I was in the process of writing this reflection, on the subject of train travel, when I heard about the horrific stabbings on the train on Saturday November 1st. In recognition of that significant event, I will pray for the victims as I close. My love of train travel goes back to childhood. Once I…
The nation has been gripped by Traitors fever, and reactions to the programme vary from “love it” or “hate it” to total disinterest. I got into “The Traitors” last Christmas time when visiting my daughter and son in law in Australia, and then started to watch the recent Celebrity version, quickly becoming hooked. You may ask “Is this…
Last week I wrote about travelling on my local bus, contrasting it to my experiences on the London Underground. I travel to London quite frequently to see family and count myself as reasonably proficient at navigating the various lines. This is normally in the daytime, and a recent experience in the late evening showed me…
I have been preparing some “thoughts” about travelling on public transport and the things that happen to us as we journey from A to B among other people.This week is a little different as I wanted to think about some transport that was used in wartime for this special week of Remembrance. The first vehicle…
I sometimes make use of my free bus pass and go by bus from my village into Ipswich. The behaviour of bus passengers varies from the straight ahead stare conveying a wish to remain silent and apart, to the smile, which starts things off, often at the bus stop, and progresses to conversation that may or may…
I don’t think any of us would choose to have a dose of covid, even though the illness is not generally as severe now. I recently isolated for 11 days with it, and in some ways the enforced rest did me good. I was able to spend more time reading and one of the things…
At the end of September Sir John Rutter featured in the news as he celebrated his 80th birthday. As a highly acclaimed composer of choral music over more than 60 years it was right that his special birthday should be celebrated. In East Anglia we can be justly proud of his strong links to Cambridgeshire, as…
Wesley hymns are not as popular as they used to be, but we tend to sing the favourites that have been absorbed into general use, and it is quite usual to have one at a funeral. As I grew up in a Methodist family and church I was used to some of the lesser known…
This year marks 75 years since CS Lewis’ famous children’s book, “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” was published. Sadlers Wells have put on a ballet to commemorate this anniversary and I was fortunate to be able to go with my daughter and 12-year-old grandson. In preparation I borrowed the book from a friend…
As a child I was a great admirer of the Royal family and used to enjoy cutting out pictures of royal occasions from newspapers and pasting them into scrapbooks. In 1961 the Duke of Kent, cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, married Katherine Worsley in York Minster and their wedding photo was duly added to my scrapbook. Their decision…