Philip Yancy tells of a Christian man, who worked with street people in Chicago, who was approached by a prostitute in a desperate situation. She didn’t know he was a Christian… just that he was someone who might be able to help. She was sick, she was a drug addict, she was homeless, she had […]

There is a lovely story told about Dr Ida Scudder (1870-1960), a pioneering American medical missionary whose work transformed healthcare for women in India. Her legacy is especially tied to the Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, where she founded what would become one of the most respected medical institutions in the world. She championed women’s […]

A year before Julia and I retired from the Baptist Ministry and returned to live in Bewdley, Worcestershire, we spent a weekend in the town to reacquaint ourselves with the area. One evening at a local pub a small group of fellow customers, on discovering that we were ordained Baptist Ministers, began to regale us […]

Many, many years ago, as a small child, I was given a compass (for navigation purposes not drawing) by a relative. I was not that impressed at the time. I would rather have had a toy, or sweets, or even money to be honest. Over time, however, I got to love that compass. It came […]

At 80 years of age I am finally slowing down… and happily so.  For me it is actually not a matter of age or health but wisdom. I’m not sure that I have ever been an activist, even when I was in my 20s, although I had much more energy then, as well as the […]

On the morning of 29 July 2024, three children were killed in a mass stabbing during a children’s event in a dance school in Southport, Merseyside, United Kingdom. Ten other people, eight of whom were children, were injured. Police arrested a 17-year-old male at the scene. A motive for the attack has not been identified, […]

Sitting in my garden the other evening, with a nice glass of wine and some rather delicious minor munchies, listening to some Barbra Streisand, I was struck by a line from one of Streisand’s songs (Here’s to Life if you really want to know): ‘There is no ‘Yes’ in yesterday’. It perfectly summed up my […]

In July 1945, when Clement Attlee had led the Labour Party to Victory in the General Election, the Rev Dr Howard Williams (who was the Minister of Blenheim Baptist Church, Leeds, at that time, and a life-long socialist himself) caused a stir with a ‘wayside pulpit’ notice outside the church which read: ‘CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT. […]

I left school aged 16 with only one GCE (in Art if you really want to know) much to the derision of family and friends. It was a very humiliating time for me. Fortunately I was persuaded to return to school and re-do my Fifth Year, which was also a very humiliating experience. Earlier this […]

Last Sunday Julia and I should have been in France enjoying a short holiday in the French sunshine in the delightful historic town of Chinon where we had booked a wonderful apartment overlooking the chateau on one side and the river on the other. Unfortunately, due to President Macron, we had to cancel that holiday […]