Patch was an amazing dog. He really was. We all loved him.  He died when I was young, but I can still remember him – a big old cuddly collie dog, more white than black. He was gorgeous.  But he was also very naughty.  The problem was he loved food! Back then, for a small…

A friend of mine gave me this little chap as gift; I believe that he comes from Zimbabwe and he sits on the book shelf over my desk. I was told when I received the gift that the piece it titled “The Thinker” and I love him, whenever I sit pondering over how to word…

Have you got your new bins? What do you say when your stationary bin starts moving?  BINGO! Probably like you I’ve bin looking into what needs to go into each one. I’ve watched videos of bottles being deep washed so they can be reused and plastic shredded and bundled up so that can be remoulded…

When I was a child, I remember the chore of writing thank-you letters after Christmas and birthdays. At the time, it felt like a duty. Now I know how good it is to receive gratitude when someone has been given a gift. Today’s Bible reading is John 5:1–18. It tells of a man who had…

I have always thought of roses as blooming in June in particular, but plants are responding to global warming and moving through their cycle earlier, so I have been enjoying my roses in May as well as June this year. A few years ago, I treated myself to my first, but not last, David Austin…

A recent incident reminded me of a daily task I had to undertake, with others, in the early days of my banking career. Every cheque that was “drawn” on the branch where I worked had to be examined for 13 specific things. When teaching at the Bank’s training school, this was known as SWEDES CLAMPS…