Stability. It’s become the watch word of the current economic and political crisis. We’ve had the whole Brexit palaver. The pandemic. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Energy and cost of living crises. Inflation and strikes on a level not seen since the 70s. The death of the Queen. Economic turmoil from Read more…
‘We’re in the funeral generation now,’ I said as we walked away from having said goodbye to Elizabeth. A kinder person you couldn’t have wished to have known. Jane and I have been to more funerals in the last three months than in the past three years (and that’s without Read more…
‘Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes, Turn and face the strange’. In my last job I was (and knew I was) very fortunate to work alongside people who were supportive, encouraging and had a default answer of ‘yes’. The last three years have been a stark reminder that not everyone else is like that! Coping Read more…
Malvern. Nestling in the foot of the hills that bear its name, the town has been a place of holiday and sanctuary on many occasions. And this time was no different. As we drove up the M5, the Malvern Hills waved at us from between the passing trees, giving greetings Read more…
Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. It seems somewhat foolish to being calling it ‘Freedom Day’. With a third Covid wave charging onward, Tennyson’s famous lines have for me found a very uncomfortable echo in the lifting of restrictions in England on 19 July. Not though Read more…
… when the FA Cup Final started at 3 o’clock? When there was a piece of card in a Bounty bar? When the BBC used to play a hymn on Ascension Day? Life is always changing, isn’t it? And in this coming week we see more changes as lockdown restrictions Read more…
I wonder what the word waiting means for you? Waiting for a bus can mean the difference between arriving composed or agitated. Whether it’s at the dentist’s or the hospital, the ‘Waiting Room’ is rarely a restful place. Waiting for a phone call or a visit can stop us from Read more…
Daisy the Vicarage Dog is great with people. The six-year-old cocker spaniel can often be seen around the villages with the local vicar. She loves pastoral visiting and is greatly admired in return (Daisy that is – the vicar is too, of course). And yet, despite having lived with many Read more…
A few days ago, my wife, who (unlike her husband) is often prone to outbursts of excitement, came rushing in saying, ‘Richard, there’s a message on the answerphone from the Dean of Southwark Cathedral! They’ve been using Life with St Benedict in their online Night Prayer and he wants to Read more…
Many have said we live in strange times. Not least perhaps are some familiar phrases we can no longer use: ‘Is this seat taken?’, ‘May I join you?’ The ‘elbow bump’ has usurped the handshake. The ‘distance hug’ an inadequate replacement for the security and warmth of being held. Two’s Read more…