Recent years have seen the rise of the ‘celebrity novelist’. People who became famous in the world of actual entertainment turning their hand to a fictional version. Richard Osman, Graham Norton, Mel Giedroyc, Reverend Richard Coles, Tom Hanks, Ruth Jones and Anton du Beke to name just a few. If Read more…
A rather curious phenomenon is happening. Although I still have 18 months to go before I get my bus pass and state pension, I’ve noticed an increasing number of people assuming that I am retired (which I am) rather than asking me what I do. It’s not limited to casual Read more…
‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself,’ (Mark 12:31). Probably most of us feel comfortable with the ‘love your neighbour’ bit… thinking of others, being kind to people… ‘Yep, I can do that. That bit’s OK.’ But what about, ‘as yourself’? To love ourselves in the same way as we Read more…
A few months ago, my daughter passed her driving test. First time. A proud Dad moment. One of the basic rules for any driver is mirror, signal, manoeuvre – or MSM. And yet, if we give the benefit of the doubt on the first, it often seems that many don’t Read more…
Although it’s all rather predictable, The Apprentice continues to be a must watch programme in the Frost household. Suited and made up, the bright (and not so bright) young things are put to work by the all-seeing Lord Sugar. Ridiculed and praised in unequal measure, the candidates make mistakes and Read more…
So the day has come. It is no longer a case of ‘When I’m 64…’ as Lennon and McCartney put it, but ‘Now I’m 64…’. In many ways, age is just a number. I don’t feel 64 (whatever ‘feeling 64’ is meant to feel like). In my head I’m a Read more…
Whether it’s in the speaking or in the writing, I have often encouraged people not to compare themselves with others. Regularly using two favourite quotes to emphasise the importance if not doing so: ‘It is a mistake to compare the outside of other people’s lives with the inside of our Read more…
A few years ago I was invited to write an article for Who do you think you are?, the companion magazine for the BBC’s family history series. The piece told the story, indeed the tragic story, of my great, great, great grandparents, Sophia and Richard (Frost) who lost four of Read more…
Under pressure? Want somebody to love? Or just to ride your bicycle? Recently, I went to see Queen with Adam Lambert. A presence in the music industry for over five decades, most of Queen’s songs are over 30 years old – and yes, I knew every single one of them. Read more…
In previous posts, I’ve considered the topics of importance and status, last weekend I was humbled by the response to a Bible study on Acts 6:1-7 which explores these themes. (You may like to read the passage alongside this post.) The book of Acts tells the story of the early Read more…