IAIN C's RANDOM REFLECTIONS

Swan Lake

2009-12-11T09:58:00.003Z

You don't have to go all the way to Florida to see interesting wildlife. I can see some from my study window looking out over 'Braidwood Loch.' (Don't tell anyone in Braidwood but the 'loch' is really just a large duck-pond - beautiful, none the less.)
There used to be a family of swans resident on the loch but a few years ago one of the parents was killed and there have been no swans for some time. However, a few weeks ago this lone swan settled back in the loch and added a bit of extra glamour to the scene.
I couldn't resist taking the camera out and 'capturing' it.
If this is a mute swan -and maybe someone can tell me whether it is or not- then it is apparently the property of Her Majesty the Queen.
In case anyone asks, I am not planning to have this swan or any other for our Christmas dinner!

Moments

2009-10-22T10:51:00.004+01:00

The wildlife in Florida is great - especially in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Reserve. In particular the birdlife is prolific. And so was my photographing of it! I took 902 photographs in a week. (I love digital photography. I would have needed 25 rolls of film for that lot!)
Out of the hundreds of pics I took, the above was one of my favourites.
I think it is a Great Blue Heron.
I managed to 'capture' it in flight. What I like about the picture is that you can really feel the combination of strength and control required by this bird to get airborne.
But there is also something strange to me about this picture although it is probably true of most photographs. A fleeting moment is frozen in time and something that was so full of life and movement becomes like a statue.
In life itself some moments are worth holding on to.
It reminded me of a song I heard many years ago from an Irish band called Picture House.

Moments Like These
(Browne/Maitland/Glenister)

Recall, return
Relive and learn
All of our memories
In summer nights
We've put it right
Tumbled down into it
I know they're only moments

But moments like these
Are so hard to come by

Some bridges burn
Some things we learn
By tumbling into it
Recall, re-learn
Relive, return
And all of our memories
Are nothing only moments

Light and Shade

2009-10-22T09:27:00.003+01:00

I suppose one of the most important elements in photography is the use of contrast.
Taking a photograph (or rather 'making' a photograph, since there is usually some element of creativity involved) has often been described as 'capturing the light.' But, of course, that is only half the story. If it is all light and nothing else, there isn't much of a photograph. It's the contrast between the light and its reflections and shadows which make any picture worth looking at.
Talking of contrasts- last week my wife and I had the good fortune to be in Central Florida for a week. There was a heatwave! Not like the ones we occasionally have in Scotland in the summer-time when we have two or maybe even three consecutive days of sunshine with temperatures getting up to 80 degrees!
In Florida last week (mid-October, remember) temperatures throughout the whole week were in the 90's. Quite a contrast when we arrived in Manchester on Saturday to a temperature of just 42 degrees.
But in spite of the photograph above (taken at 6:39am when the air temperature was already in the mid 80's) we hadn't gone there just to find sunshine: the real reason for our visit was to spend time with two people (Ernest and Mary-Louise) who have been our friends and mentors for the last 35 years.
Which brings me to another contrast- to celebrate his 85th birthday, Ernest decided to go skydiving. There is absolutely no chance of me doing likewise - though I may consider it for my 125th birthday!

안녕하세요

2009-10-02T20:15:00.004+01:00

Look closely at the picture and you'll see the main reason that I haven't done any blogging lately. We welcomed 10 visitors from Dongkwang Church, Seoul, including their Senior Pastor, Rev. Chang Bin, to spend just over a week with us in Kirkton and formally create a congregational partnership through signing a Partnership Agreement.

One of my tasks for the week (apart from organising most of the visits and events) was to drive the minibus. [And it has taken me another week to recover!]

Among many other things, we had a great time visiting Glasgow, Edinburgh, Loch Lomond, Stirling Castle, New Lanark, The David Livingstone Memorial in Blantyre. We were guided round the Scottish Parliament by our MSP, Karen Gillon, and welcomed by the Moderator of the General Assembly.

[I will gloss over the parking ticket I got in Edinburgh because our minibus was a bit too long for the parking space I had put it into... we'll wait and see how the appeal goes.]

But the highlights for me were the services of worship on the Sunday morning and evening and our "Scottish Evening" on the Tuesday night, which involved Scottish, food, music, dancing and lots of fun. In each of these instances many people in the congregation joined in which made the idea of a congregational partnership a reality.

I know from my own experience that Korean Presbyterian worship is quite a bit more formal than the style of worship we are accustomed to in Kirkton, so I knew that there would be a bit of culture-shock for our visitors- but the thing that really delighted me was walking into the church while people were still gathering and noticing two of the younger members of our church family (both about 6 years old) chatting away to some of our Korean visitors who I knew did not speak any English. It didn't seem to matter. The children got the message across... "Welcome to our family!"

The message was underlined during the service when we sang the song "Welcome Everbody it's good to see you here."

OK - it is hardly a liturgical (or even musical) classic but there was something very sincere and heart-warming in the way that the congregation sang it, and the visitors seemed to sense that too.

A few minutes before the service began I decided to make up another verse of the song (again - I know it is more doggerel than literature - but it worked.)

"Scotland and Korea are very far apart

but through the love of Jesus our partnership can start,

and as our friendship deepens we will be one in heart

gathering in this place."

Now if I could only learn a bit of Korean myself...

Keeping it real

2009-09-01T10:12:00.003+01:00

Following up on Elizabeth Gilbert's wonderful quote, I share with you a picture which I hope shows that you that not all plants and flowers need to have bold, bright colours to be beautiful in their own way. Sometimes such understated beauty goes unnoticed when other 'show-off ' flowers are nearby, but that's a pity because to me there is something intrinsically fascinating about this particular plant (although I can't remember what it is called.) Can anybody help?

It reminds me a little bit about one of the house martin chicks in the previous post. The bold, brash, pushy chick with its beak wide open makes very sure that mother notices it, but look more carefully into the picture and see the other chick very much taking a back seat.

All too often people who are like this go unnoticed and ignored which is a real pity for they often have so much to offer.

It's one of the things I like about the gospel pictures of Jesus; he preferred to spend most of his time and energy on those who were on the margins rather than those who in all sorts of ways cried out 'look at me.'

[By the way, you can still keep sending in caption suggestions for the two pictures below.]

Open wide

2009-08-25T09:04:00.003+01:00

[house martins nesting in the eaves of my sister's house]

So far we have only had one response to the caption 'competition.' Thank you, Lynn.

Of course, it may be that we only have one reader!

Or maybe the rest of you are waiting to see what the prize might be?

C'mon... let's have some suggestions as to what, if anything, is in the mind of our photogenic sheep!

Or if that doesn't appeal... what about a caption for today's photograph?

You'll have to look carefully but there are three House Martins in the picture. What might each of them be saying? What does the picture make you think of?

Answers, please... but not on a postcard- a comment will do.

The competition is wide open.

Very Random Thoughts

2009-08-24T08:26:00.003+01:00

No doubt, if I take the trouble to write anything at all for this blog, I ought to be reflecting on major issues of the day, such as the controversial release of al Megrahi, and the difficult (if not at times impossible) tension between compassion (mercy) and justice. However, I will leave such matters to those more qualified and better informed than I.

In passing, though, I would simply observe that as a general rule most of us prefer mercy for ourselves when we mess up but justice for those who do us wrong. All the same (for what it is worth) I reckon the release of al Megrahi, and the manner and timing of it, was probably a mistake.

But...to return to the far more mundane matters that usually fill this space I ask you to take a closer look at the subject of the portrait above. [click on the picture to see it full size]

The photograph was taken at the Black Isle Show a couple of weeks ago.

There were some pretty impressive animals on show, Clydesdale Horses and the like. But this particular sheep caught my eye (almost literally.) Most of the other sheep, of all breeds, were either shy or contemptuously indifferent to the camera lens but this particular one was virtually posing. I don't know what you think of sheep as a rule but what do you imagine this sheep was thinking about the photographer?

Let's have a caption competition for a little 'thought bubble' we can add to this picture. Send me your suggestions.

Oh for the wings (iii)

2009-08-20T14:32:00.006+01:00

To complete the trio it's back to the natural world and back down in scale with the blue here reserved for the damselfly itself.

I originally tried to post the three photographs together but for some reason that I don't have time to explore something happened which meant that you could not click the photographs to see them in their full size.

I don't like some of the changes that seem to have been introduced to Blogger and the way it works (or more often doesn't.)

For one thing I no longer seem to be able to access some of the blogs I used to visit from time to time. It is also difficult to post using Firefox. [Anyone know why?]

However, there is one blog that I can still visit entitled "Cause I believe in you" and on it I came across this wonderful quote:

""To devote yourself to the creation and enjoyment of beauty can be a serious business - not always necessarily a means of escaping reality, but sometimes a means of holding on to the real when everything else is flaking away into . . . rhetoric and plot" ~~ Elizabeth Gilbert

It gives me all the justification I need to continue taking photographs when I can and posting them here. Apparently in doing so I am not escaping reality but actually holding on to what is real.

That is good to know.

Oh for the wings (ii)

2009-08-20T14:29:00.002+01:00

With a not-quite-so-blue sky for background this very colourful kite was also being flown from Dunstable Downs.

Oh for the wings...

2009-08-20T10:46:00.006+01:00

On the subject of flying things, here's a man-made flying machine soaring silently over the Dunstable Downs. [Incidentally, does anyone know why it is that in England hills that are clearly 'up' are nevertheless called 'downs'? Just wondering.]

Autumn in the air?

2009-08-20T08:19:00.002+01:00

Apparently the 'experts' are telling us now that Autumn has come early this year - just as Spring did. For most of us in Scotland the biggest problem is that there doesn't seem to have been very much summer in between!

The photograph above was actually taken on 22nd July in the south of England and already it looks pretty autumnal to me, although, to be honest I have no idea when maple leaves normally begin to change colour.

