Having unpacked the seventy or so boxes from our move (despite the slowing down nature of Covid for both of us) it’s good to see some semblance of normality gradually returning. Some stability in this time of change. Moving house is a very good analogy to different aspects of life. Read more…
Malvern has been a special place for Jane and I for many years. Nestled in the Worcestershire side of the Malvern Hills, we first visited over 30 years ago and have been there many times since. Indeed, I write this sat in a special place within that special place: a Read more…
It was Oscar Wilde who said ‘Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.’ Far be it from me to call my books ‘art’ but life it seems is paying some resemblance to their titles. There are elements of Life with St Benedict with the sad, impending closure of Read more…
‘Mindful of what you feel, look at Rembrandt’s masterful depiction of the parable… Give your attention to how the light falls on the scene. Record all that you observe about the light. Stay with it… what do you hear when you listen and what is the light in the painting Read more…
The beginning of a holiday can sometimes feel like being in a badly landing plane. Whether ‘piloted’ by day to day work, family or other responsibilities, it can take a while to adjust to the change of pace and other aspects of being on holiday. Whether or not we like Read more…
‘Henri said that for Vincent, and anyone trying to reach compassionate solidarity, it was also “like breaking through an iron wall. This was excruciatingly difficult, but also exhilaratingly beautiful when one succeeded.”’ My companion on retreat at Sheldon this week has been Carol Barry’s beautiful book Learning from Henri Nouwen Read more…
A reflection for the fourth week of Advent: Love ‘There’s a power in love. There’s a certain sense in which when you are loved, and you know it, when someone cares for you, and you know it, when you love and you show it – it actually feels right,’ as 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…
A Summer sunny afternoon needed a ‘thinking walk’, as Winnie the Pooh called them. To be honest though, it was more of a ‘ranting walk’. As our churches emerged from the intensity of the pandemic restrictions, the criticisers and complainers had gone back to normal too. Whether lay or ordained Read more…
The first hour lasted for ages. It was cold. The seating was not exactly comfortable. The people around me talked while those taking part enacted their ritual and well-practiced actions. There were things going on which would seem strange to uninitiated. No, not church… it was good to be at county Read more…