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I open today’s paper… Norwich Crown court: ‘A man who subjected his former partner to years of coercive control before grabbing her throat and knocking her unconscious during a vicious attack has been jailed for three years.’ The story makes difficult reading. Musing… remembering the song from Gilbert & Sulivan’s Mikado: My object all sublimeContinue reading “Crime, Punishment And Undeserved Suffering”

This is our friend Robin. We’ve known him and his wife Beryl for many years. Yesterday we attended his funeral… Remembering… Today is Maundy Thursday. Jesus shared his last supper with his disciples. He gave them some bread and a cup of wine and said, ‘Do this to remember me.’ At our church tonight weContinue reading “Robin and Maundy Thursday”

Today’s news is dominated by ‘Partygate’ – the Downing Street birthday party in breach of lockdown rules… Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie and chancellor Rishi Sunak have all been fined. Opinion’s divided. Some are angry: ‘The people who were making the rules were breaking the rules!’ Others say: ‘With everything that’s going on in theContinue reading “Divided Opinion?”

This is Thom – with ‘Mr Fox’. He, and some of his friends, have made their own puppets to tell the story of ‘The Fantastic Mr Fox’ (amongst other tales). He’s offering puppet making lessons at ‘The Seagull’, the local community theatre that I’m involved with. Puppets can’t think for themselves. They can only doContinue reading “Puppets… Taking Responsibility… Faith”

Norwich City won yesterday, beating Burnley 2-0. For many it’s too little too late. We’re still bottom of the Premiership doomed for relegation. Victory has done little to improve our chances of survival… But for the optimists there’s belief… the players showed skill and determination… battled… ‘put their bodies on the line’… while there’s lifeContinue reading “Living Through Uncertainty”

People get ready there’s a train a-comingYou don’t need no baggage you just get on boardAll you need is faith to hear the diesels hummingDon’t need no ticket you just thank the Lord Many singers have recorded this song. I still prefer the original. It’s a simple gospel song expressing Christian faith; it also expressesContinue reading “People Get Ready”

As a child I sung ‘When a knight won his spurs’ that included: No charger have I, and no sword by my sideYet still to adventure and battle I rideThough back into storyland giants have fledAnd the knights are no more and the dragons are dead. As an adult I still liked the image, theContinue reading “Adventuring – with Elphaba, Thomas and Brendan”

Thus play I in one person many people,And none contented: sometimes am I king;Then treasons make me wish myself a beggar,And so I am: then crushing penuryPersuades me I was better when a king;Then am I king’d again: and by and byThink that I am unking’d by Bolingbroke,And straight am nothing: but whate’er I be,NorContinue reading “Richard II… Contentment, Being Nothing”

My friend Jack’s an actor, writer and director. He’s been involve in plays and films all his life. This week he’s been invited to go to London and act in a film with Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg. A dream job. Jack’s very ill. He can’t get the insurance. He couldn’t do the job. He’sContinue reading “Facing The Impossible”

Magnus Magnusson (late quizmaster of BBC’s Mastermind) coined the phrase ‘I’ve started so I’ll finish’. He’d continue asking a question when it had been interrupted by the timing buzzer at the end of a round. Clive Myrie is now the Mastermind host. I’ve been delighted to hear him continue the tradition saying: ‘I’ve started soContinue reading “I’ve Started So I’ll Finish”