Author Archives: malcolmsmusingscom

I saw this: ‘I’m giving up eating chocolate for a month.’ The meaning’s pretty straightforward. It was rewritten: ‘I’m giving up. Eating chocolate for a month.’ The meaning’s a bit different! What did the writer really mean? Children in Lowestoft returned to school yesterday… smiling, fresh faced children… Some will have said, ‘I hate school’;Continue reading “What Do You Really Mean?”

The Beatles sang ‘All you need is love…’ West Side Story is about… racism, immigrants, xenophobia… anger, violence… the alienation of young people… and love. Tony and Maria play out their wedding in the bridal shop where Maria works. Reciting the marriage vows they commit themselves to each other: Make of our hands one handMakeContinue reading “All You Need Is Love”

In ‘Oliver Twist’, Oliver’s an orphan in the workhouse, inadequately fed on gruel. Charles Dickens says: ‘Child as he was, he was desperate with hunger, and reckless with misery. He rose from the table; and advancing to the master, basin and spoon in hand, said: somewhat alarmed at his own temerity: ‘Please, sir, I wantContinue reading “Second Helpings”

In the story of Goldilocks… Daddy-bear’s porridge is too hot, mummy-bear’s porridge is too cold, baby-bear’s porridge is just right… Daddy-bear’s chair is too hard, mummy-bear’s chair is too soft, baby-bear’s chair is just right… and so on with beds… I was reading about life on planet earth… If the earth were closer to theContinue reading “The Goldilocks Principle”

Jesus was a man who kept the company of menTill he got betrayed by one of themAnd surely that must have been the biggest sinBut in his final hour, he even forgave himAnd what he asked you then, well I now ask you tooFather, forgive them, for they know not what they do I usedContinue reading “Father Forgive Them”

Many older folks that I chat to, live with ‘if only’ regrets – If only I hadn’t had such a difficult childhood… If only I had a better education… If only I hadn’t married so young… If only I’d had help with that problem earlier… If only I’d been a better parent… Living with regrets…Continue reading “The Big ‘If Only’”

Last night’s headline news was the Johannesburg fire that killed 74 people. Outside the destroyed apartment block, ‘informal’ housing for 200 homeless people, the Fire Chief said: ‘We must make sure this never happens again…’ We often hear this after a disaster – fire, flood, shooting, road accident, drug trafficking, exploitation of young people… WordsContinue reading “Facta Non Verba”

Last night was a supermoon. A number of friends posted beautiful pictures – the full moon in a clear sky over the sea, beside the church, through a tree… Apparently, as the Moon orbits the Earth its distance to us varies by tens of thousands of kilometres. A supermoon occurs when the Moon is closestContinue reading “Up Close And…”

I’ve enjoyed reading about last weekend’s hunt for the Loch Ness monster. Two hundred people with hi-tech gear, around the Scottish loch near Inverness… The biggest hunt in decades ended in failure. Christie McLeod, who travelled from Toronto, Canada said: ‘There are two types of people in this world, Nessie believers and non-believers, and I’mContinue reading “I’m A Believer”

Just going about… Toyohiko Kagawa was born in Kobe, Japan in 1888. Studying theology in Japan and Princeton he was convinced that Christianity needed to be lived out in action. Returning to Kobe he lived with the poor, advocating for the prostitute, murderer, abused and victimised. His outspoken pacifist views and calls for social reform causedContinue reading “He Went About Doing Good…”