Today is a national day of Reflection in the UK. There will be a minutes silence at 12 noon. This day has been chosen as it marks the first anniversary from the first lockdown in response to the pandemic. Other countries will have their own anniversaries and key dates but this is ours. And we... Continue Reading →
You know you’re in Ireland when…
You know you are in Ireland ... when there are more Protestant churches than eating places... or perhaps we just got hungry in a particularly fervent part of Belfast? When the first thing you see when you step out of terminal one in Dublin is a large church tower in the middle of the car... Continue Reading →
Ten reflections from travels in the Lake District and Scotland
Travel Light. You need much less than you think. Alternatives can always be found for those things you deem so necessary. For example, the swimming costume I sent home on the morning of the afternoon I finally had a chance to go wild swimming. It turns out that swimming in your undies works perfectly well. Nobody was there... Continue Reading →
‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’
I came across this in my daily reading the other day. It's from the Old Testament but Matthew in his gospel has Jesus say it, not once, but twice which means it ought to be underlined three times in our Bibles, especially because what Jesus actually says is, 'You don't get this... you haven't understood... Continue Reading →
Why the one truth most people live by will not help you
"Peace on earth"? How, in God's name (quite literally) did the concept of 'peace' come to be associated with the birth of child? Anyone who's ever had a child will tell you that the quality of peace is not something you associate with the arrival of children! In fact the very opposite: not only are... Continue Reading →
Why a ‘true version of events’ is hard to judge. Film review of ‘Jackie’.
Have just caught up with the recent film "Jackie" a portrayal by Natalie Portman of Jacqueline Kennedy in the weeks immediately after her husband's assassination. It's a powerful and thought-provoking portrayal of grief but it's also a story about how we construct stories. There are several ways in to this story: firstly we see the... Continue Reading →
Why doing things badly might be a good idea
I'm doing two things badly at the moment: dieting and exercise. For the last three weeks, I have committed myself again to that most miserable of disciplines: dieting which for the sake of my health, simply has to be done. I never used to find exercising tedious but now that my various aches and pains... Continue Reading →
Blue Planet ‘Wonders’: The sex change fish
The opening episode in the BBC's Blue Planet II series was absolutely extraordinary. So much diversity: fish of all colours, some with crowns on their heads. Sea creatures that look totally as if they'd come from a movie about aliens, dolphins and whales that appeared to be friends and a tiny little fish that knew... Continue Reading →
Pope Francis puts ‘quit whining’ notice on his door – good for him
The Pope has put up a notice on the door to his private quarters telling all comers (presumably cardinals, Vatican staff and sundry religious people) that: 'Complaining is Forbidden... To become the best of yourself, you must focus on your own potential and not on your limits. So stop complaining and act to change your... Continue Reading →
Praying as ‘Watching’
There are a number of people close to me at the moment who are in very difficult situations. Some of them are in a place of peace with God even though they are in huge pain, they know God is far too big to 'fit in their pocket'. Some of them are frustrated, furious and... Continue Reading →