Earlier in the year the famous sycamore tree beside Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland was deliberately and illegally felled. It was a sad act of vandalism but there is the chance that the stump may sprout again, and all may not be lost, even if it is completely different. I first wrote one of these thoughts…

How many times, I wonder, when on our holidays or out for walks in the country, do we stop and look at the alluring site of the babbling brook. Running water, stones, riverbank plants and trees and the buzzing of insects. Tranquil and lovely. Many years ago, a little willow sapling began its journey to…

One of my grandmothers had a particularly robust view of God’s will. I struggled with its idiosyncrasies from an early age. It went along the lines that bad things are God’s will so it cannot be changed, and as good things are bound to fail soon it never pays to be optimistic. Generally, I have…

Just after the recent flooding in Framlingham, as householders we received a standard e-mail from the company responsible for our drains. One provider sells us water while another company charges us to take it away again, (after we have washed in it or processed it through our systems.) Run off water from our properties goes…

I have had water on the brain recently, and not just because of the recent flooding in Suffolk, about which more next week. Before the inundation of Framlingham by a couple of days, I had made myself quite ill, temporarily, by sheer stupidity. To cut a long story short, I had a metal water bottle…

There is an important place for those who can think and behave in unorthodox ways; without them we would not develop exciting new technologies, exceed old limits, or crack long standing problems. Free Spirits can also be disruptive in a destructive way and do harm, they may exploit vulnerabilities and they sometimes unknowingly bring anxiety…

A feature of church life, aside from worship, is often its fellowship forged over food. You can properly cite scriptural examples of fellowship involving meals, not least the Last Supper itself. It is sometimes said that we are what we eat; which makes many Christians appear as tea, biscuits, cakes, and other not especially healthy…

Nothing in the photograph today is unique. Grass, a river, a field, and trees. Let me explain why that scene is so important in my memory. Recently I attended the 75th birthday celebration of my prep school, Brandeston Hall. We had a thanksgiving service, tea on the terrace, tours of the old place and some…

Sometimes things happen to trigger memories. We have recently been watching the Poldark series on Netflix, not having seen the programmes when they were released initially. They serve to remind the watcher of the harshness of life in Cornwall in past times. Hunger and the grinding poverty of the poor together with limited medicine and…

Ever since I stopped growing, I have avoided buying boots and shoes. When it comes to walking boots my decision to venture into a shop was precipitated by the experience of wet feet, having worn out another pair. Until today that is! Looking ahead to a holiday in October and realising that there is precious…