Sam was 24 when, on 3rd May 1917, he was making his way to the first aid tent, having received minor injuries on the frontline in the battle of the Somme. He was caught up in a bomb blast as he crossed the trenches and killed outright. “Fortunately” his body was recovered and he was…

Our accommodation during our visit to Northumberland was in a house as part of the Chillingham estate. The castle itself was not marked on our road atlas but the Wild Cattle centre was. These cattle are completely untamed, have been untouched by human hands and never had any veterinary interventions. The castle was like a…

On the second day of our recent trip to Northumberland we planned to go to Ross Sands. Our host suggested this was the most beautiful beach in Northumberland, often deserted as it is only accessible after a walk through fields and sand dunes. My husband “googled” it and found this review, (which made us smile!).…

Have you ever travelled along an unfamiliar road and missed the sign telling you which direction to take? We recently spent a few days in Northumberland. Our host at the B&B we were staying in suggested a walk to a place called Cateran hole where there is a small opening in the ground with steps,…

I was recently dead heading a rose bush and noticed how a branch had grown across the top of a brick wall and had in fact eroded part of the brick. Admittedly the bricks are soft red bricks, but it seemed surprising that a plant with supple green branches could “overcome” the inanimate hard brick.…

I must start this TFTD with an apology. I was recently attending a meeting that involved Methodists from outside the Ipswich Circuit on Zoom. A gentleman asked me how Bill the dog was – which surprised me somewhat as I had never met the guy before. It transpired that he had read the TFTD form…

My sister recently underwent a knee replacement, and being the “loving/devoted” older sibling, I went to stay with her for a few days. She was just one week post surgery and had been given a programme of exercises by the physiotherapist whom we visited on my first day there. Anyone who has had a knee…

In the last of this series of TFTDs from Greenbelt, I want to share some thoughts from a talk by theologian Thomas Ooord. The title of his talk was “God is- uncontrolling love”, and he started with the statement – God CANNOT control anything. The talk was packed with information explaining this statement, which I…

As you can imagine, a talk by John Bell from the Iona community, a veteran contributor to the “other” TFTD on radio 4, was always going to be popular at Greenbelt. But with a title of “Did God save Donald Trump?” it was guaranteed to be a sell out! John Bell started with the premise…

I recently attended the Greenbelt festival for the first time, and experienced typical bank holiday festival weather, (for some of the time). That didn’t dampen our spirits and we took the opportunity to listen to some fantastic speakers. I am going to try and describe some of the treasure that was shared with us in…