In the midst of all the world events over the past few months, one stands out for us… Our inaugural Appreciation Dinner on Friday November 4th. The “Stewardship family” had never been brought together before. We were delighted with the outcome, especially everyone’s willingness to engage, and the ease of conversation that was evident throughout … Continued
Just last week I had the privilege of being part of the Celebration Service marking my brother in law’s life. He was younger than me, and as a keen cyclist and hillwalker, much fitter. He had been a secondary school teacher and guidance head for thirty-four years and was due to retire soon. He had … Continued
Words, language, lexicon all feature heavily in our fast moving, ever evolving world. I had never considered how our vocabularies could expand to reflect our daily experiences. I assumed our English language was ordered and protected by dictionaries whose role was to choose what words were real and just made up. Here is a quotation … Continued
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein I’ve known Simon since his early student days in Aberdeen. My family spent many Sunday afternoons with Simon. We would provide the food; Simon would bring the entertainment which was, invariably, himself. Simon has never lost his ability to entertain … Continued
Heatwaves, wildfires, red weather warnings we have had them all this year, but for me it is a November night that comes to mind. Storm Arwen. Her winds launched a ferocious attack on forests, buildings and power lines disrupting supply for 80,000 local homes leaving remote communities to endure up to ten days without electricity. … Continued
“Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow – that is patience.” Leo Tolstoy Guilty as charged. I’m not a very patient person. I don’t like queues. I really don’t enjoy practicing; I want to play guitar like John Mayer now – not … Continued
… A Personal Perspective If you think financial scams affect only those who lack financial experience or the gut instinct that something isn’t right, you might want to think again. This week I found myself a fully paid-up member of the “I’ve been scammed club”. It all started with a text my wife received from … Continued
“Professionals put things away slowly so that they’ll be ready quickly when needed. Investing time now for time later.” I saw this comment in a Seth Godin blog and it reminded me of a Sunday morning. Let me explain. As a wannabe guitar player, (anything with no more than four chords is fine), and a … Continued
Being a card-carrying Luddite, I preferred to leave technology to my kids and have them set up my phone, laptop etc. I never understood how young people or digital natives as they are known, just seemed to know intuitively how technology works without manuals or training. However, I now find myself gaining confidence thanks to … Continued
It’s been said that we should “Eat to meet long-term goals, not short-term satisfaction.” So, choosing between fruit or chocolate should be easy. But is it? Do we consider our dietary choices in terms of long-term health outcomes? I rarely considered food choices in that way until recently. I now have a list of things … Continued
