Blog

It was about this time fifty years ago that the Apprentice Boy’s Parade took place in Derry.   It provided the outlet for protest that was to occupy the North of Ireland for the next quarter of a century.    The official ending of what euphemistically was called “The Troubles” took place with the signing of the […]

Harvest Days                                 Word on the Week                        3rd August 2019. Harvest days are here again!   The fields are golden with ripened grain.   The combine harvesters are slowly clanking their way through the crops.   The grain trailers driving alongside the combine pick-up the grain as it is funnelled over their tall sides then off […]

Boris Johnston                                Word on the Week                 27th July 2019. One name has dominated the news this week, that of Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson to spell it out in full.    The media, always looking for a nick-name, have reverted to his old school moniker of ‘Bojo’.    An enormously popular candidate he romped home […]

The Man on the Moon                           Word on the Week                                   20th July 2019. Full moons presented a great time for youthful imaginations to examine the surface to try to trace the face of the man on the moon.    We all imagined we saw it among the blotches that appeared on the surface.     The cross-legged […]

The 12th of July                     Word on the Week                          13th July 2019. Towering above the neighbouring houses stood the gigantic 12th of July bonfire.   Belfast has not seen a bigger one!    Built with thousands of wooden pallets and adorned with a necklace of rubber tyres it was formidable – an incendiary device the like of which […]

Lord’s Table                           Word on the Week                          6th July 2019. The regular task of preparing the bread for the Lord’s Table made me think about the wisdom of the ordinance being repeated regularly.  We forget so easily.  The first recorded incident of Sunday worship including, or possibly composed entirely of, the Lord’s Table took place […]

Using the Smartphone                    Word on the Week                  29th June 2019. It could be said that to use the Smart Phone you need to have smart people!   But then again it depends on how adventuresome you are in opening all those pretty icons.   I expect for many of us we are content to use […]

We are in the season of Pride Parades.   The LGBT turn out in their millions whether it be in New York, Sao Paulo or London their upbeat colours brightening up the street-scape.   Our Dublin effort grows larger by the year but you really know things are changing when in Belfast the Pride Parade is the […]

The Heart of the Matter                Word on the Week                     15th June 2019. The conversation in the Men’s Shed this week seemed to focus on the heart.   The various paraphernalia used to keep it going came under review.   These included stents, replacement valves and that long-time favourite, the pace-maker. The introduction of stents had, […]