I know there is a big difference between climate change and changeable weather but it does look as if some of the predictions are coming true (although not the one from the BBC weather folk who told us we would be having a 'barbecue summer' this year!) As I look out of the window this morning to see heavy rain falling and the trees being buffeted by strong winds it almost looks like January!

I received an email the other day from a friend in South Korea and he tells me that they have "been suffering the wettest summer ever."

Ah well... to cheer us up (and especially for one of my regular readers, Emma Louise) here's another photograph of that cheeky young robin, its youthful feathers decidely ruffled but its alert stare suggesting nothing but confidence.

Today- whatever winds may ruffle your feathers or buffet you about -may you look out on the world with hope and confidence.

The birds of the air

2009-08-19T18:46:00.004+01:00

[young robin photographed near Ardross, in Easter Ross, Scotland]*

Of course, it is not just butterflies and moths that fly.

I've always been fascinated by birds. In fact, I once was a member of the RSPB.

I let my membership lapse but, in any case, in more recent years (since we got our cat, Tess) I felt it was a little bit hypocritical to claim that I was helping to protect birds.

Like me, Tess liked to capture birds- unlike me she didn't use a camera, she used her claws!

While still quite a young kitten she managed to catch and kill a wood pigeon which was almost the same size as her. (Maybe I should never have shown her that film about lions in Africa?)

Anyway, she has settled down a bit now and, thankfully, got a bit lazier and slower. No more unwanted gifts left for us on the doorstep.

When I was visiting my sister in North-East Scotland a couple of weeks ago I managed to take a series of photographs of this young robin in her garden. Like most robins he/she (I can't tell you which it is from these photos) was pretty bold and it came up quite close, enabling me to capture some fairly clear images.

Butterflies are hard to photograph in flight - probably impossible without specialist equipment - but some birds have a more leisurely style of flying, including the red kite. This bird was almost extinct in the UK until fairly recently but a successful re-introduction programme has meant that there are several places in the country where you have a very good chance of spotting these unmistakable, majestic birds of prey.

While taking a very leisurely, and very indirect route from Buckinghamshire to Bristol, we came across a group of at least ten red kites, together with about half a dozen buzzards. It was quite a spectacular sight.

[red kite photographed near Didcot, Oxfordshire, England]*

*Remember to click on the photographs to see them full size.

Red Cannibal

2009-08-19T14:37:00.002+01:00

[Cinnabar Moth - photographed near Buckland, Buckinghamshire]

This is not a butterfly but a moth. For those who may be interested it is in fact a Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae) so called because of its bright cinnabar-red wings. Apparently the bright red colour is meant to deter predators and, in any case, they are allegedly very unpalatable. I wouldn't know: I've never tried to eat one.

It doesn't seem to stop them devouring each other, though, at least while they are in the larvae stage.

Strange world we live in!

Painted Lady

2009-08-18T08:41:00.005+01:00

Well, here she is - the Painted Lady! (At least I hope my butterfly identification is correct. No doubt someone will put me right if I am mistaken.) Apparently 2009 is the "best painted lady year we have had in the UK."
If you listen to the news clip above you'll realise it is not all good news as far as butterflies are concerned.

What I find so fascinating about butterflies is the incredible intricate beauty all wrapped up in such a fragile frame - a reminder that all of life on this planet really is pretty precarious. The brief lives of butterflies remind me also to 'seize the moment' - make the most of what is given to us. The faded and battered beauty of the Red Admiral below (photographed this time in Scotland) says it even more powerfully.

MAKE THE MOST OF TODAY!

Give me sunshine

2009-08-18T08:19:00.008+01:00

I was driving back from Manchester on Friday afternoon, having helped one of my daughters to move house from Manchester to York. The weather in England was fine, dry and sunny. However, when I arrived at the Scottish border at Gretna, it was as if someone had drawn a line along the border and said "OK, let's put all the rain on that side!" It was like driving into a monsoon.
Having just seen this morning's weather forecast, it looks like something similar is about to happen today - England dry, Scotland wet. Hmmm... :-(
Having said that, during our holiday in England, it seems to have been the other way round.
Maybe it's personal?
Anyway, on the days when the sun was shining I was delighted to see and photograph an amazing number of butterflies, including this lovely peacock. [remember to click on the photo to see it full size]
But the most prolific butterfly this summer, at least in Buckinghamshire, seems to have been the 'Painted Lady.' They were everywhere, and in great numbers.
I am trying to upload a picture of one to add to this post but for some reason it is not working. I will add one to a later post.

R & R

2009-08-11T17:56:00.003+01:00

I have to confess that blogging has not been a very important priority for me of late. I have been much more preoccupied with the business of moving house (temporarily,) going on holiday, helping my daughter and her husband get ready to move their house and visiting friends and family.
There was the added problem of having no internet connection for about four weeks. [Does anyone know why it takes so long to move a broadband connection from one house to another one less than two miles away?]
However, in my travels around England and Scotland over the last couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to get the camera out and start taking a few 'snaps' again- "a few"being just over 1200 in fact!!
So now there is no excuse. I have lots of pictures to reflect on.
But where do I start?
As you can see, I have started with a with a photograph taken in my sister-in-law's garden; a simple empty white chair and a 'heart' bathed in gentle sunlight.
It's a picture which to me says "space" and "rest."
More than anything else it is what I needed and thankfully found.
Isn't that what holidays are for?

Just a moment

2009-06-20T11:09:00.003+01:00

[The clock of Dunblane Cathedral]

There's never enough of it: but there are occasions when you have some to spare.
You can have it on your hands: but occasionally you have to kill it.
Often it drags along: but more often it flashes past - especially as you get older.
TIME.
It's a strange thing.
At least how we perceive it is strange.
I particularly like these two quotations from the Bengali poet and seer, Rabindranath Tagore.

"The butterfly counts not months but moments,

and has time enough."

"Time is a wealth of change,
but the clock in its parody makes it mere change and no wealth."

Some of our Kenyan friends would often say "you have the watches: we have the time."

In the Biblical way of thinking, of course, there are two different kinds of time, chronological time (the kind you can measure with a clock) and 'kairos' time (the "right time" - the opportune moment.)

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" [Ecclesiastes 3]

... but I still think there's not enough of it around!!!

Surprise encounters of the interesting kind

2009-06-11T16:29:00.006+01:00

[His Excellency, Kenneth David Kaunda, first President of Zambia at Dunblane]

It has been a very, very busy few weeks - hence the absence of any blogging recently. But there have also been some interesting moments, and some interesting encounters.
Towards the end of May we were invited to lunch at the Palace of Holyroodhouse by the Lord High Commissioner, George Reid. We expected it was going to be one of those Holyroodhouse events where about 150 or more people would attend and we would be lost in a sea of people we didn't know or could only vaguely recognise.
As things turned out, we discovered there were only a couple of dozen people at the lunch. That in itself was something of a surprise and for once it wasn't difficult to get free parking in Edinburgh because we were able to park our car inside the palace gates in the forecourt.
But that was nothing compared to the surprise we got when we went inside to discover that also invited to lunch that day was Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his wife, Leah. [He had just come from addressing the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland - an inspiring address well worth watching and listening to.]
Unfortunately, after the introductions, I didn't get much opportunity to speak to Desmond Tutu himself but, during the very excellent meal, I was sitting between his wife and the wife of the Lord High Commissioner, and we had a great chat together.
I generally don't have much time for the cult of celebrity that fills the media these days, especially when so much nonsense is written and spoken about people who are famous mainly for being famous, but it was a privilege to share a table with someone who is a genuinely significant individual in the history of the world. And like most really great people he is really pretty humble.
But there was more...
I have just returned from Dunblane where, since Tuesday, I have been attending the meeting/conference of The Church of Scotland's World Mission Council to which I was recently appointed. Last night we had another surprise visitor, in the form of Kenneth Kaunda, the first ever President of Zambia. He joined us for our evening meal and then came to speak to us at our evening session. We even got to hear him play the piano, sing for us and do a bit of a dance!! Even without his surprise appearance it would have been a long day. But the additional item - which immediately moved us into Zambian time (and anyone who's been to Africa will know what I mean by that) - meant we didn't finish till after 10pm.
And we had started just after 8am!!
I had taken my camera with me hoping we might have had even half an hour of free time at some point over the two and a half days but it didn't quite work out that way. However, it did mean I could snap "KK" as he is commonly known.

This is my body...

2009-05-25T23:12:00.003+01:00

[A worm's eye view of grass?]

The photograph above has absolutely nothing whatever to do with this piece but I share it with you anyway. I took it thinking it might come in useful some time as a powerpoint background.

The other thing I want to share is prompted by recent debates in the Church of Scotland General Assembly. I don't want to say anything about the debates themselves but it reminded me of a short poem I wrote many, many years ago when I was a teenager.

This is my body

That you break in two

By ignoring the one

In the neighbouring pew

This is my blood

That you spill down the drain

When you fight with each other

For personal gain

And each point of doctrine

You score here and now

Was a nail in my palm

Or a thorn in my brow

Each argument won

Is a brother lost

So the principle’s saved

No matter the cost

This is my body

My hands and my feet

If only you’d bend

Perhaps they would meet

Light in the darkness

2009-05-21T10:24:00.005+01:00

[Under African Skies - Masai Mara 2002]

I think I am going to have to start carrying my old compact digital camera in my car at all times. Several times in the last couple of weeks I have seen some spectacular photographs- well, they might have become spectacular photographs If I'd had a camera with me to capture what I could see. Now these scenes remain only in my memory, which is about the least secure place in the Universe!
A few evenings ago, for example, I was returning from the Induction service for the new minister of the Douglas Valley Church. Approaching Hyndford Bridge,* which crosses the River Clyde just outside Lanark, I looked over to my left at the rolling landscape which at this time of year is painted in shades of brilliant green.
The sun was getting quite low in the sky and casting interesting shadows, then it disappeared behind a fairly large bank of clouds. Not such an interesting picture. Then suddenly, through a large gap in the clouds, the rays of the lowering sun broke through producing a pool of warm light on just part of the landscape, like some sort of cosmic spotlight. Hills and trees suddenly became translucent with a fragile kind of beauty, like a delicate watercolour.
And I had no camera...!!
We could do with a little bit of light in these dark days of economic recession, the scandal over MPs expenses, and the upcoming General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which opens today, faced with some very divisive issues.
There are always plenty of reasons, and excuses, for feeling depressed, but I like to remember that Landscape Photography is really about photographing the light and capturing those moments when the light transforms a place. In a similar way, we can never deny or escape the darkness all around us, but rather than focusing exclusively on it, it is often worth waiting for and looking for the transforming light.

