My son and his wife are expecting their first baby any day now, (my first grandchild). You might have heard of the nesting instinct. Does that include the garden? Perhaps it’s a male version of the nesting phenomenon. Their lawn has always been very poor with dead grass and humps and bumps, so about 2…

In our recent move, these questions filled our home again: How does it fit? Where should it go? Where will it suit best? I imagined that the furniture asking me Where will my place be? Will I still be useful in this new atmosphere? In life, we ask the same questions of ourselves: Where do…

Over the last couple of weeks, I seem to have been spending quite a bit of time “sorting out ” wardrobes and cupboards. There are two reasons for this: 1: I’m looking for good items for the bric-a-brac table at the McMillan Coffee Morning and 2: I’m hoping that my son will take a lot…

We’re told that we should have an emergency kit ‘just in case’ and suggest that to ensure you and your loved ones are truly prepared when disaster strikes, your kit should be thoughtfully stocked with essential items that address basic needs for at least 72 hours, including Customizing your emergency kit according to your household’s…

Earlier this summer I went with a group to visit Olney in Buckinghamshire, home of John Newton and William Cowper. Those two names have lasting associations with hymnody, Newton’s ‘Amazing Grace’ being one of the best-known hymn texts of all time. Hymns are evocative. People who never go near a church are likely to know…

As a child I was a great admirer of the Royal family and used to enjoy cutting out pictures of royal occasions from newspapers and pasting them into scrapbooks. In 1961 the Duke of Kent, cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, married Katherine Worsley in York Minster and their wedding photo was duly added to my scrapbook. Their decision…