One of the consistent messages of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations has been about the Queen’s service and stability. Thrust into the responsibilities of monarchy aged just 25, she has been, it seems to me, equipped to serve in a way that no other Queen or King has been. She has Read more…
The Vicarage had never heard anything quite like it: the three most prominent swear words in the English language all in the same sentence (and none of them began with B or S). The lorry driver was clearly having a bad day – and it wasn’t even half past eight. 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…
Just over three years ago I had the privilege of being invited to preach at Portsmouth Cathedral. Among those gathered was Angela Tilby, former BBC religious programmes producer and known for being a somewhat provocative columnist for the Church Times. The Cathedral was marking the launch of a ‘Living Well’ 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…
We’d witnessed chaos and conflict. People lost sleep and found anxiety. There were accusations with no evidence. No one willing to say they got it wrong. No one willing to accept defeat. It was a sad sight. Then last Saturday, at around 10am Pacific Standard Time (6pm GMT), a rainbow Read more…
When Manchester City beat Watford in the recent FA Cup Final, I probably wasn’t the only one to notice the reaction of Pep Guardiola, the City manager, as the fifth and then sixth goals went in. His head was in his hands. Was it embarrassment… or was he humbled by Read more…
Christine was my manager for 12 years. In the year 2000, she contacted me in my previous job inviting me to be part of a group setting up a new employment service to help people experiencing mental health conditions. We started working together at Workways some 18 months later: it Read more…
It was the farewell lunch for a long-standing employee. It had been a difficult few years. Change and uncertainty. Redundancies. A pensions black hole in to which the business was falling. Restructure after restructure wrought havoc among the team. It wasn’t simply that they lacked leaders – it was also Read more…