*Hyndford Bridge was built in 1766.

The Vine

2009-05-10T20:46:00.003+01:00

I haven't had much time to blog of late and certainly no time to take any new photographs, but one thing I did last week was to write a new hymn.
Necessity, as ever, was the motivation. I simply couldn't find a suitable hymn to fit in with the sermon for this morning's worship- based on John 15: 1-17, so I ended up writing one of my own.
We sang it to the tune Garelochside but I suppose any suitable "Short Metre" tune would do.
Here are the words for anyone who might like to use them.
They are in the form of a prayer to Christ:

O Lord, you are the Vine.
In you we live and move.
Your Spirit nourishes our hearts
and fills us with your love.

As we remain in you
the life of grace takes root;
in caring service in your Name
our lives will bear much fruit.

In you our lives belong
as branches of the Vine;
through sharing faith and trust and hope,
Lord Jesus, make us one.

So others then may see
in this and every place
the glory of your Father shown
in reconciling grace.

© Iain D. Cunningham, 2009

Open Doors?

2009-05-01T20:41:00.003+01:00

[North Korea - from a border post in South Korea]

Christians in this part of the world may think it is not always easy for them to live out their faith in a society that for the most part doesn't care about what we believe, but we should spare a thought and - a lot of prayer - for our sisters and brothers in North Korea, and other parts of the world, where just to be a Christian is considered as a crime against the state.

Finishing strong

2009-04-28T10:00:00.002+01:00

A friend just sent me this video.
A truly encouraging and inspiring message to anybody who might be finding life tough and a great example of someone focusing more on what he can do than on what he can't.

I am alive!

2009-04-16T23:20:00.004+01:00

One of the reasons for my lack of blogging recently has been the number of funerals I have had to prepare and conduct in the last couple of weeks. Since I try to make every funeral service as personal as possible, it often requires a fair amount of time to do all the preparation and (very importantly) to make sure that I don't mix up information about each of the deceased. So I had a lot of sympathy for an anonymous colleague of mine that one of my sister's told me about tonight.

A retired minister, he was filling in during a vacancy. Conducting the funeral service of an old lady he was laying great stress on the fact that she was the very last of her generation; that she had outlived the rest of her family. "In fact" he intoned "it was some time ago that she last spoke to her younger brother, who sadly is no longer with us."

To the minister's utter shock and embarrassment, a voice cried out from the congregation "Ah'm no deid yet! Ah'm right here."

Oops!

Two Basins

2009-04-10T22:29:00.004+01:00

It's been a pretty busy week with three funerals and a wedding (reception at the above Houston House Hotel.) And on Sunday we have three baptisms too.
Which newspaper was it that used to say "All of life is here" ?
And of course this evening we had our annual joint Good Friday Service.
For those of you who couldn't or just wouldn't come, I shared this reflection which I called "Two Basins" as the main part of the service. It's not based on any genuine historical or theological research: just a bit of imagination- but I think it worked.
After reading Matthew 27:11-26

Two Basins:

There are many symbols associated with the Passion story; from the palm branches at the start of Passion Week to the purple robe and crown of thorns and, of course, the cross itself.
But tonight, I want you to focus your thoughts on a simple metal basin filled with water.
This basin is being held by a 1st Century Roman soldier, one of the personal bodyguards of the Roman Prefect of Judaea, Pontius Pilate.
Pilate himself is standing behind the basin, about to plunge his hands into the cold, clear water.
Take a good look at him.
In his early 30’s; a career soldier; a cavalry officer; but now having to exercise a more political role as the procurator of a Roman province.
That office makes him a powerful man, because it carries with it all the might of the Roman Empire. But Pilate is not always comfortable or secure in this position.
He has made mistakes before, mistakes which have led him to be posted on this tough ten-year assignment, to one of the more obscure and troublesome corners of the Empire.
It is not hard to see why he is uneasy.
He only has at his disposal 6000 troops with which to control a population of two and a half million Jews. He dare not risk any disturbance or disorder.
He knows this, and knows it well. For although all his past training and experience have been in soldiering, necessity has forced him to become the archetypal politician.
Some may think, as they reflect upon his actions in this scene, that he is an indecisive man, some kind of weak ditherer who cannot make up his mind; or they may tempted to suppose that he is a man of conscience who is reluctant to cause the death of someone he knows to be innocent.
Such generous assessments ignore what Pilate has done in other times and places, and what he is yet to do, elsewhere. No—this is a man who would think nothing of sending in his troops to quell a riot and who would encourage them in the action to take no prisoners. This is a cold, calculating man who under certain circumstances would have no hesitation whatsoever in ordering the execution without trial at all of anyone who might be regarded a threat to the authority of Rome.
For Pilate life is cheap—especially the lives of these Judeans, whose culture he despises as primitive and uncivilised and whose governing he endures as a troublesome chore until he may be permitted to move on to better things.
Make no mistake—this Governor cares nothing for the man who stands on trial before him now.
He regards him as little more than a nuisance.
But, unfortunately, and very inconveniently, to Pilate, this Galilean who stands before him now might prove to be a particularly dangerous nuisance.
Hence the caution!
For, Pilate, above everything else is a pragmatist.
He has little concern for what ought to be done, but every concern for what can be done, and what will best preserve the stability of Roman rule.
To that end he knows what must be done.
And so, in a few moments’ time, he will sacrifice the Galilean in order to preserve Roman rule and at the same time preserve his own career.
But it will be a difficult balancing act.
For Pilate is shrewd enough to notice that the man who stands trial before him has sharply divided the opinions of the people it is his duty to govern.
There are supporters: and there are detractors.
Pilate has no interest in being drawn into their debate.
Only one thing interests him—that which is politically expedient.
So he will not take the blame from either side.
This is why he has ordered that a basin of water be brought to him.
He likes gestures.
Crucifixion itself is a gesture.
There are cleaner and quicker methods for disposing of those who get in the way but nothing has quite the impact of crucifixion for hammering the message home about who is ultimately in charge… in this God-forsaken backwater.
And so—with a flourish—and a declaration of self-absolution—Pilate, the ultimate political pragmatist, plunges his hands into the clear, cold water, declaring: “I am not responsible for the death of this man! This is your doing!”
And, drying his hands with a towel, he turns to leave the Galilean to his decreed fate.

How little it takes for a man to evade responsibility!
A basin of cold, clear water…and a towel!

Just a few hours earlier there was another basin…and another towel…
They looked much the same, yet in so many ways they could not have been more different.
Take a good look at the man with the basin in his hands.
In his early 30’s… a tradesman—though for the last three years he has abandoned his trade to take to the streets. This has been the toughest three-year assignment imaginable.
There is a weary, almost exhausted, look in his eyes and the strain of the last few days, and the next few hours, is etched into his face.
There is, however, a determined look about him. He is set upon a course from which he will not be deflected, even though it will require him to summon up more courage than the bravest soldier on the eve of battle. Shortly, as he wrestles with the responsibility which he has taken upon himself, he will even sweat blood—a condition known as haematohydrosis—which is the consequence of extreme stress.
Yet he is confident of the rightness of what he does, especially now, as with a towel wrapped around his waist he moves towards the men who have assembled together in the borrowed upper room.
These twelve men, and a number of faithful women, are just about the only fellow human beings in this hostile city on which he can depend, though he knows that most of them will also (and suddenly) become completely unreliable.
That leaves only his unshakeable faith and trust in God, the One whom he believes has driven him along this path.
He knows the value of human life, each single human life.
Even those whom others might consider expendable, worthless, or beyond redemption, he values as beloved of God.
He has sought to treasure, help, heal and save the least and the lost among them… but there were so many and time is running out fast.
Will any of those supporters whom he leaves behind truly understand what it had all been about?
Will they take up the mantle? Carry on the work?
He has little time for gestures.
He regards them as cheap and unworthy.
But he does know the power of symbols. And he has always had a unique talent for explaining the deeply spiritual using the plain and ordinary things of life.
He can make the unremarkable unforgettable.
Shortly, he will use the age-old traditions of his people in order to give to his friends some sort of explanation for the events that will soon unfold and through which his life will be brought to its brutal, unjust end. But right now he is about to use a simple domestic act to provide his friends with an explanation of the very life he has lived among them in these past few years.
He will be to them the humblest of servants and wash their feet.
And so he takes the basin, and without any flourish or fuss plunges his hands into the clear, cold water, declaring:
“I, your Lord and Teacher, have just washed your feet. You, then, should wash one another’s feet. I have set an example for you. So that you will do just what I have done for you.”
And when the feet of every last one, even those of his betrayer, have been washed, he dries his hands with the towel, turns back to the table set before them and prepares to drink the cup to its bitter dregs.

How much it costs for a man to take responsibility!
A basin of cold, clear water…and a towel!

(c) Iain D. Cunningham 2009

Welcome!

