Category Archives: Uncategorized

On Sunday Minister-Lou quoted American computer scientist and animator Ed Catmull. Apparently, he was co-founder of Pixar and President of Walt Disney Animation Studios. Catmull said: ‘…there is a sweet spot between the known and the unknown where originality happens; the key is to be able to linger there without panicking.’ I recalled my daysContinue reading “The Sweet Spot”

I learnt the song ‘The Quartermaster’s Store’ as a boy at camp where ‘quartermaster’ was responsible for supplies…. We sung about ‘rats as big as alley cats’ and ‘cake that gives you belly-ache’. We made up our own verses – sometimes about each other… ‘Pete, with ‘normous smelly feet…’ It’s an old song – sungContinue reading “Dim Eyes That Can’t See”

At church this morning we shall sing this song. It gives an overview of the Easter story. We see the whole picture. We’re called to respond in praise… I cast my mind to CalvaryWhere Jesus bled and died for me.I see His wounds, His hands, His feet.My Saviour on that cursed tree His body boundContinue reading “O Praise The Name”

It’s been a busy week… sharing several meals with Daughter-Jo and family… spending a lovely day with friends Tim and Jill… celebrating son-in-law-Allan’s birthday… welcoming our church home-group… saying goodbye to grandchildren Zak and Hannah, returning to their studies… enjoying nephew-Joel and his family visiting us from France for a couple of days… It’s beenContinue reading “The Large Spectacles”

In 2003 we went to Kosovo. The war had just ended. We saw the effects of bombs and bullets, witnessed mass burials as bodies were returned, heard heartbreaking stories from ordinary, courageous families. We went with ‘Smile International’, whose vision statement states: Our vision is to see people and their lives transformed, for them toContinue reading “Tears and Smiles”

We were entering covid lockdown. A few friends encouraged me to start writing a blog. I’d never written for a public audience before; I didn’t know if I could. Four years ago, 11th April 2020, I wrote my first ‘Malcolm’s Musing’. It became a daily habit. Today, 1462 blogs later, I’m musing on musing… I’mContinue reading “Four Years Ago…”

On Sunday Russell Cook, nicknamed ‘The Hardest Geezer’, completed his run from the tip of South Africa to the northernmost point of Tunisia. His journey spanned 10,190 miles, 352 days, 16 countries… through rainforests, over mountains, across the Sahara… Why?   Russell, 27, from Worthing, West Sussex, said he’d struggled with his mental health, gamblingContinue reading “Russell, David, Jimi: Heroes – But Why?”

There’s an old fable about a scorpion and a frog… Scorpion wants to cross a river but can’t swim; Scorpion asks Frog to carry it across. Frog’s afraid that Scorpion might sting it. Scorpion promises not to as it would drown if it killed Frog in the middle of the river. Frog agrees to carryContinue reading “The Scorpion and… the Frog, the Turtle, the Saint…”

Last night’s news told us that today there will be a total solar eclipse, visible in North America. Here, in the UK, a partial eclipse may be seen in some parts of the country. This inevitably led to an elementary science lesson describing the correct alignment of sun, moon and earth… the moon moving betweenContinue reading “Living Through Darkness”

There are some Christian virtues that get high profile. We all want love, joy and peace. We think we need them; we pray for them for ourselves and each other. But patience…? When our children were young, we encountered Herbert the Snail. It seems to me this isn’t a children’s song: it’s for everybody! LastContinue reading “Patience (Herbert the Snail)”