Today marks the end of my sabbatical, and I am grateful to the Methodist Church for granting me the space and time to involve myself in a range of events, activities, and experiences that would normally be out of reach because of work commitments.  Last Friday (23rd June) was one such day, we were able…

I am currently on sabbatical from work, which means that I am able to do things that I would not normally be able to do.  One such occasion was Sunday 21st May when Karen and I went to a café worship at Hethersett Church with our daughter and grandson.  The service was wonderful, and the…

I am currently on sabbatical, which is three months of study leave and not meant to be holiday, however, one of the great joys of stepping back from my normal daily routine for a season is that I am able to spend more time with my wider family, which has been a great joy for…

I love this picture, it is framed and mounted at the top of our stairs at home. The picture is of my paternal grandmother, and I believe that she was about eighteen at the time dating it around the year 1900.  I only knew my grandma as an old lady and she died a few…

Back in the 1960’s in the days when the Whitsuntide bank holiday coincided with the celebration of Pentecost, the people of Bradford would crowd on the pavements of the city to watch the walkers.  The race, in its day was oldest road walking event in the world and at its height attracted several hundred walkers…

We have a special event in the Methodist Church during the spring of every year called the Presbyteral Synod.  It is a gathering of all Presbyters (ministers who wear dog collars) across the Methodist District and it is a day that I hold dear in my heart because we share in a service of Holy…

When I first started my life as a circuit minister in the Methodist Church, Christian Aid week was a big event in the life of the Church.  It was a common practice to have loads of red carrier bags at the back of the church around this time of year as along with our Anglican…

Almost fifty four years ago, I sat with the rest of Mr Slater’s class at Calverley Parkside school and we watched the live broadcast of the investiture of Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle in North Wales, it was one of the most memorable occasions in my childhood, we didn’t have a…

I love this time of year, with all the signs of new life around us and I can’t think of anything more delightful than seeing young lambs springing in the fields, it does my heart good.  I could stand and watch young lambs for hours and find their antics both entertaining and relaxing, yet cute…

I survived for the first sixty years of my life without giving much thought to how many steps I was doing each day.  I can remember a colleague way back in the seventies saying that we should be provided with pedometers at work to record how many steps we took in any given day, and…