2009-04-06T21:15:00.005+01:00

I'm not sure about everyone else but I enjoyed our Palm Sunday services yesterday.
For several years now along with our neighbouring churches we've held a joint Palm Sunday Praise Service in the evening, with the Praise Band & Singing Group taking the lead. Last night was no exception and I enjoyed it a lot - even though I had to play the trumpet most of the time when I would rather have been playing the fiddle.
But my favourite moment from yesterday came in the morning.
I went into the church about 15 minutes before the service and some of the youngest members of our church family were gathering down at the front - making sure they got a front seat. (We haven't taught them to be Presbyterians yet! In fact they are a very sociable bunch.)
Some of the under-fives in particular are experts at going up to new children, introducing themselves and then introducing their new friend to others. I was introduced to Heather, who, I was told, was visiting us from Canada. (I knew this already, of course, but it was amazing how much information the under-fives had managed to glean in just few minutes, and just how quickly they established relationships. I wish some of our adults would learn from them how to do it!)
It was all very appropriate because in the "Family Talk" I was asking the children all about welcoming others.
We got all the expected answers about saying "hello" etc.
When I asked what they would do if the Queen should arrive in Carluke at the door of their house. One wee girl had the perfect answer: "I would tell her to come in and ask her if she'd like to stay for dinner."
It was all leading up to another Palm Sunday song:

Shout Hosanna

Shout 'Hosanna! Welcome to Jesus our King!
Welcome to Jerusalem.
God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord.'
Wave palm branches and be a disciple.
He is coming to save his people.
Shout 'Hosanna! Welcome to Jesus our King!

Line the roadside, welcome the Son of our God!
Welcome to Jerusalem.
Make a pathway, welcome him into your heart!
Wave palm branches and be a disciple.
He is coming to save his people.
Sing his praises, welcome the Son of our God.

(c) Iain D. Cunningham

Holy Week, which began yesterday, is a very significant time for Christians when we reflect on matters at the very heart of our faith culminating in the Easter Day celebrations. For us Easter has got nothing to do with eggs and bunnies and chocolate...
...but, all the same, I couldn't resist sharing these pictures with you.
You've probably seen them already.

Hymn for Palm Sunday

2009-03-31T09:09:00.004+01:00

[A palm tree in Kenya, 2005]

Last week I did my quickest ever piece of song-writing.
I am chaplain to a school for children with severe and profound learning difficulties and every month I take an assembly there.
When I arrived on Friday morning to take this month's assembly the Head-Teacher informed me that one of the children who had been in the school for many years would be leaving that day to go to another school. There had been very little advance warning that this was going to take place.
The Head-Teacher asked me if I knew of any song we might sing to the girl as a sort of farewell, but I couldn't think of anything. Then, for some bizarre reason, I impulsively suggested that I might write something to use at the end of the assembly. This gave me about five minutes to come up with something. I borrowed a pen and quickly scribbled down some lyrics, refining them as best I could, but it left me no time to come up with a tune in advance of singing it. So the 'music' was 'composed' on the fly as I was singing it. To my amazement it worked.
But, of course, it was the ultimate in disposable music as I am not sure if I could remember now what the tune actually went like.
I spent a little bit more time on the following hymn for Palm Sunday.
It is based on the understanding that the word "Hosanna" is not so much a shout of praise as a cry for help - "Come, save us!"
I can only show the text here but if anyone wants a copy of the music I can supply it by email- if you leave an email address.

Blessed is He

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Comfort the people weighed down by their grief;
Comfort the sad and the tearful;
Come to bring joy and a welcome release
and new hope for the troubled and fearful.

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Challenge the people entranced by their power;
Challenge their easy indiff'rence;
Come to bring justice and truth to the world
and establish a new kind of kingdom.

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Addressing the Issue

2009-03-18T12:05:00.001Z

[waves of bubblewrap crashing on the shore!]

I’ve just emerged from a tsunami of bubble wrap!
I’d been wrapping up my daughter’s laptop so that it can be returned for repair. There’s so much bubble wrap… and boxes within boxes… that I’m beginning to wonder if I actually remembered to put the laptop itself in! Now I just have to wait for the courier to find my address, uplift the parcel and take it to the correct address.
Nowadays with GPS Sat Nav and all sorts of online mapping software there should be few excuses for anyone being unable to find an address in the UK.
Real life, of course, is rarely ever as simple.
My wrestling match with the bubble wrap was interrupted by the sound of my doorbell. It was the engineer from Satchwell come to check out the electronic control panels for our church’s heating system. Having eventually found the church keys under the pile of wrapping materials, I went over to the church with him to give him access to the boiler room. He asked me how the heating was working. I replied that, as far as I knew, everything was pretty much ok at the moment but I confessed that I try to take a back seat in such matters, preferring not to know very much about how it all works, in case I ever get left with the job of setting timers etc.
So I opened the boiler room for him, left him the keys, and went back to my parcel tape.
About 30 minutes later the doorbell rang again. It was the engineer, not just returning the keys but also asking me directions to a neighbouring church; the one he was supposed to have gone to and which, coincidentally, has the exact same Satchwell control system for its heating. Ooops!
But I’m not complaining. Our system has been thoroughly checked over and is working well. I have the engineer’s word on that score… and there won’t even be a bill to pay.

Sad farewells

2009-03-16T14:30:00.005Z

[Tide creeps over silver sands on Islay]

I have just returned from the funeral of Robert Young who until very recently had been the Principal teacher of Drama at Carluke High School. Only a few months older than myself, Robert had recently taken early retirement but, sadly, never got the time to enjoy it, dying very suddenly and unexpectedly.
Robert was much loved by staff and pupils alike at Carluke High. He was an inspirational teacher; enthusiastic, passionate and conscientious. He brought the very best out of the young people in his care, developing the self-confidence of many young adults. But, then, he always saw the best in others and brought the best out of everyone he met.
He was a sincere and committed Christian whose faith was most evident in the way he treated other people with kindness, respect and genuine warmth, all summed up in his disarming and open smile. We shall miss him.
On returning home, I also learned for the first time of the equally unexpected death of one of my colleagues, and fellow hymn writer, Rev. Leith Fisher, who was also a respected author and broadcaster. I first met Leith in the late 1960's when he was still a Divinity Student and I was still at school, and I have always had the greatest admiration for him. More recently we worked together on the Church Hymnary Revision Committee and a number of Leith's own hymns are, thankfully, included in the latest Church of Scotland hymnary, known in this part of the world as CH4.

Sudden deaths like these certainly make you stop and think about the fragility and brevity of human life, but they also make you realise the importance and value of human friendships, and the eternal significance of love.
Leith's own words from one of his hymns, says it so much better than I could:

[HYMN 689 in CH4]

Just as the tide creeps over silver sand
flooding the bay with slow and steady gain,
like brightening dawn across the eastern land,
certain and sure is love that comes again.

When empty eyes stare at the vacant chair
and none can touch or fill the heart's deep pain,
into our void of desolate despair,
Jesus, pour out the love that comes again.

When every road ahead seems blocked and barred
and doubt corrodes our will like acid rain,
reveal your wounds to us whom life has scarred,
and help us see the love that lives again.

When threat and fear conspire friends to betray,
and bitter failure every hope has slain,
when broken trust makes dark the dismal day,
Jesus, speak of the love that comes again.

As sure as tide and dawn your love has come,
come to redeem our failures and our pain;
Jesus, come now, and find in us a home,
revive us with the love that comes again.

Leith Fisher (1941-2009)

Words: (c) Leith Fisher.

MBBB

2009-02-23T19:07:00.004Z

I first set up this blog as a medium for reflecting on some of my favourite photographs and also sharing in some random thoughts that might come into my head from time to time. With that in mind, I have to apologise for the photograph above- not for its content but for its quality!
The trouble was that I didn't have my camera with me on Friday evening and had to resort to using my phone (in very low light conditions) to capture the absolutely brilliant Michael Brawley Big Band.
(The boyfriend of one of my daughters plays trumpet in the band but last Friday night was my first opportunity to hear them for myself.)
Take ten saxophones, five trombones, five trumpets, drums, bass and piano... mix in some great arrangements of big band classics along with some more contemporary numbers, stir in a heap of slick playing, huge dollops of rhythm and a dash of musical energy and fun ... add a couple of solo vocalists on occasion... and you have a recipe for high quality entertainment. If you like that kind of thing!
... I loved it.

Reaching Up

2009-02-12T18:43:00.003Z

There so much doom and gloom in the news these days - the global economy, natural disasters, crime, war and political oppression, climate change.... etc. etc. - that I decided to cheer myself up by posting another picture which shows that winter can be colourful.
I just loved the way the feathery clouds in the blue sky seemed to mimic the upward sweep of the bare tree branches, not to mention the strong contrast between that blue sky and the rich golden browns and reds of the foreground.
To get the full effect you have to click on the picture and see it full size. No - change that - to get the full effect you needed to have been there, to breathe in the crisp, clear air at the same time. Any photograph is a poor substitute for the real thing.

Where the air is clear...

2009-02-06T23:04:00.006Z

*As with all the photos on this blog, click to see full size.

Quite by accident, while driving home from hospital visiting, I found myself this afternoon listening to Radio Four. The programme was "Gardeners' Question Time" (and entertaining it was too.)
One of the gardening "problems" discussed had to do with lichen growing on a gooseberry bush. A member of the experts panel observed that wherever the questioner lived there must at least be clean air because lichens only thrive where the air is unpolluted.
With that in mind the above photo is surely perfect proof of the pure air of the Scottish Highlands!

