The Big Picture

My wife and I are part of a lovely encouraging art group in our village. Each year they decide upon a painting by a well known artist and produce a sort of large mural, for display at the annual art exhibition. The person who has the master copy, divides it up into tiny rectangles and [...]

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Blossoming Through Difficulty

It’s almost June and I suppose I can now go out without a coat? That is if the old English saying “Ne’er cast a clout ‘ere May is out!” is true? I only recently discovered that this has nothing to do with the months of the year, but refers to the May blossom. It was [...]

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Knocked Down But Not Out!

Our steep seaside garden abounds in foxgloves. Although there were fewer this year, they promised to be the best ever. Their tall erect spikes looked magnificent with their purple flowers. The blooms at the base were already well formed and as the name implies, you can fit your finger tip into their delicate freckled inner. [...]

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The Circle of God’s Love

There’s a form of wrestling – I think it originates in Japan, but there are similar sports in rural areas of Europe – where the opponents spar in a circle. The whole object is to keep your feet planted firmly on the ground, while pushing your opponent outside the circle. The first to achieve this [...]

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Committed to Follow

Dartmoor is almost on our doorstep. It’s one of the few real wildernessess left in England and it was my ambition to walk across it from north to south. I researched the route and reckoned it was achievable in a day, provided I was adequately prepared. I set out on a fine summer’s day, booted [...]

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Whose Voice are We Listening to?

We have had so many intrusive calls from tele sales, that we signed up to a national scheme to stop them. It has really worked on the whole, but some still get through the net. The other day we had a call from an insurance company we hadn’t dealt with before. The salesman launched into [...]

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Filling the Void

Our new dentist is the friendliest and most gentle of dentists we have ever met. At our last checkup I knew there was work to be done, as I was in some discomfort. As I entered his surgery, he greeted me with a smile, “How are you?” I knew he wasn’t just enquiring after my [...]

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Our Reaction to Pain

There was a small boy who was given a bike for his birthday. Just what he had hoped for. He practised at home before venturing out and kept falling off at first. He was impatient to show it to his friends, so off he went. They all inspected it and gave it the thumbs up. [...]

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The Master Builder

I’m quite handy, so when we needed to alter the lighting in our living room, I decided to do it myself. I climbed into the loft and checked out the circuits to make sure I knew what was what. Everything seemed to be going fine, except that there was more to it than I expected [...]

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The Husband’s Challenge

Getting married was the best thing I ever did. It has brought real fulfilment and happiness, but of course it hasn’t all been married bliss. I didn’t expect it to bring to the surface all my inadequacies, failings and above all my own emotional wounds. At times it has seemed more like a battlefield and [...]

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