Close To The Edge

Headline in yesterday’s Lowestoft Journal: ‘Pakefield chalets facing demolition due to coastal erosion.’ The article explained: ‘Three chalets that perch precariously on a vulnerable clifftop are to be demolished.’ Due to unprecedented rates of coastal erosion one chalet on the site was demolished last year, and these properties were deemed unsafe. Weather permitting, the demolitionContinue reading “Close To The Edge”

Peace At All Times And In Every Way

I continue to enjoy reading the Bible: a couple of chapters each day; the complete Bible each year. Old stories read in a fresh light, new insights not noticed before. The depth of mystery that’s beyond my intellect, the spiritual truth that’s beyond my experience, yet the simplicity that a child can appreciate and understand.Continue reading “Peace At All Times And In Every Way”

It Ain’t Over…

Yesterday Suella Braverman, sacked as home secretary by Rishi Sunak, sent him a scathing letter, challenging his competence and integrity with words like ‘weak, betrayal, failed, incapable’. One paragraph reads: You have manifestly and repeatedly failed to deliver on every single one of these key policies. Either your distinctive style of government means you areContinue reading “It Ain’t Over…”

Here I Stand. I Can Do No Other.

In our loft I discovered a box of books, untouched for thirty years, including ‘Martin Luther’ by Theodore Kleinhans. This German theologian, priest, monk, and professor, challenged the Roman Catholic Church. In 1521 he was called to recant his beliefs; if he refused, he could be burned at the stake as a heretic. In hisContinue reading “Here I Stand. I Can Do No Other.”

Remembrance, Relevance, Resilience,

It’s been a weekend of remembrance. There have been visual reminders – pictures of conflicts past and present, televised national acts of remembrance, poppies on the memorial outside Pakefield Parish Church, Lyn’s beautiful display in our church. Familiar words have been read: They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:Age shallContinue reading “Remembrance, Relevance, Resilience,”

Peace, Pups, Power and People

Peace: Today is Remembrance Day. We remember that on the ‘eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month’, in 1918, the armistice was signed to bring peace after war. Around war memorials, in churches, today and tomorrow, there will be a minute’s silence and we shall remember. In school each year we cameContinue reading “Peace, Pups, Power and People”

Anticipation – But What Sort?

Yesterday… …I was chatting to Janet. Her husband John, a lovely man, has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. One of the symptoms has been John’s unpredictable mood swings. Janet has found it really difficult to cope with them. Recently, for the first time, John became physically aggressive, so that the police had to be called.Continue reading “Anticipation – But What Sort?”

The Art of Story Telling

As a child I loved listening to stories at Sunday School; my dad was a great story teller. I read stories, especially Enid Blyton – Noddy, The Faraway Tree, Mr Pink-Whistle… I became a story-teller myself in church, at school. Leading school assemblies invariably involved telling a story. I taught children to write stories –Continue reading “The Art of Story Telling”