Malcolm’s musings
National Memorial Arboretum
Yesterday we visited the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. Covering 150 acres, it includes 430 memorials, each dedicated to particular aspects of the armed forces, emergency services or civilian organisations. I will especially remember five of the memorials… The Shot at Dawn Memorial commemorates the 309 men that were executed for desertion and other capital…
Reduce, Re-use, Recycle
Last night we watched ‘The Great British Sewing Bee’. Judges Esme and Patrick looked on critically, as the contestants created underwear from second hand T-shirts and made upcycled garments from fabrics that were to be thrown out. Finally, made-to-measure outfits with an environmental message were designed and created… We saw panic and mistakes, the bizarre…
The Satnav, the Eagle and the Nurse.
Yesterday we planned to meet brother-Bryan and niece-Virginia. We’d agreed the location and the time. Ms Satnav sounded confident as we started our journey. She took us along unfamiliar country lanes… to barriers across the road and a ‘Road Closed’ sign. We turned round, drove back several miles, and tried a different route. Half an…
When Small Things Become Big Things
We’re on holiday, so yesterday morning we went to a different church. Stephen, the minister, spoke about Jesus’ mustard seed parable: ‘Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.’ Stephen…
Desperado
I always enjoy listening to The Eagles. Desperado is a favourite… A ‘desperado’ – someone who is in a desperate that whose drives him to reckless – often criminal actions. It often refers to nineteenth-century bandits in the U.S… DesperadoWhy don’t you come to your senses?You’ve been out ridin’ fences for so long nowOh, you’re…
When a Plan Comes Together
When the children were younger, they enjoyed watching ‘The A-Team’. In most episodes there was a problem to solve and the A-Team would help the good guys win… involving weapons and vehicles made from random parts. a shoot-out where nobody got injured and Hannibal (George Peppard), with a grin and a cigar, saying, ‘I love…
Life’s Marathon
Dan Snow says: On this day, 24th July, in 1908, the first Olympic marathon was won by Italian Dorando Pietri, running from Windsor Castle through Slough, Harrow and Wembley to the White City – ‘26 miles plus 385 yards on the track’ – an arbitrary length that subsequently became standard. An exhausted Pietri collapsed and…
It Is What It Is
Musing… Stuff from the last couple of days… Ian said: ‘It is what it is’. There’s no point in complaining or arguing. It’s beyond his control. He can’t change the situation… Robins: Jill was visiting her mum’s grave. A robin hopped up to her… Some people believe that robins are a reminder that loved ones…
Falling in a Cow Pat
In ‘The Heart’s Invisible Furies’ Cyril describes his first visit to his Dutch friend Bastiaan’s family home on a farm. As he’s approaching on his bicycle, the farmyard dogs bark, causing him to fall in a huge cow pat. To him it’s a huge embarrassment; to the farm family it’s of no consequence. Bastiaan’s dad…
A Day in the Life
Yesterday we saw King Charles… …meeting Andy Burnham at Buckingham Palace, inviting the leader of the Labour Party to become prime minister and form a new government. …visiting Cambridge Central Mosque, Europe’s first eco mosque, saying, ‘I pray with all my heart that you… continue your work together with other faiths in this area to…
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