For the beauty Dear friends, It is the last week of the school term for many. Spare a thought for teachers, working through the heat, and their charges, who’ll be leaving for other schools, or moving up into a different class next term. Endings, and beginnings, and a time of rest and refreshment ahead of the changes to come. “He has made…

Land of Heat and Glory Dear friends, Congratulations to the England squad for carving into the Mexican defence like steak on the barbecue of the Azteca stadium. In the place where Diego Maradonna of Argentina hand-balled a knock out goal against us in the same competition forty years ago a measure of justice and redemption for English football was earned, and that…

The Crumbling Centre Dear friends, We are continuing to witness the era of the self-purging Government. Politics appears to be now just a race to be the “least unpopular”. Please, please, if anyone is listening, we just want the “least incompetent”. The combination of generational national problems, an inflated and overblown media, and a febrile public blown here and there by social…

On Test Dear friends, It is exam season. Students up and down the country are sitting papers of all kinds. Written papers, practical assessments, sometimes even the dreaded “viva voce”. GCSE’s, A levels, Degree finals, Dissertations, Master’s, Bar exams, Professional examinations. Qualification, accreditation, authorisation, refreshers, life is full of tests, as necessary rehearsals for the stresses that will come, and (one hopes)…

Angels in ordinary. Dear friends, I’ve not met an angel. Or, at least, not met one in such a way that I can look back and say “that was an angel.” I do however, know someone who believes that they did, with complete conviction. This is a very sensible person, a lawyer, even, not in the least prone to “wackiness”. I don’t…

The Green Dear friends, The English village has a number of features which form the traditional “glue” for its society. There are suppliers of food or drink, such as a shop, cafe, pub, bakery and so on, around which people congregate according to their means or their leisure, whether in time or money. There are the businesses, nurseries and schools, all of…

Have no anxiety Dear friends, Back in the late 1970’s, when a serious international oil crisis had sent inflation spiralling, and the resultant wage demands from many different sectors threw Britain into a carnage of industrial actions, pitting successive governments against one trade union after another, when the Soviet moles inside our security services had not all been exposed, and when the…

Dirty Church Dear friends, However you care to describe it (Scruffy Church, Grubby Church, Messy Church?) Checkendon Church needs some tender loving care right now in the sprucing-up department. Please join me this coming Saturday from 10am-12noon for a spot of hoovering, mopping, polishing, dusting, tidying, pruning, sweeping, weeding and edging. All ages and stages are very welcome! Please bring your choice…