(This thought was first published in July 2022) I could list several times that I felt I could not succeed. In my early years as a teacher, I came quite close to quitting. In the late 60’s the school leaving age was increased from 15 to 16. Those who just had to stay on another…
Our house group has been studying the New Testament letter to the churches: the first letter of Peter. It was written when the church was beginning to be established in many new areas, but firmly under Roman occupation. Life was tough and the congregations were encouraged to strengthen their faith in Jesus, but remain dutiful…
When the leaves have fallen, the last of the roses have died eventually on the odd bush, the potted geraniums have gone to slime because we forgot to remove them before the frost, and the bulbs are still nestled snuggly under the compost, all may seem dead and there is not much joy to be…
I’m writing this on holiday in Brittany. There’s a perfumery called Beauty Success on a side street. How the French love some franglais! The shop sells a wide range of lovely face creams, perfumes and other toiletries. I enjoy wearing a little makeup and a good moisturiser, but I’m under no illusions. I’m never going…
Summer is here! Well, the days are long, the sun is shining most of the time, and my tomatoes are beginning to fruit. I’m very pleased with my veg and I enter it in our village show. I’ve even won prizes. Feeling successful is an uplifting experience. Have a quick thought. When did you last…
One weekly challenge is ‘Only Connect’ on a Monday night. It consists of two teams with Victoria Coren Mitchell in the chair. It’s a daft game really. You have to connect four clues and discover what the link is. We rarely ‘get it’, and often the contestants are as much in the dark as we…
Quiz Night 2 We dutifully watch University Challenge each week. It’s a miracle if we get anything right. I’m fairly good at History and Art and even some types of music, but totally thrown by rock/ pop/ jazz, and astro physics is alien to me. But we press on in the hope we will discover…
We love a quiz. Monday is Quiz Night on the BBC, and we watch but are useless, yet keep on trying. We were recently introduced to the online daily word quiz, WORDLE. It’s a free game devoid of advertising and really demanding. It starts with nothing and you have to guess a five-letter word in…
When the leaves have fallen, the last of the roses have died eventually on the odd bush, the potted geraniums have gone to slime because we forgot to remove them before the frost, and the bulbs are still nestled snuggly under the compost, all may seem dead and there is not much joy to be…
When winter begins to take its toll and the weather forecast online seems to imply ‘flat grey’, life can get, shall we say, a little miserable. Here’s a poem by Raymond Carver to lift us up a little. Our faith tells us we should rejoice in all things, but it can be difficult when not…