We have been doing a Bible read through at the church I attend and earlier this week reached Lamentations. I must say some of it has seemed quite hard work and Lamentations has been no exception. It seems like an awful lot of grief and misery ! However in the middle of chapter 3 are…

The Alpha course attracts positive and negative comment. Consider, for example, the story of Simon Dixon, a talented musician who began the piano at the age of 5. Simon’s story is too long to go into all the detail here but a full career in church music, teaching, conducting and concerts filled his life, ‘music…

I usually associate Spike Milligan with the Goon Show which readers of a certain age will probably remember!  However, he did have a very serious side. When Ray and I went to Kiln Farm Nurseries near us for some plants and coffee and cake there was the following poem put up near the entrance which…

Bible Reading:  Ezekiel 47: 12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” There is a glory…

Years ago a tourist was being shown through one of the oldest castles in England. He admired the rich furnishings, the valuable art treasures and the ornate carvings. Then he noticed a strange tapestry that had a wild, irregular pattern of colour and knotted threads. The guide, seeing the man’s quizzical look said, “That’s actually…

I was delighted to see that Channel 5 were screening a new TV series of what has become a twentieth century classic, penned by Yorkshire vet Alf Wight better know to the world as James Herriot. I thoroughly enjoyed episode one and loved seeing placed that hold dear to my heart. I will be watching…

Following on from Breaking and Mending 2, we need to accept, of course, that   a time may come when, as Rev Patrick McCluskey, (an inspiration for the healing ministry of Jesus), said, ‘the prayers have to change’. There may come a time in a person’s illness when all medical options have been exhausted, and there…

I was recently troubled by a water leak in my garden, which not only affected me but also others in the village as the water was flowing into the road. Anglia Water were not interested or able to help and I was left wondering what to do next. Paul unexpectedly called in and was able…

“Ride upon the storm” is a Danish drama translated into English and shown recently on Channel four. It is about a family of priests who can trace their roots back in the Dutch  Lutheran  Church for 250 years. It is full of drama and crisis and individuals who struggle and fall.  It is also fall…

From a Poem by Thomas Moors When we visited family in Southern Ireland a few years ago, we visited thevillage of Avoca which is where Ballykissangel was filmed. You can still see thepub, church and many other places which were in the television programmeand, in fact, it is now a tourist attraction. Just outside the…