Category Archives: Uncategorized

Open All Hours was a much enjoyed sitcom, set in a small Yorkshire grocer’s shop that’s ‘open all hours’.  The owner, Arkwright (Ronnie Barker), is a middle-aged miser with a stammer; his nephew Granville (David Jason) is his put-upon errand boy with no social life. Arkwright’s engaged to nurse Gladys Emmanuel (Lynda Baron)… In theContinue reading “Open All Hours”

‘It’s life. Jim, but not as we know it,’ was supposed to have been said by Dr Spock to Captain Kirk regarding some alien life form in Star Trek… Yesterday, whilst we were doing the usual singing-prayers-sermon-church, our friend Esther was outside in our church garden, around a fire-pit, with her ‘Wild Church’… Church, butContinue reading “…But Not As We Know It.”

On Friday we saw ‘Come From Away’. It tells the incredible true story of 7,000 air passengers from all over the world who were grounded in the small town of Gander, Canada, following 9/11, in 2001. They arrived in Gander on the Tuesday; America declared a national moment of silence on the Friday. As townsfolkContinue reading ““Prayer” from Come From Away “

I’m reading Patricia St John’s autobiography ‘In Her Words’. Patrica was working as a nurse in a remote village in Morrocco, treating a boy who had fallen backwards into a cauldron of boiling water. She’d dressed his wounds, and left instructions for the bandages to be washed, boiled and hung out to dry. She returnedContinue reading “Excuses, Debate and Action”

Earlier today I walked along the beach. It was a beautiful October morning. The calm sea and the sun rising above the sea was witnessed by brave swimmers, early morning joggers, dogs of all shapes and sizes and their owners. One elderly lady was standing, looking out to sea, her dog sitting patiently beside her.Continue reading “And It’s Free”

As a child at Sunday School I learnt about the twelve tribes of Israel. I heard stories about people who lived in tribes in Africa or South America. I saw films about cowboys and American Indian tribes…. In our historical past, we spent our entire lives living as part of a tribe; today psychologists andContinue reading “Belonging to a Tribe”

Three things in which I’m significantly ignorant have set me musing… Yesterday we learnt of the discovery of seven new species of frogs in Madagascar. They’ve been named after Star Trek characters – Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, Archer, Burnham and Pike, Apparently, instead of croaking they make high-pitched whistling noises which are supposed to soundContinue reading “My significant ignorance…”

I’m a creature of habit. Most days starts the same. I have a daily routine I wake up, get up: …hoping and praying that I shall be awake and alert to the opportunities of today I shave and shower: …needing to wash away yesterday’s unpleasantness– physically, mentally, spiritually. I get dressed: …remembering St Paul words:Continue reading “My Daily Routine”

At church yesterday Lou talked about Joseph. She described his broken family – his father Jacob, who’d lied, schemed and cheated… his eleven brothers and one sister from four mothers… the brothers who’d hated him and sold him into slavery… his final imprisonment on false rape charges. We thought about how, the reject from aContinue reading “Broken Families, Inclusion and Dancing”

On Tuesday a group of us from church met in our home. We shared concerns, prayed for each other and our friends, and read together this expression of our faith from the Northumbrian Community. We’ve shared it before. Lynn said: ‘Did you know it’s been set to music?’ I didn’t. Lord, You have always givenbreadContinue reading “Lord you have always given….”