorded this Pete Seeger song: To everything turn, turn, turnThere is a season turn, turn, turnAnd a time to every purpose under heaven A time to be born, a time to dieA time to plant, a time to reapA time to kill, a time to healA time to laugh, aContinue reading “Turn, Turn, Turn.”

Neil has repaired and serviced our car; an MOT certificate states that our vehicle is roadworthy. Yesterday morning I drove our newly-certificated car for the first time.   Despite an odd sound I kept driving. Arriving home I discovered a flat tyre! I inflated the tyre, and drove gently to a local tyre shop. MarcusContinue reading “When Woes Become Wows”

When we were children Mum always cooked a ‘Sunday Roast’ – beef, lamb, pork… Occasionally, when it was chicken, we would ask Mum for ‘the wishbone’. We wanted to pull the wishbone, to break the bone and get the bigger piece; we knew that the one with the bigger piece could make a wish thatContinue reading “Wishbones”

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…?”