tbc

A Hint of Scotland...

2006-02-07T01:47:00.000Z

The tartan army is on the move!
Freeeeeeeeeedom!

2005-12-23T15:29:00.000Z

Happy Christmas everyone!

Hope you all have a restful time over the Christmas period as we celebrate the birth of the Saviour.

See you all in 2006!

Good News!

2005-11-25T22:47:00.000Z

I found out this afternoon that I have passed my exam. Praise God! Many celebrations to come...

But a Moment

2005-11-22T14:23:00.000Z

Last week I spent some time with one of my cousins who lives near Manchester and works for the Anglican church. She was telling me that one of her friends has been encouraging her to take time at the end of each day to think about the 'moments' that have been special in some way. The aim of this is partly to get into the habit of remembering funny, touching, emotional or other experiences in an otherwise uneventful or mundane day and secondarily to allow these 'moments' to lead to prayer, praise and listening - a reminder that God speaks through ordinary situations.

Her 'moments' that day included seeing a guide dog in training and a lady who had moved a dining room chair into the garden to catch some November rays!

I am sure that too often we rush through the day and may miss out on simple delights, so why not find a friend and share your 'moments' with them today.

My first 'moment' of today was when I was walking to work and became aware that the lake in Leazes Park looked different. As I got closer I realised it had frozen. Closer inspection revealed just a thin covering of ice which my gently-dropped stone got through but on which birds were able to stand.

In case you want to comment

2005-11-11T10:56:00.000Z

Just a quick post to allow for comments on the last, as it somehow was published without that facility. Thanks to Big Dave for pointing that out!

An interesting idea...

2005-11-05T11:02:00.000Z

Check this out! The photos are classic! Anyone think this will become a widespread practice?!

Pulman and Narnia

2005-10-16T22:29:00.000+01:00

There's an interesting debate on-going after Philip Pulman's comments on C S Lewis and Narnia. Could it all just be some free publicity and exposure for his forth-coming films I wonder?

Cheap rail travel

2005-09-30T16:48:00.000+01:00

I have recently discovered the new bargainous way to travel the country. Suprising it does not involve flights booked well in advance or super advance return train tickets. It is all about single rail tickets! They do need to be booked sometime in advance but they are so cheap it is almost ridiculous. In November I am doing a circular trip. The breakdown is as follows:

Durham - London Kings Cross: £10
London Euston - Bolton: £13
Bolton - Glasgow: £14
Glasgow - Durham: £11.50

Grand total: £48.50!
I can still hardly believe it!

There may be other ways of getting these fares but I have been booking through thetrainline.com

Happy journeying!

Why worry?

2005-09-26T09:54:00.000+01:00

Adapted from Father Brian Darcy's Pause for Thought on 'Wake up to Wogan' this morning.

There are two days of the week that you never need to worry about: yesterday - it's in the past and so not worth worrying about; and tomorrow - it may never come so there is not point worrying about something that may not happen.

Therefore the only day worth worrying about is today. However, there are only two things worth worrying about today - whether you are well or whether you are sick. If you are well there is nothing to worry about and if you are sick there are only two things worth worrying about - whether you will recover or whether you will die. If you are going to get better there is nothing to worry about and if you are going to die (are you getting the hang of this?) there are only two things worth worrying about - whether you will go to heaven or to hell. If you know you are going to heaven there is nothing to worry about and if you are going to hell, now is the time to do something about it, so Why Worry?

"For God so loved the world that He gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not die but have eternal life." John Chp 3 v 16.

Broom House Farm's Maize Maze

2005-08-29T22:17:00.000+01:00

A Memento of Morv in the 'Mazing Maize Maze!

A lovely sunny afternoon and much fun was had by all - especially those trying to keep up with Zak who had a habit of getting just far enough ahead to make us think we had lost him forever. Broom Hall is not far out of Durham off the Lancester Road and there are lovely view of County Durham on the drive back.

Who's the Daddy?

2005-08-27T14:25:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I made the day of someone I came into contact with (and probably at the same time emtionaly scarred his daughter for life.) Picture the scene...

Setting: a child's sized table, 4 child sized chairs, a child (aged 3), her mother, a man(assumed to be child's father) and myself.

Scene opens

hils(looking at both other adults in turn): Are there any illnesses that run on either side of your families?

man (hastily): I'm not her father - I'm her grandad!

hils (also hastily, apologetically, trying to minimise any further damage): Oh! Grandparents are getting younger and younger these days!

Meanwhile mother sits looking somewhat bemused and grand-daughter is sweetly oblivious to the blundering health care professional. The rest of the encounter proceeds without incident.

End of scene

About two years ago I had an opposite and therefore more embarrassing experience. All newborn babies are examined within 48 hours of birth to check for any obvious problems including (for those of you who are interested) heart murmurs, cataracts and whether they have 10 fingers (or 8 fingers, 2 thunbs for the purists!) and 10 toes. I like to think that this is a good bonding session for the new parents and the baby so I normally ask extraneous relatives and friends to wait outside.

On this particular occasion those present in the room were the new mother (clues - female(!), lying on the bed and looking tired) who looked as if she was in her late teens, a female grandparent (clues - doing the fussing-around-the-new-mother routine and looking grandmother-ish) and a man whose relation to the situation I was not at all sure of. Available clues - he had grey hair, looked old enough to be the new mother's father but not very old. On the other hand he was standing next to the bed in the place usually occupied by 'proud new father.'

I had a decision to make. I started off in the usual way -introducing myself, explaining why I was there, asking after mother, commenting on cuteness of new baby and mumbled to the man something to the effect of, "You must be very proud of you grandson." When I say mumbled I mean only the syllable 'grand.' The rest of the sentence was very clear. I then asked grandmother and 'assumed grandfather' to leave and said I would call them back from the waiting room when I had finished.

During the baby check as the baby's mother and I were chatting she mentioning her partner and casually waved her arm towards the door through which, I suddenly realised, he had just left! I decided to stay quiet in the hope that my sentence had been heard as, "You must be very proud of your .... son" He probably still wonders to this day why he was not allowed to stay and probably has put it down a very old fashioned baby-checker ( which is not too far from the truth!)

In the course of reliving this somewhat painful memory I have been wondering whether I should just have asked the man, "And you are...?" but that would possibly have been equally awkward.

...the pitfalls of the job!

Post the first

2005-08-22T20:02:00.000+01:00

The date of the official launch of this blog and its theme is not yet known but in the meantime I thought I should something...anything, if only to make it possible for people to comment and help with ideas/gentle encouragement/kicks to get me going!

The game, 'These Little Pigs' in my links is something I heard about via Miles Mendosa's Website of the Day on Steve Wright in the Afternoon. The archive, in particular, is a mine of website information. What are people's high scores?

Until the next time...