There was a time when my dad was choir master at our local Church, and I understand that one of the things he often said “think about the words you are singing” and I have often remembered that as I have looked at a hymn, been delighted, because it was one of my favourites and…
Dear Friends, There is fresh optimism as we face Easter 2022, we are preparing to share events that have not happened for two years, and I am waiting in eager anticipation as we journey through Lent. Looking back to Easter 2020, we were just a fortnight into the first lockdown, and we were starting to…
As a teenager I used to dread Mothering Sunday because there was a practice in our Church of giving a bunch of daffodils to mums in the congregation. At some point in history it had been deemed unfair that women with five children would get five bunches, while mothers with a single child would get…
We have just spent five days on holiday in Norfolk, when apart from a very orange day on Wednesday thanks to the Sahara sand, we have had a lovely week. We have travelled less than five hundred miles during the week but the signs that have made my heart sink over and over again is…
Two separate, unconnected events over the last couple of weeks have got me thinking about the people who have influenced my life. I was contacted by the Church Secretary at Calverley Methodist Church in West Yorkshire to ask if I would go back to take part in the one hundred and fifty years anniversary. I…
I first attended the Methodist Assiation of Youth Clubs annual MAYC London Weekend in May 1979 and it was an experience that changed my life forever. Even forty years on the memory is still very real to me and I find myself remembering detailed moments of that event, when I find, that I sometimes struggle…
Dear Friends, As March gets underway, so does Lent, a time of great significance in the Christian calendar as we prepare for Easter. I always see Shrove Tuesday as a sign of hope that the dark days of winter are now giving way to the (hopefully) much brighter days of spring and even as I…
On two separate occasions I have forked out good money to ride to the top of Snowdon in one of their trusty little trains and both occasions have been memorable and one day I would love to repeat the experience. I have been enticed into making this journey each time with pictures like the one…
As a little lad, I used to love it when my Dad and Uncle James started telling stories of their childhood. One of my favourite stories was about the skin of the rice pudding. This was back in the days when dinner was eaten at mid day and tea was the early evening meal. The…
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we go out for early morning walks, at the time of writing, we were setting off in darkness and arriving home in daylight. It is a reminder that the days are getting longer now, that this week is the first time that we have set off from…