Radiance and glory in the darkness

2009-02-06T17:22:00.005Z

This week the predominant "colour" around most of the country has been white, with heavy snowfalls in places that are not used to it any more. (I couldn't believe it when the main evening news at the beginning of the week made such a fuss about the snow. Out of a 30 minute bulletin of 'national and international' news, 18 minutes was spent talking about snow in London! So there was nothing more important happening in the world??)
Anyway, the picture above has no snow in it. It was taken a few weeks ago in the north of Scotland near to my sister's home when I had gone for a walk with one of my daughters. It wasn't the best photograph taken at the time but I like it for a very simple reason- the colours.
For many people winter in this country is a time when colour seems to disappear, both literally and metaphorically. Everything becomes drab and grey.
There are no flowers to brighten the landscape. Most trees have shed their leaves.
There is usually lots of rain (not so different from the summer then...)
It is also a time when many people feel pretty down and even depressed. The colour seems to drain out of life itself.
What this photograph says to me, however, is that there is colour: it has just become much more muted and subtle. It requires a closer look. It's impact is not so immediate or so strong, but the colours are there.

I'm reminded of a 'letter' allegedly written in 1513 by an Italian called Fra Giovanni (Brother John.)
I may have quoted it before.

I am your friend
and my love for you goes deep.
There is nothing I can give you which you do not have,
but there is much, very much, that,
while I cannot give it, you can take.

No heaven can come to us
unless our hearts find rest in today.
Take heaven!

No peace lies in the future
which is not hidden in this present little instant.
Take peace!

The gloom of the world is but a shadow.
Behind it, yet within our reach is joy.
There is radiance and glory in the darkness
could we but see —and to see
we have only to look.
I beseech you to look!

Life is so generous a giver,
but we, judging its gifts by the covering,
cast them away as ugly,
or heavy or hard.

Remove the covering and you
will find beneath it a living splendour,
woven of love, by wisdom, with power.

Welcome it, grasp it,
touch the angel's hand that brings it to you.
Everything we call a trial,
a sorrow, or a duty, believe me,
that angel's hand is there,
the gift is there,
and the wonder of
an overshadowing presence.

Our joys, too, be not
content with them as joys.
They, too, conceal diviner gifts.

Life is so full of meaning and purpose,
so full of beauty–beneath its covering–
that you will find earth but cloaks your heaven.

Courage, then, to claim it, that is all.
But courage you have,
and the knowledge that we are
all pilgrims together,
wending through unknown country, home.

And so, at this time, I greet you.
Not quite as the world sends greetings,
but with profound esteem and with the prayer
that for you now and forever,
the day breaks,
and the shadows flee away.

This photograph was taken on the same morning.
Amazing what a little bit of blue sky does to the landscape!

Whistling in the dark

2009-02-05T20:42:00.002Z

[A mockingbird on an orange tree in Cocoa, Florida]

While recovering from my bout of labyrinthitis, I haven't felt much like working on the computer at all. In fact, all I seemed to do during my two weeks off was read - nothing too taxing though - mainly novels from the Rebus series by Ian Rankin. TEN of them in fact!! (Just seven to go.)
For variety I did read one other book, "Being Emily" by Anne Donovan. It was good fun, although for those of you who are not native to the West of Scotland, but would still like to read the book, it might have been helpful if there had been a version with "English subtitles."
But...whatever... the reading is over. This week it has been a case of 'back to work.'
I still get tired so I'm trying not to do too much.
Extra sleep, of course, is usually beneficial when recovering from any illness.
I wonder how I can get that point across to some of the feathered residents of our garden? Four o'clock this morning they began their 'dawn chorus.' (In other words, long before the dawn.)
It seemed kind of strange to me, given that the temperature was about -5 degrees and there is still snow on the ground. But some of our local birds have already decided that spring is on its way.
They must have read Shelley: "If winter comes, can spring be far behind?"
Actually, for me this thought is a central theme of the Christian faith. Sometimes it seems as if Christians are simply "whistling in the dark" but, like the birds, we whistle and sing in the dark only because we know the dawn is on its way.

Consider the lichens

2009-01-23T22:51:00.004Z

There is an immediate and obvious beauty to the more spectacular specimens of the plant world, such as large brightly-coloured orchids and tall cheerful sunflowers, but if you take the time to stop and take a closer look you may discover that there is an impressive, even breath-taking, beauty to be found in all sorts of places.
I know virtually nothing about lichens but I do know that looked at closely and carefully some may demonstrate a strange and wonderful beauty of their own.
(assuming my photograph above is of a lichen on a host plant)
When it comes to people, it is no doubt infinitely more important to recognise that there is more to most folk than meets the eye at first glance.

A new dawn

2009-01-22T08:50:00.003Z

[Sunrise in Ardross- my sister's garden]

Along with millions of other people in Washington and around the globe, I found the Inauguration of President Obama very moving. I even allowed myself the audacity to hope that things could definitely change for the better.
Could they get much worse than under the last presidency?
(By the way, do you think President Bush completely lacks self-awareness or is simply very good at hiding his embarrassment? Obama did not "miss him and hit the wall.")

As I said in a sermon a few days after the US election, once of the reasons that Obama won is that somehow he managed to convince a lot of people in America that he was less interested in the hope of power than he was in the power of hope.
To quote a little bit from that sermon, speaking of the story of Jesus:
"Someone who was totally innocent, and who preached only love, was made to suffer unspeakable torture, and his life was snatched from him in the cruellest of ways. At the time, it must have seemed to the followers of Jesus that all the dark forces of evil and injustice had won the day. They'd come out on top.
Might is right. Power prevails. Evil wins.
Darkness has swallowed up the light.
Or so it must have seemed at the time.
Until the resurrection of Jesus turned that assessment on its head and gave to the first Christians an unquenchable hope, a hope that nothing, not even death itself, could ultimately defeat the purposes of God. A hope, a confidence, that eventually the way of love, not the way of power, would win the day.
The light had overcome the darkness... and always would in the end.
As the title of one book puts it: "And the Lamb wins!" *
That HOPE, which the first followers of Jesus had, a hope solidly based on the resurrection of Jesus, turned out to be an unstoppable force. Not even the might of the Roman Empire could hold it back- no matter how many Christians were put to the sword. Because the power of hope is ultimately stronger than the hope of power."
No one should ever underestimate the power of hope.

On a more mundane level, I was amused, and vaguely reassured, when the new President seemed to fluff his lines on taking the oath of office. [It turns out that the original mistake was by the Judge administering the oath, Chief Justice Roberts, and just to be sure they did the whole thing again afterwards. ]
But, whoever was to blame, it showed that the people participating were only human after all and the occasion had got to them.
It happens sometimes in wedding ceremonies too. I've had brides (and bridegrooms) bursting into tears (disturbing) or into a fit of giggles (even more disturbing) and, on more than one occasion, had a bridegroom promising to be "beautiful" rather than "dutiful" (which sometimes I reckoned would have been an impossible vow to keep.)
Returning to the Presidential Inauguration, however, I allowed myself (naughtily) a wry smile and chuckle at the sight of Dick Cheney in a wheelchair. Apparently he had hurt his back moving books out of his White House Office. As someone who occasionally has back problems himself, I sympathise with him and have no wish to see him, or anyone else, in pain.
But all the same... how are the mighty fallen!!

* I haven't read the book, so I'm not recommending it or otherwise - I just liked the title.

Staying vertical

2009-01-20T15:40:00.006Z

In spite of my bad start to the CWW Conference at Aviemore, I did manage to do my bit, helping with the worship, and taking part in a seminar (above) on Overseas Partnerships. Anyone interested in what it was all about can download the main talks etc. from the website.
Thanks to Peter Johnston for the photograph.

Something round again

2009-01-20T11:09:00.003Z

In response to several requests from my younger readers... here is another "mystery object."
This time, I think it may not be too difficult.
What do you think it is?

Round and round we go...

2009-01-20T09:57:00.005Z

[Foggy Morning on the Black Isle]

Apologies once again for my prolonged absence from the blogosphere.
This was partly due to my being away at a "Church Without Walls" conference in Aviemore, where I did not have internet access (or, to be more precise, where I grudged paying for it!) the real reason, however, is that while I was at the conference I took ill and have been off work since.
Turns out to be acute labyrinthitis. More frustrating than serious. (Frustrating even for my GP who wasn't sure how to spell it!)
It all began on a Friday morning when I became totally deaf in my right ear; a bizarre experience, since I am used to being partially deaf in my left ear. Now I had to rely entirely on my "bad" ear. A recipe for confusion! Whatever sounds I did manage to hear were impossible to locate. A good lesson all the same in the old truth that "you don't know what you've got till it's gone!"
I was just getting used to the idea of being responsible for all the music at the conference while being virtually deaf (ironic really) when on the Sunday evening I had my first (and pretty scary) attack of labyrinthitis- in front of 300+ people, of course!
It was a bewildering experience all round... come to think of it "all round" is not too bad a description. Everything seemed to start spinning uncontrollably in all directions. I couldn't stand up any more. I broke into a cold sweat and apparently turned the colour of semi-skimmed milk (i.e. only a hint of cream...)
I spent the next hour and a half, lying shivering on the floor, wrapped up in a foil blanket like a Christmas turkey waiting to be popped into the oven. Thankfully I was also being attended to by a very helpful and friendly "NHS 24" Doctor, called in by the hotel, as well as a very kind nurse and another doctor I already knew, both of whom were attending the conference.
At the time the symptoms were so severe that the doctor didn't want to confirm a diagnosis. But - hey - I'm still here! and for that I am glad.
I've since had one other bad attack but otherwise everything is just a little bit wobbly and foggy from time to time... and some of the hearing has returned to my right ear.
I got a nice long explanation from my own doctor about what was going on inside my inner ear; something to do with debris in the semi-circular canals. Personally, when an acute attack comes on, it feels to me like someone has dumped a couple of supermarket trolleys in my canals!

