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Those aged over 50 now make up nearly half of all self-employed workers.  That is about 2.27 million people, up from 1.45 million a decade ago.  And almost one in five of the self-employed work-force is over 60. There’s good reason why older people turn to self-employment.  With a rising state pension age and a...

Over 80 years ago I sat next to my mother at a pantomime – ‘Cinderella’, I think. It was alright, if a bit too full of dancing for my taste.  But suddenly we were in a kitchen where the royal supper was being prepared. And wonderfully and gloriously, everything went wrong. Food took to the...

Doris Lessing, the novelist, playwright and poet, was born 100 years ago, on 22nd October 1919.  In 2007 she won the Nobel Prize in Literature.  She died in 2013. Lessing was born Doris May Tayler in Persia (now Iran). Both parents were British: her father, badly injured in the war, was a bank clerk. In...

The love and affection of angels flying, The love and affection of saints undying, Heaven’s love and affection satisfying, O your guarding and cherishing let them be, Your so loving protection eternally.   Ancient Celtic prayer for protection

Young women are less and less likely to share their finances with their ‘significant other’.  A recent survey has found that nearly half of women aged below 34 prefer financial independence. As one accountant explained: ‘With women increasingly entering marriage later in life, after years of earning their own income and controlling their own finances,...

It was 150 years ago, on 16th October 1869, that Girton College was established as one of England’s first residential colleges for women.  It became part of Cambridge University in 1948, and co-educational in 1976. Girton is one of the biggest of the 31 Cambridge colleges, situated next to Girton village about two miles from...

A vampire story for Halloween Ghost Stories The Feud Definitions The sermon Warning Family Bible surprise Funeral School When insults had class Some miscellaneous one-liners Opting out Posters Prayers as heard by children ** A vampire story for Halloween Two nuns, Sister Mary Agnes and Sister Mary Vincent, were travelling through Europe in their car,...

Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables slashes your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by nearly a quarter, a recent study has found. And adding whole grains, legumes and nuts also protects against diabetes, as they improve sensitivity to insulin (the hormone that controls blood sugar) and reduce weight gain. A senior nutritionist at the...

The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was born 175 years ago, on 15th October 1844, near Leipzig, where his father was a Lutheran minister. His father died five years later, but young Friedrich had a brilliant school and university career. He is perhaps known best for his paradoxical statement that “God is dead”, and his suggestion...

Editor: Observations on our Christian life Affliction is God’s shepherd dog to drive us back to the fold. Courage is fear that has said its prayers. The wages of sin is death.  So, repent before payday. Exercise daily – walk with the Lord. We don’t change God’s message – His message changes us. To get...

Lord, we are rivers running to thy sea, Our waves and ripples all derived from thee: A nothing we should have, a nothing be, Except for thee. From a prayer of Christina Rossetti 1830–1894, who was an invalid for most of her life, and also a prolific poet.

Then you are not alone.  Half of all parents are worried that their children are addicted to computer games, as more and more family routines are disrupted by hours spent online. Many families admit that it is especially hard to get boys to break for meals, or to go to bed, especially if they feel...