Touches of Lightness

I find the pithy sayings of G K Chesterton striking. His book ‘Orthodoxy’ is a defence of Christianity and his journey of faith. It is right up to date in addressing the problems of our age. This despite being written over 100 years ago. “The main point of Christianity was this: that Nature is not …

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Poignant, Hopeful, Maybe Even Joyful

Hibiscus, national flower of Haiti. In February 1986 Jean Claude ‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier was deposed as President of Haiti and went to live in exile in France. Ordinary people were no doubt hoping that the near 30 year brutal rule of his and ‘Papa Doc’ (his father) would come to an end. However the general …

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A Thread Runs Through It

From 1990-92 my wife Elisabeth and I lived in Sweden. We moved from the UK and ‘the idea’ was to be settled for a while in my wife’s homeland. By living in the country I would hopefully improve on my Swedish and get to know her family and background. With over 30 years of hindsight …

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Anima Sana In Corpore Sano

Climbing the Aosta valley to Tete de la Trenche (Italy), 2019 CCC (UTMB Series race) I am no Latin student but the above phrase is the motto of a well known sports shoe company. It roughly translates “A Sound Mind in a Sound Body.” I am querying what a 'sound' mind and body might mean …

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Once Upon a Time There Was… 

In the following story I have not indicated places, names or dates. Once upon a time there was a young ‘line up man’, hereafter known as ‘line up man’. He was ‘lining up’ for the world’s first floating bookship. The job involved preparing for all aspects of an upcoming ship visit to a port. Arranging …

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