Dear All, “It’s good to talk”. If you are of a similar vintage to me, then you will no doubt recall this catchphrase from the advertising campaign for BT, fronted by the late Bob Hoskins. The truth is that even though that campaign was on our TV screens over 20 years now, such a sentiment is clearly still true, although admittedly probably in a way that no one could have imagined at the time that the cockney hard...

                Dear All, “Let us strive to know the Lord, his appearing is as sure as the sunrise. He will come to us like showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.”                                                                              Hosea 6:3 These words formed part of a canticle said during Morning Prayer the other day. And as is sometimes the case with words said during morning...

                      Dear All, This year my family have given me a calendar full of the works of 19th century Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai to admire as the year proceeds. Possibly the most famous work by this artist, known as the Great Wave is the one showing as I write these words. A print that shows boats being tossed and buffeted by huge waves; and one wave in particular that...

Dear All, For everything there is a season, and a time for everything under heaven     Ecclesiastes 3:1 During a recent trip to the Centre for Life in Newcastle my family and I saw a show in the Planetarium, a show that told of the journey of our planet around the Sun during the year and how this, along with the tilting of the Earth upon its axis sees the tides rise and fall, sees temperatures do the same for each point on the planet, and how...

             J   Dear All,   I have always been fascinated by the passage of time, and in particular how the year rolls around from one season to the next. In general, I would say that I hold Spring as my favourite time of the year, a time when we are putting winter behind us and the world seems to come to life, not least in the form of the plants and flowers. And in particular I always find a smile coming to my face as I see the...

                Dear All,   “He doesn’t suffer fools gladly”.   I recall several years ago hearing the comedian Eddie Izzard pick apart this phrase during one of his many zany comedy routines. “Who on earth does suffer fools gladly?” was his point, with him probably suggesting such as the following: “What – you’ve rubbed jam in your hair and put scorpions down your trousers? Well don’t just...