Hello everyone! Before beginning writing I thought about how I could use the words I was given to really say something. This led me to think about God’s words. They are so few and yet so many. We know them and yet time and time again they become like new, challenging and encouraging through all life brings. I would love to use my words to explore a key theme or story that runs through the Bible. One key story is […]

Three weeks ago the Ulster hospital called me in for some tests. It was my first real foray out of my ‘shielding bubble’ since early March and it was a very surprising and uncomfortable experience. My daughter, a retired doctor, had warned me in no uncertain terms that if I caught the virus I would not survive because of my age and health conditions. As I walked round the hospital a very strange feeling came over me and I began […]

In a collective experience, inescapable by almost every youth on the planet; in the past 6 months I have grown 6 years… maybe 10. Status didn’t matter, for when the world stops turning, it does tend to interrupt your schedule or lack thereof. As James Lane Allen apparently liked to say, “Adversity does not build character, it reveals it”. Well, revealed I was. And there was much I saw which was not to like. Realising you have been asleep takes […]

My father died 24 years ago in November. People still say I’m like him. I cringe. So, I examine my reflection in the mirror every morning. Up close. I suppose, if I wipe the shaving gel away, imagine myself bald, not a ‘number 4 bald’, real bald, and of course, smile more, there is a likeness. Looking more closely, mmm, yes, I need to straighten my nose. Dad never played rugby at school. He was out to work at fifteen, […]

Tara Westover in her award winning memoir Educated outlines her journey out of a harrowing childhood in the mountains of Idaho. Now 35, she first set foot in a classroom at age 17 and had her Cambridge University PhD 10 years later! A formidable intellect. The overweening power of a bipolar deeply religious father distorted her understanding of most things and most people – including herself. His concepts of truth were used to dehumanize her and others outside his self-selected […]

I had big plans for 2020! I love going on holiday and my priority for 2020 was to do as much travelling as possible before my 30th Birthday. I was completely unaware that come March, my perspectives would change. As an NHS employee, I faced possible re-deployment and I felt anxious about passing Covid-19 onto my vulnerable parents. I knew I had to be sensible and live apart from my parents during the peak of the virus but the thought […]

Well folks, here I am again, the lady who can do all things! Now, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but I must say that I am more accomplished, with a lot more things, than I was at the start of the Pandemic. My husband, God Bless Him, looks at me in a different light now and sees me as the answer to most of his needs. Hair cutting, not a problem! Supplying him and the family with tasty […]

As lockdown reduces, I suddenly realise it is now three months since I wore any of my work suits. I am now semi retired, but this was not how I imagined my first year of retirement. However, although it has meant the absence of planned visits to family in UK and Australia and getting used to new technology and remote meetings, I know I have so much to be thankful for: good health, the time to enjoy nature and all […]

There are in fact very few of the world’s animals that have ever been domesticated, and those that have all share a set of characteristics. They are easy to feed; grow at a reasonable rate; breed in captivity; aren’t too bad tempered; don’t panic at the slightest threat; and are socially tolerant of each other. This would rule out the great majority of animals. Elephants grow very slowly; hippos are extremely aggressive; pandas don’t breed easily and only eat bamboo, […]

The tragic, unacceptable circumstances which led to the death of George Floyd and the worldwide condemnation which followed, has dominated news broadcasts over the past two weeks. Black communities in England, Belgium and other European countries which have an imperial past, have expressed their disapproval of statues which commemorate the lives of individuals who were involved in the lucrative exploitation of African people who were shipped to the Caribbean islands and southern states of the USA to work as slaves. […]