Doubt your doubts

2009-01-08T09:13:00.003Z

[the rolling landscape of South Lanarkshire near Wiston Lodge]

A colleague of mine sent me this link to a fascinating article in the Times by Matthew Parris.
There's a refreshing honesty about it, and it seems to me to be a perfect example of why it is always useful, from time to time, to question your certainties and to doubt your doubts.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009-01-06T09:46:00.005Z

Oh... I know... it's already the sixth day of 2009 and this is the first time I've blogged this year. Just as well, I didn't make any New Year resolution to post a blog every day.
Do people seriously make New Year resolutions these days?
I know myself too well even to kid myself on about it.
New Year means very little to me... except that is when I get to go away for a couple of nights to the Fiddle Force Winter School, held for the last 9 or 10 years at Wiston Lodge. [the photograph above shows the low afternoon sunlight casting shadows through some of Wiston's woodland]
It has been a busy end to 2008 and start to 2009 for me with lots of funerals to conduct, so the chance to go away and forget things for a day or two is virtually irresistible.

Highlights of Fiddle Force 2009?

some excellent tunes, great advice and good laughs from tutor Alasdair White

improvising to some great old-time stuff from some of the Wiston folk, a mixture of blues, skiffle, American folk and who-knows-what-else

playing tunes till 3.30am

catching up with friends, many of whom I only see once a year

some great conversations

good food and plenty of it

Lowlights?

it was cold!!! And I mean, cold!! (Outside and inside the house, in spite of the log fires.)

leaving on the Sunday afternoon I managed to reverse my car into a big block of sandstone that was just too low to be visible in my wing mirrors... crunch!! So it turned out to be a pretty expensive weekend after all.

Anyway, I still think it is good to start the year with music.

If anybody still reads this stuff, may I wish you a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Behold the duck

2008-12-19T12:09:00.002Z

Talking of symbols...Manchester seems to have decided to celebrate Christmas without too much reference to Christ.

I apologize for the slightly fuzzy picture above. Maybe I was still shaking with laughter at the giant Santa - or perhaps it is a giant duck in a red coat? Who knows?

Gaudeamus Igitur

2008-12-17T23:13:00.005Z

When I first started writing this erratic, and often irrelevant blog, I made up my mind that my starting point for any "reflection" would be a photograph I had taken.
One problem that has arisen periodically is that on occasion I have been too busy to take any photographs and so I've had nothing to say. Another problem is that I had made up my mind, as far as possible, not to include pictures of people - especially if I had not sought their permission first.
But today I am going to break my second 'rule' by posting a picture of one of my daughters, who has just received her Masters Degree - because these are the latest photographs I have taken.
Like all of the other relatives present at the graduation ceremony, I was really only interested in one of the people receiving an award, and therefore almost all of my photographs were of her. However, there was one point in the proceedings (which, incidentally, began at the interestingly original scheduled time of 4.45pm yesterday evening) when I wished I'd had my camera ready.. but sadly I didn't.
So you will have to make do with my verbal description.
What I'm referring to is the entry procession of all the academics.
Depending on how you view these things it was either impressively dignified or ridiculously pompous (often there is only a very thin dividing line between the two... as anyone involved with church things ought to realise!)
I'm afraid my warped way of seeing things ended up in my personal assessment veering toward the latter... i.e. rather ridiculous.
You see, at the beginning of the procession there were two colourfully-robed individuals each carrying, with solemn perpendicularity, what looked to me like a silver plated fish-slice with an extra-long handle.
Bringing up the rear of the procession were two similarly robed individuals. They must have been less important, I suppose, because neither of them had been entrusted with a silver fish slice. Instead they each carried a snooker cue. Well... that's what it looked like to me. What else it might have been I do not know.
Nor have I the slightest clue what these objects represented or symbolised, although I have no doubt that there was some symbolic meaning to all of it- just as once upon a time there must have been some practical purpose for the 'mortar-board' hat. (An easily transported and readily available picnic table perhaps?)
That's the trouble with symbols... if you are not in on the secret they are meaningless.
And yet, for those who do know their meaning, symbols are a very powerful form of shorthand.
Most of my parishioners know that (quite long ago) I stopped wearing clerical robes. Part of the reason for that is that I no longer know what they are supposed to represent... and they often make me feel rather ridiculous, especially if I am playing the guitar.
But at least no one has ever asked me to process into church with a fish slice or a snooker cue...

Nature's Royal Variety Performance

2008-12-01T19:41:00.006Z

[A frozen, frost-covered Braidwood Loch]

Winter has definitely come to Carluke! Today's sub-zero temperatures would not have stopped me playing tennis (outdoor) this morning [several times in the past we've shovelled snow off the court to allow us to play] but my playing partner had another commitment this morning [or so he said] so the tennis was off.
Instead, I dug out the camera.
[I had to dig it out; it was buried under a pile of papers, folders and books on the big chair in my study!]
I set out on a cool (very cool) photo-shoot.

Braidwood Loch... (in reality it's just a village duckpond, but don't tell the residents of Braidwood I said that. It is, in any case, a very attractive duckpond in all seasons) ...
Braidwood Loch was frozen over and had a fresh layer of frost covering the frozen surface, like a dusting of icing sugar on a cake.

I just love the many different textures that a hard frost is able to create on trees, grass, plants, spiders' webs etc. In some ways, I think frost can sometimes do an even more spectacular transformation-job than snow.

On Wednesday evening the team of volunteers will put up the Christmas tree and decorations in the church, but now matter how creative and artistic they may be (and they usually do a brilliant job) they are not going to be able to compete with Nature's exterior decoration skills.

To top off a spectacular Natural Variety Performance, late this afternoon there was a lunar eclipse of Venus (or more accurately an occultation of Venus.)
Unfortunately, while my camera can do a pretty good job of capturing 'The Frost Show,' it struggles with the night sky and objects as far as away as Venus. This is the best I could do at capturing Venus as she re-appeared from behind the moon.

And all of this is free... no need to pay for a television licence to see the show!

[Readers from outside of the UK might wonder what this is. We pay a licence fee which funds the BBC.]

From a bridge to a wall

2008-11-28T15:09:00.002Z

The Great Wall of China at Badeling

I'm grateful to Peter about his comments on my photographs from Olympic Park Seoul and, of course, I have no objection to him (or anyone) using them as a desktop wallpaper. As long as no one tries to make any money out of them - though that's pretty unlikely.
The photograph I am currently using on my own desktop is the one above of the Great Wall of China. It's quite a contrast to the serenity of Olympic Park, with its the lone walker striding into the distance. There were so many people crammed into this particular section of the Great Wall that it was more jostling than walking.
And yet... for me there was something serene and awe-inspiring about this location too.
As I stopped and looked out at the Wall, seeing it snake across the countryside in bizarrely random directions as it clings impossibly to the contours of the hills and mountains, and knowing that it continues like this for over 2500 miles, I felt a sense of awe and amazement at what had been constructed here.
Much of it, I suppose, is in ruins and the Chinese authorities have been quite clever to concentrate visitors on particular restored sections like this one (nearest to Beijing.)
Looking at all the people going up and down various sections of the wall reminded me of watching ants at work, except that ants seem to have a much greater sense of purpose about what they are doing.
If we are being watched from outer space (and whether we are, or are not, makes absolutely no difference to me...) but if we are, I wonder what our extra-terrestrial observers would make of our crowded highways and even of that scene above?
...And back down here, with all the gloomy news of recession and Credit Crunch (possible name for a new breakfast cereal perhaps...?) do any of us really know where we are going?

Bridging the Gap

2008-11-25T09:24:00.004Z

I've always been fascinated by bridges.
I once had the "brilliant" idea of photographing all the bridges over the River Clyde, from source to estuary and writing an illustrated book telling the story of each bridge. (Some of them are pretty old, it has to be said.)
I gave up the idea when I realised that it is almost impossible to say which of the small tributaries that come together near Abington is the real source of the Clyde and also when I realised I couldn't be bothered doing all the research that would be necessary.
There are plenty of bridges in South Korea. It is, after all, a very mountainous country. Seoul itself has something like 27 bridges spanning the Han River- some of them quite impressive feats of engineering.
We came across the construction of a new bridge on our journey towards the border with North Korea and I managed to snap a few pictures from the window of our fairly fast-moving bus. (Hence the blurring in the foreground.)
I wanted the pictures because it seemed to me that this unfinished bridge was a symbol of our developing partnership.
In so many areas of life - not least in the Christian Church - there is a desperate need to tear down dividing walls and at the same time to build connecting bridges.

Olympic Park

2008-11-20T20:31:00.006Z

Talking of exercise... the favourite form of exercise in Korea is also one of the least expensive... walking! Every morning, hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of the citizens of Seoul religiously set out for a walk. It's the same in the evening. And, not surprisingly, one of the favourite places to walk is Olympic Park - a real oasis in the midst of the busy city, full of measured pathways so that you know exactly how many kilometres you have covered. And (of course) beautifully kept!
Given the number of people who were in Olympic Park on the morning I took these photographs, it was quite an achievement to make it look so deserted.

And on a lighter note...

2008-11-17T11:02:00.003Z

Just to prove that newspapers are not completely full of bad news... there is a little snippet in today's Herald (not in the electronic version) which says that "songs that make our hearts soar can make them stronger too." Apparently even just listening to 'heart-warming' songs can be good for your heart, and this very non-aerobic form of exercise has a similar effect to that of recently-lauded medications, such as statins and ACE inhibitors.
I would just want to add that singing such songs yourself (including inspiring hymns) is even better.
It has long been known that singing has positive health benefits for everybody (except occasionally for those who may be in earshot??)

