A New Name has entered the world of Facebook (light years behind the rest of the world, but still). If you want to, you can like me, here. ... Read More

I guess the same question could be asked of any writing .  The brevity and immediacy of a blog often requires much less of a reader than say, a novel. In a blog, you can dip in and out of topical or temporary issues.  This can be like eating too much sugar – addictive, but unsatisfying too. On the other hand, blogging feels democratic: anyone can write and readers get a right of reply.  Nor is it a one-way street: those who comment can also  influence what’s being written. Then there’s what’s meant by ... Read More

I can’t be dealing with New Year.     She’s grey and self-contained and independent and self-controlled. She makes tutting noises and feels threatened by excess or disruption to routine. She’s hard working, guilty and Not Good Enough.    She does resolutions and improvements.  She even JOGS. This year, I will NOT Be: Losing Weight Getting Fit Baking my own Bread Reading improving literature Making myself finish books I don’t like Trying Harder to be Better … I will, I hope, be blogging.  But even here, I ... Read More

Last week , I was talking to someone who reads the blog .  ‘I’m not sure how people who don’t know you can get it. What you write is just like who you are.  I read about you and because I know you in person, it makes sense.’ But today I was challenged by a different  friend (yes, I have two!) who asked me this: ‘Why’, he said, ‘do you beat yourself up online?’ I thought about it for a moment. ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Well’, he said.  ‘The person I see in front of me, is very different to the one I read ... Read More

What does it mean to be a woman? And how about a Christian one at that? An encyclopedic knowledge of traybakes? A scarlet wardrobe? A gentle and quiet spirit? A love of rom-coms? Or something else? Starting last October, one woman began a fascinating experiment to consider just this. Rachel Held Evans, a Christian feminist from Tennessee, decided to follow the Bible’s instructions for women. Well, nothing strange about that – right? But we’re not just talking about general principles.  We’re talking literal ... Read More

‘Ministry’  is a somewhat loaded term. What exactly is it? Where does it start and end? Our pews are filled with people. Often people with problems. There’s always more you could ( and should?) be doing. Especially if you’re a natural carer and thrive on feeling wanted. We hate seeing others in pain and know in our heads that we aren’t the answer. But self-worth quickly becomes entwined with self-giving. We make ourselves indispensable. Instead of pointing other to Jesus, we can set ourselves up as mini-Saviours instead. Then ... Read More

First of all, apologies for the recent blog hiatus.  We’re just back from holiday and hotel wifi was like hen’s teeth.  (Which raises the much more pressing question of how  hens actually eat.   Suck corn kernels into submission? Mash it with their heads and then swallow? No wonder they’re all so scrawny). Sorry.  Moving on.. As ever, I went away armed with good intentions and acres of holiday reading.  I didn’t open a single book, but I did think a little  about stories and what they do. Stories are powerful.  ... Read More

When I was born, I missed getting that vital component known as ‘emotional intelligence’.  You know, the filter that  tells you when to speak and when to shut up?  Doesn’t work. I’m permanently bruised from being elbowed, nudged and kicked under tables, but it makes no difference.  In my world, Red lights always mean Go. As soon as a topic is designated ‘off-limits’, that’s my cue. Part of it is coming from a straight-talking culture, where you learn to say it like it is.  ’It’ can ... Read More

Ahoy there pop pickers.  Apologies in advance for this post. I’ve had some sort of poisonous jungle-fever, (ok a virus) and it’s reshuffled my brain cards so they don’t quite add up. ‘Normal’ service will resume shortly, courtesy of Doctor Codeine and his merry band of aspirins. But in the meantime I’m taking this opportunity to spout absolute nonsense. For starters, I’ve been having weird dreams full of witch trees and evil grandmas. When I’m in them, I know I’m dreaming, but ... Read More

Shopping centres are a modern Mecca for people in pain. I’m not talking about hang-dog husbands, tethered with the groceries outside shoe shops. Nor toddler melt-downs, neatly timed to coincide with the lunchtime rush hour. All of human life is represented in the neon glare of the forecourts. But they hold a particular attraction for the lonely, the dispossessed, the depressed and the lost. Take a look, next time you’re passing through. Who are the people wandering dazed through the racks? Sitting, for hours at a time on the ... Read More