I thank God that every so often I come across a person that most would condemn as being eccentric, a bit of a weirdo, somebody to be laughed at.  I first came across John Burkhill when we were on holiday in Yorkshire last summer, he featured on the Yorkshire Television magazine show Calendar and at…

We hear so often about all the negative aspects of social media and some people see these websites as being evil, but they have opened a window to me that I value.  One of the groups I belong to is “Calverley Memories” the page about the village in West Yorkshire where I grew up. I…

I love the books written by the Yorkshire vet Alf Wight or “James Herriot” as we know him.  I think that the man is a genius to have the idea of writing the stories of his experiences of working as a rural vet.  I remember laughing when I first read them, I loved the film…

One of my many “favourite places in the world” is Porthcurno in Cornwall and I love standing at the Minack Theatre and looking down at the crystal blue sea, yet another corner of heaven for me.  I remember the first time I ever visited the place; it was May 1982; I was staying at the…

We had a Circuit Service at the beginning of Advent, I had the privilege of being able to sit in the congregation and be led by others.  It was a wonderful experience and as we drove home, Karen and I were thrilled with all that we had just experienced.  Why did it work so well?…

One of my favourite Christmas songs is “O holy night” I remember a few years ago hearing a teenage girl singing the song and she was pitch perfect, (as far as I could tell) it was a thing of beauty, and I can still remember feeling shivers in my spin as she sung so beautifully. …

One of the great advantages of living where we do is that we get the full benefit of some amazing sun rises, particularly during the autumn and winter seasons.  I am inspired often to take pictures like the one above as the sun starts to break through the clouds and paint some amazing pictures in…

One of the tasks for the modern minister is that from time to time I am asked to write a biopic for one website or another.  This is a fairly new phenomenon for me and is always an interesting process.  The other task that I need to accomplish around this time of the year is…

The great plan at the beginning of this year was that I would retire next summer when my appointment at Ipswich comes to an end.  Having had a three-month sabbatical earlier this year, I came to the conclusion that I’m not ready to hang up my dog collar yet, so decided to offer for a…

One of the advantages of being a minister in the East Anglia Methodist District is that every other year we are gifted with a Minister’s Retreat. We go away together for about forty-eight hours, we learn together, we relax together, share fellowship, and eat together, and it is an opportunity to withdraw from our everyday…