Thoughts on a depressingly rainy Monday morning

2008-11-17T10:18:00.004Z

At the North Korean border

Since yesterday was the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church* and also the start of Prisoners' Week, our evening service last night focused entirely on the plight of Christians in various parts of the world who are oppressed, imprisoned and persecuted because of their faith.
Following on from my recent visit to South Korea, we included a special focus on North Korea.
North Korea is, as most people will know, a very closed society out of which it is very difficult to get accurate impartial information but the estimates are that there are about 400,000 Christians in North Korea and anything up to a quarter of them are currently imprisoned, many of them subjected to torture and some to execution.
Religious persecution is, of course, nothing new, and down through the centuries the Christian Church itself has often been guilty of horrendous abuses of power, especially in relation to Jews, and to Muslims at the time of the Crusades.
There is something very dark and dangerous in our human nature that is able to pervert the thoroughly wholesome desire for a sense of belonging and togetherness into the brutally destructive impulse to cast out those who seem to be different, or to attack those who do not belong to your tribe.
The attitude of Jesus himself was directly opposed to this sectarianism and he deliberately, and provocatively, stepped over boundaries in the company he kept and in his willingness to embrace the stranger. Of course, we know where that led him.
It has never been easy to stand up for the truth.
I was disturbed this morning to read a number of articles in the Herald that indicated that all is not well even within our so-called 'free' world.
In the first of them is the shocking statistic that one in four children have been bullied because of their faith.
Another article reported on the intolerant attitude of many adults in our society to children in general. (Apparently, half the population believes children are dangerous and behave like animals!)
In a third is reported the sadly predictable reaction of some people in the USA to the election of Barack Obama in a wave of racially-motivated crimes all over the States.
As well as praying for those (of all faiths) being persecuted around the world simply because of what they believe, and praying for those who persecute them, we also have to be constantly vigilant about what is happening in our own back yards. Somehow we have to 'stamp out' the small fires of intolerance that could easily be whipped up into the wildfires of outright hatred.

*in some places Sunday 9th November was observed as the Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

New Horizon

2008-11-15T23:14:00.002Z

Another picture of the sun rising over the East Sea near Sokcho.

I have just returned home from a "reunion."
To be honest I wasn't really looking forward to it... though as things turned out I am very glad that I went.
I think my apprehension was related to another reunion that I had attended in 1988 to mark the 400th anniversary of my secondary school (Hamilton Academy.) That event had taken place in the old school building itself and I found the whole experience a little bit disorientating - not because everything had changed, but on the contrary because most things seemed to be still the same as they had been more than 20 years previously.
Of course, many of the people had changed... outwardly at least.
The trouble is - I found the whole school reunion thing so superficial and even artificial- and I kept asking myself why I was there? What did I really have in common with all these other people?
A few years ago I also attended a reunion of my Final Year group from University (Divinity Faculty) and I found it equally strange. Just another poignant reminder of how quickly time passes.
But tonight's reunion somehow was quite different.
The purpose of the evening was to mark the 35th anniversary of a Christian singing group that I used to be in and of which, for a while, I was one of the leaders. The group was called "New Horizon" and it was formed in 1973. I had to leave the group in 1978 when I began work as an assistant minister in Castlehill Church in Ayr.
After I left, the group continued for another 17 years, performing and recording under the excellent musical leadership of Ian Watson. Since New Horizon continued long after my departure many of the newer members of the group were people I did not know, and had never known, and I think part of my apprehension (apart from my previous 'reunion' experiences) arose out of the feeling that since I had only been in the group at the very start of its life, I wasn't really a very significant part of its whole story. In the event that feeling quickly disappeared on entering the hall.
It was just a big family reunion.
But what made tonight special was that I met some people I hadn't expected to meet (and, to be honest, had always thought I might never meet again) and found that in spite of all the intervening years we could easily talk with each other as if we'd last met on Tuesday!
It's as if things that really matter to you never change and yet are always new.

Take my breath away

2008-11-13T19:18:00.007Z

The standard of driving in Seoul is not quite as hair-raising as that of Beijing (where taxi drivers seem to be on a perpetual mission to drive people to pray - well every taxi journey I took certainly drove me to pray... for safety!!)
But the driving style of Seoulites can still leave you a bit breathless when you are but a passenger, especially if your driver has a habit of accelerating as fast as possible towards clearly-red traffic lights and the obviously stationary vehicles up front, or when he/she chooses to career violently from one lane to another through seemingly impossible/invisible spaces.
(It reminded me a little of the Rockin' Roller Coaster at Disney's MGM Studios... but maybe even hairier! Although I remember as we went round the first 'bend' of that particular ride my specs flew sideways off my face. Amazingly, I caught them in my right hand.)
Anyway, back to car journeys through Seoul...
Worst experience of all was when my taxi driver decided to do a high speed illegal U-turn against a red-light into 6 lanes of oncoming traffic, then (in the space of a few yards) dart from the outside lane right across to the pavement in order to stop outside my hotel!!
As a guest, of course, you feel that you can say nothing- you just quietly grip the edge of your seat and try to take in the scenery as you are propelled along.
Having said that, much of the time that you spend on Seoul's roads you are going nowhere!
Since Seoul is the second most populated metropolitan area in the world (Tokyo having the dubious privilege of topping the list) one thing the city is rarely short of is the traffic jam!
But even the ironically-named "rush hour" can have its compensations.
I was stuck in one such traffic jam and my eye was drawn upwards to the elegant street lamps bathed in the late afternoon sunshine. They seemed to me to be like a flock of migrating geese (albeit the ones on the left only seem have one wing!)

Sometimes in our everyday lives we may feel we are being propelled at breakneck speed by events beyond our control, but occasionally you get the chance to stop... and look up and find beauty in everyday things.
Try it some time.
It might take your breath away in a different way altogether.

Land of the Morning Calm

2008-11-05T20:24:00.004Z

Talking of the new dawn... early morning is one of my favourite times for taking photographs. (Well, sometimes it is.)
The picture above was taken during the Korean trip, looking out on the East Sea from Sokcho, or at least near to Sokcho.
Before the sun had come up, the waters opposite our hotel were buzzing with little cuttlefish boats plying backwards and forwards, but despite all the activity there was a wonderful sense of calm and tranquillity, perhaps enhanced by the way in which the rising sun had transformed the sea into what looked like a vast lake of molten gold.
Perhaps not every new dawn is quite so spectacular but when one does come along, wherever it may be, it is worth taking the time to stop and stare and drink it in.
Even seeing the photograph full-screen on the pc rekindles something of the sense of calm of that morning.
Easy to see why Korea is called "Land of the Morning Calm"

(In fact 'Land of the Morning Calm' is apparently an English language nickname loosely derived from the hanja characters for Joseon, the name derived from the Joseon Dynasty and the earlier Gojoseon.)

The dawn of Hope

2008-11-05T11:26:00.004Z

(Sunrise on the Indian River, Florida, Feb 2008)

Am I imagining this (or perhaps projecting my own feelings on to those of others) but isn't most of the world heaving a sigh of relief at the result of the US Presidential Elections? Well, I am at least. Congratulations, Barack Obama! Naturally, we in Scotland are trying to claim him as one of our own! With slightly more justification the Kenyans too are excited and proud.
I was particularly heartened by the obvious desire of the American electorate to embrace change.
I am old enough to remember the 1960's - a time when black people in some parts of the States were not even allowed to vote. And now...?
Love them or loathe them, there is no doubt that Americans know how to 'do optimism.' (A little linguistic nod there to the way in which they are also skilled at 'doing in' the English language!)
The American Dream has been resurrected and I for one rejoice in that.
Living as I do in a much older nation, with an often tired and cynical attitude to democracy and to politics in general, I find it refreshing to witness the audacity of hope.
One 'scary' thing about Election 2008, though, is how closely reality seemed to mirror the fictional storyline of The West Wing. I think someone should check Obama's name. Maybe it is really Matt Santos?

Salted shrimp, anyone?

2008-11-04T15:45:00.006Z

On a visit to Ganghwa Island with my host and friend, Rev. Chang Bin, we found ourselves at the annual salted shrimp festival. It was a very colourful sight, especially the market stalls, but no photograph can capture the sounds or smells of such a marketplace. Nor can any of my words describe just HOW salted these tiny shrimps were!! Wow! Even thinking about it makes me thirsty! Not my favourite I have to say.

Actually, during our Korean trip I tasted all sorts of dishes that you are not likely to find in the average Scottish diet. Most of them (including seaweed, stuffed octopus, tofu soup, cold noodle soup, and even stuffed pigs intestines..) I could eat... and enjoy. And some, especially kimchi, I absolutely love!

But there was one dish I was happy to steer well clear of... hot, roasted bugs. I can't remember exactly what kind of larvae they were (perhaps even silkworm) but the smell of them roasting on a stall near the Seoul Tower at Namsan ensured that I gave that particular stall a very wide bodyswerve.

On the whole, though, I am a pretty adventurous eater. I can't understand people who travel to far off places then insist on eating exactly the same things they would at home. What's the point of that?

But sometimes even I have to draw the line.

When you think of all the strange things that human beings do eat in various places around the world it makes you wonder who first decided to try eating some of these things. It also makes you wonder how many people learned the hard way what NOT to eat.

What's the strangest dish you've ever eaten?

Answer me...

2008-10-30T16:32:00.004Z

As the weather turns very much colder here, and the first falls of snow being reported around the country, memories of warm Autumn days in Korea and China begin to fade very quickly.
Thankfully the hundreds of photographs I took confirm to me that it wasn't just a dream. I did actually return to Korea a couple of weeks ago.
While visiting the Korean Folk Village near Yongin, south of Seoul, we stumbled upon a film shoot for some Korean costume drama. The picture above shows some of the actors waiting on the call to go on set. If you look closely, you'll see that at least three of them are busy with their mobile phones while they wait.
I wonder if any of them have had their phones ring in the middle of a take?
These days there seems to be no place to escape the cell-phone.
During a service of worship in Korea, where I was preaching, a cell-phone started ringing very loudly. It wasn't too difficult to see who was the owner of the phone was as a red-faced member of the choir struggled to get into her handbag to switch it off!
It's a wonderful invention, and one I use myself from time to time, but maybe the mobile phone has made many of us even less patient than before. We expect to be able to reach people at any time and we get disappointed, frustrated, and even annoyed if they don't answer. (Well that is certainly how I have felt when trying to get hold of someone recently.)
How different from the old days when missionaries, or other travellers, went to far off lands are were never heard of for years at a time.
Maybe it also affects the attitude of some of us Christians to the business of prayer. If we don't get the answer we want straight away then we give up all too easily, forgetting that the primary point and purpose of prayer is not about getting what we want but about building a relationship of trust with God.
If I was God I think there would be times when I would put my phone to 'silent' or even switch it off altogether... there's always the answering machine, after all. (Now there's another device with an ironic name, since it never gives you an answer to your question!)

