Blog

Merkinch                          Word on the Week                     11th February 2023. What has a down-town district in a remote town in the Scottish Highlands got to do with ‘Word on the Week’?   How could such a place ever be newsworthy?                Merkinch was usually referred to as ‘The Ferry’.   The place where the car ferry left Inverness and travelled […]

Brigit’s Day                      Word on the Week                     4th February 2023.      We have a new Public Holiday.   February 1st has been decreed.   This brings us into line with the bulk of the EU with the same number of public holidays. Historically this was St Brigit’s Day. The name Brigit means different things to different people!   She is […]

Snowdrops                  Word on the Week               28th January 2023. They have reappeared, on cue, these harbingers of spring to delight the eye and reassure the heart of warmer days ahead.   God’s promise again fulfilled.   “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” […]

Talking to Bots                 Word on the Week          21st January 2023. Have you ever wondered, when making a business phone call these days, if the person at the other end of the line is a person at all?  Welcome to the world of ‘bots’. Which brings us to “what on earth is a bot?”   It’s an […]

Exile                              Word on the Week                        14th January 2023. The graphic picture of the exile in the Bible has been captured by the operatic composer, Verdi, in his opera Nabucco.   Few can resist the plaintive cry of the Hebrew slaves in Babylon as their captors taunt them to sing the songs of Zion.    How can […]

In the Year of our Lord        Word on the Week                 7th January 2023. Yes, it is 2023!    And have we indulged in that ego-centred practice of making any New Year’s resolutions?   In our self-focus we can easily lose sight of what we are here for – ‘To glorify God and enjoy Him forever’ – […]

Prayer from Kansas              Word on the Times               31st December 2022. A prayer uttered 25 years ago in the State Legislature building in Kansas created waves when it was first created.   A friend sent it to me recently, as large parts of it are still relevant today!   Here is an edited version. Almighty God, our […]

Mary’s Song                      Word on the Week                     17th December 2022. Have you ever burst out in spontaneous singing?   Has the Joy of the Lord ever reached your lips in an unrestrained way?   There was a time in my life when it happened frequently.   For obvious reasons it was when I was alone in the […]

Mary’s Song                      Word on the Week                     17th December 2022. Have you ever burst out in spontaneous singing?   Has the Joy of the Lord ever reached your lips in an unrestrained way?   There was a time in my life when it happened frequently.   For obvious reasons it was when I was alone in the […]