Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Magi from the East – it isn’t a lot to go on.  The Magi had originally been a religious caste among the Persians.  Their devotion to astrology, divination and the interpretation of dreams led to an extension in the meaning of the word, and by the first century the Magi in Matthew’s gospel could have...

It was 200 years ago, on the 27th and 30th of January 1820, that Antarctica was discovered.  A Russian expedition sighted the Fimbul Ice Shelf, but not land.  Three days later a captain in the British Royal Navy sighted the Trinity Peninsula. Neither of these achievements is totally beyond dispute, mainly because of the difficulty...

The story of the coming of the Magi grew in the telling.  By the 6th century they had acquired names: Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar.  By medieval times they were considered to be kings.  Whoever they were, we do know from Matthew that they brought three gifts to Jesus. What about their gifts of gold, frankincense...

In the 1990s a stream was a small river, the web was what spiders built in your shed, a net was something you used to catch things, the cloud brought rain, and tweeting was what birds did. Not anymore.  In recent years these words from the ‘natural world’ have been so overtaken by technology that...

Many saints have fed the poor, but not many were interested in actual food production.  Nathalan (died c.678) was, so perhaps he might be the patron saint of anyone who produces food – and gives most of it away to those in need. Scotland in the 7th century must have been a hungry place, especially...

How to have a healthy and legal New Year Dark Pills Could your dog be about to injure you? Drugs and your children Cup of tea?  Which one? Search your sofa Try running with straight arms Less beer ** Editor:  By David Pickup, a solicitor. How to have a healthy and legal New Year  Let...

Here’s a New Year Resolution for your dog: don’t eat the postman (or woman). The Royal Mail’s recent request, that dog owners distract their pets by feeding them before the postman comes, follows a surge of dog attacks on postmen and women, averaging out at 47 a week for the past year.  In all, nearly...

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established…. The authorities that exist have been established by God.   Romans 13:1 Do you get into a muddle at times?  Then here is an important New Year’s Resolution for you: this year, have a calendar and record...

Holocaust Memorial Day Caring for God’s World From the Vicar – caring for God’s World Facing both ways Blotting my copy book New Year’s Honours New or Old What are you supposed to be doing? Enjoy each day as it comes The Lord’s Prayer and you in 2020 ** Editor:  The Rev Paul Hardingham on...

Our appetites are killing us.  Hospitals are now treating 5,000 type 2 diabetics a day.  The head of the NHS, Simon Stevens, blames “our ever-expanding waistlines”, as obesity is the major cause of Type 2 diabetes. More than 1.7 million people were admitted to hospital last year with type 2 diabetes.   That cost the NHS...

Courage, vision and leadership are found in the most unlikely of places. Mary Slessor was born in December 1848 into a wretchedly poor family.  Her father was an alcoholic who lost his job as a shoemaker. Mary was the second of seven children, and in 1859 they moved from Aberdeen into the fetid slums of...

Here’s a New Year’s question for you:  is it ever really dark in your house? Environmentalists are increasingly concerned at the amount of artificial light to which we are all exposed. Last year National Geographic reported that the excess light “we dump into our environments is endangering ecosystems by harming animals whose life cycles depend...