It may be almost forty years since my mother died but I can still hear her ranting on about the iniquities of frozen vegetables. If frozen was suspicious, canned was sinister and dried bordering on the demonic. She was wrong of course, but against the background of growing up with some appalling apologies for fruit…

The honours system is frequently questioned, not because of the many worthy people who receive a grateful nation’s thanks for their service. Questions arise when there is a hint of cronyism, or an unhealthy link between political activity and honours received. If you could nominate an Old Testament character for an honour, I wonder who…

Those who know me will not be surprised to learn that as a child I disliked see-saws, roundabouts, and swings. Roundabouts are the least offensive to me as they have the advantage of not constantly delivering shocks and changing direction. To this day I cannot lose the memory of having to take the children on…

Today’s gospel reading is that challenging parable about what we earn, if we are in paid employment [Matthew 20:1-16]. It also reveals a message about how we deal with the things we do in life, not least our voluntary roles and responsibilities in our churches and more widely. At the risk of losing all the…

Just before the beginning of COVID lock-down, the New Zealand hymnwriter, Shirley Erena Murray died. Had it not been for COVID, her hymns would have featured in various UK events in that year; one such had been planned for East Suffolk. Shirley Murray was born into a Methodist family and married a Presbyterian minister. Her…

The original television series, ‘What The Papers Say’, is older than me. It ran from 1956-2008, faltered, ran again on radio and finally petered out in 2016. The newspapers, printed originally but now often ‘consumed’ digitally, have been part of life for a very long time. Facts and Comment inform thinking, drive agendas and entertain.…

Matthew 14:34-6 – When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognised Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all who were ill to him and begged him to let those who were ill just touch the edge of his cloak, and all…

In the gospel reading for today (Matthew 3:44-53) Jesus tells three parables. The hidden treasure is about investing everything in a field known to contain treasure, the pearl is about selling everything to invest in the one priceless jewel while the net is about catching everything and then sorting out what is needed from what…

Early on in the days of lock-down in 2020, some colleagues remarked that I had adapted easily to working from home. My answer, consistently, will have been that I have been home based since 2006 when my office in Framlingham was closed, I moved home and went largely paperless. In the latter point I was…

After the first drop of rain, which amounted to little more than a drip and a promise, I walked on a path across a field of sugar beet. The crop that had looked so down in the dumps a few days previously had perked up. Rich green leaves had appeared and were loving the new…