Watching me watching you

2008-10-29T19:38:00.005Z

I have finally managed to work my way through the many hundreds of photographs I took during my recent trip to South Korea and China. All I can say is 'thank goodness for digital photography!' Otherwise I would have gone through something like 4 dozen rolls of 35mm film (the 36 exposures size) and I would have needed the GDP of a small country to pay for the developing of the prints!
Of course, with digital photography most of the pictures don't get printed at all. And many of them are never looked at again.
The one obvious advantage of the digital photograph is the fact that you can see the picture immediately after you've taken it. (Which also means you can delete it straight away too.)
However, no matter how good the preview window in your camera (and mine is pretty good) you don't see all the details of the shot you've taken until after you view it full size on the computer screen.
Then, occasionally, you get a surprise.
Take a look at the photograph above, for example. Clearly it is a picture of part of the Great Wall of China- a truly awe-inspiring sight I have to admit. You'll see many people walking on that section of the wall.
But take a closer look (click on the picture to enlarge it if necessary) and you may notice someone who wasn't satisfied with taking the same photographs as everyone else but was determined to view things from his own perspective. Do you see him? Just behind the bushes?
I really didn't notice him when I took the picture.
But, then, even though we try to train ourselves to be attentive to the world around us there is still so much that we miss all the time, is there not?

On top of the world

2008-10-16T14:17:00.005+01:00

One of many photographs taken at the summit of Seoraksan (Mt. Seorak.)
Clear air, brilliant blue sky... and a Korean poser! [I'm pretty sure he came up most of the mountain in the cable car just as we did!]
But he does look pretty impressive, don't you think?
I wonder if "Visit Korea" would be interested in using the photo?

Across the great divide

2008-10-16T13:08:00.003+01:00

I've never been hugged by a General before... but a few days ago that was my experience as we stood on the northern border of South Korea looking across the demilitarized zone and into North Korea. The General himself was our host for lunch, and our guide, as we visited an observation post on the border. That certainly made getting through checkpoints pretty easy. We were treated once more as VIPs.
It was part of a three-day tour around the area including Seoraksan National Park which provided us with some stunning scenery and many unforgettable experiences, as well as hundreds of photographs. But having returned to Seoul a few days ago and being able to reflect on the whole trip it was perhaps that visit to the border which has left the strongest impression on me. Of course, I knew that Korea was a divided country, technically still at war, but I had not really grasped the heartache that this brings to many Koreans whose families have been torn apart for more than a generation.
Not everyone in Korea wants re-unification, though, and there are certainly fierce disagreements about how to go about trying to achieve it, even if it were possible (which it is not at the moment.) But it is as if the Korean people have been caught on a geopolitical fault line where the 'tectonic plates' of opposing ideologies and values are being pushed up against each other.
There are a number of such spots around the world; the most obvious one being in Israel/Palestine.
With the advent of nuclear weapons the fear is that any 'volcanic' eruption in any of these fault zones will prove to be catastrophic for the whole planet.
Our South Korean guests urged us to pray for their divided nation. Our visit to the border has made such urging unnecessary as I could not help but be deeply moved by the whole situation and, as there is little of practical value that I can do in that situation, prayer seems the only option left.
Returning to my encounter with the General, I have to say no one could have been more courteous, gracious, friendly or welcoming... but I wouldn't ever want to be his enemy!

In a pause between meals...

2008-10-11T13:45:00.003+01:00

This time I have a good reason for not being able to blog! I've been in South Korea since Wednesday heading a delegation from the Presbytery of Lanark (Church of Scotland) to East Seoul Presbytery (Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea) and we have been very busy since we have arrived. Also I have not had much opportunity to get online.

The picture above is meant to back up this claim as it shows us standing outside the national Headquarters of the PROK with two of our Korean hosts.

To be honest, the trip so far has been like one long meal interrupted by occasional activity!!

We are certainly not going to starve, physically or spiritually.

Last night on top of the feast of food we were given a feast of culture as various churches and individuals from East Seoul Presbytery put on a spectacular concert for us in Dongkwang Church. Our hosts preferred to call it a cultural exchange as it gave them the excuse to insist that we had to sing something Scottish. (In the end we gave in and sang something Scottish followed by something Korean - but with English words) However, there was no way we could compete with the Korean Drumming group, the Korean fan dancing group, the duo playing traditional Korean intruments, the fabulous young opera singer, the dancers, the accordion band (complete with the former Moderator of the East Seoul Presbytery on the harmonica) OR the ten-piece saxophone band made up of Korean policemen!! There will be photographs to follow to show I am not making all of this up.

I'm not sure if there is a TV programme of this name yet but let me tell you KOREA'S GOT TALENT!

But most of all it has a warm-hearted and generous people who know how to offer hospitality in a big, BIG way... especially when it comes to food! (I'm glad the weight restrictions set by the airlines apply only to the baggage and not the passengers.)

The Party's Over

2008-10-02T22:46:00.004+01:00

Well it didn't last long!! Final Score = Motherwell 0 Nancy 2.
Less than 18 minutes of the game gone and it was more or less over. Even though in my opinion there should not even have been a free kick awarded (which is what led to the first goal) as there was no foul committed that I could see [and I was right in the front row a few yards from it!] we were outplayed on the night by a far better footballing side. And they weren't brilliant. Motherwell were just very amateurish throughout.
The only thing Nancy lacked was a little bit of compassion! They might have let us enjoy the party for longer than 17 minutes!

Getting stuck in

2008-10-02T00:17:00.004+01:00

The full picture. And the right way up!
Tess, our cat, in cat-heaven with her head stuck in an ice-cream tub.
(It was more or less empty, I should say... before I get angry messages from cat owners telling me that the ice cream would have been bad for her.)
Sticking your head in a tub and hiding from the world can often seem like an attractive proposition, especially in a hectic week like this one.
Two funerals, a wedding, an elders training evening, all age youth service to plan, among other things... and I'm trying to get ready for an overseas trip.
AND...not forgetting... Motherwell v Nancy tomorrow night!!!
Let's hope the 'Well team get well and truly stuck in and get a result.

Life is full of little mysteries

2008-09-27T21:39:00.004+01:00

Yes, I know I've been a little bit lazy with the blog of late. It's so easy to get out of the routine/habit, and when you stop blogging, for whatever reason, it's not long before the blank screen starts to intimidate you and you just can't think what on earth to write about.
Part of my problem is that I started out this blog determined to use photographs I had taken myself as a starting point for some 'random reflections' but recently my camera hasn't seen the light of day except at weddings I have recently conducted. (I usually take a picture of the happy couple for our church magazine.) Although there have been quite a few weddings lately, I don't this is the place for wedding photographs.
As a little aside, however, I was amused (even a bit flattered) when the manager of one of our more popular local wedding venues offered me a job as a 'toastmaster'!
Needless to say it was an offer I could not accept. [For one thing I already miss too many Motherwell home games with weddings on Saturdays. And, perhaps much more importantly, I don't think I'm allowed to take on a second job... of any kind... even if I had the time.)
Anyway, back to the point- you may be wondering what on earth this particular picture is about.
If you are... that's good.
For that is precisely why I have put it here.
I thought it was time for another mystery picture.
Only this one is probably a slightly easier one to guess than the last one.
Talking of Motherwell home games, at long last today we got a home win. Not a particularly convincing one but a welcome one all the same, especially as the home leg of our UEFA cup tie is on Thursday night.
The winning goal today was scored, rather unexpectedly, by the midfielder Bob Malcolm. It would be good to think of it as a sweet first-time volley but in reality the ball just kind of bounced off his thigh and trundled over the line. The first reaction of most of the supporters around me this afternoon was to burst out laughing! although celebrations did follow when we realised that the unthinkable had actually happened.
Life is full of surprises and little mysteries is it not?
Tomorrow, however, I will be attempting to reflect on the truly unfathomable mystery of the Trinity - just the thing for a holiday weekend, don't you think?

The Law of Unintended Consequences

2008-09-14T20:58:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I was in Dundee representing Lanark Presbytery at the Church of Scotland's Church & Society Council Conference. It meant I was unable to watch my team (Motherwell FC) being thrashed 4 -2 by Celtic. Maybe I didn't miss much there.
But even apart from that I was glad that I did get the opportunity to take part in that particular conference, especially because the keynote speaker was Dr. Denis Alexander, a distinguished biochemist and Director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion at St. Edmund's College, Cambridge. His presentation, entitled 'Transcending Dawkins' God: renewing the positive interface between science and faith,' was informative, intelligent, interesting and inspiring.
I was delighted to get the chance to have a substantial conversation with him afterwards. Later, I also couldn't resist buying a couple of his books. (All I need now is some time to read them.)
There's no way I could summarise in a couple of paragraphs here Dr. Alexander's carefully argued and convincing presentation which showed there is no necessary conflict between science and faith but I can't resist sharing one little anecdote from his talk concerning Richard Dawkins' book "The God Delusion."
Apparently one of the scientists who is on Dr. Alexander's team in his Cambridge Lab was a confirmed atheist ... until, as a result of reading Dawkins' book, the atheistic scientist was converted to the Christian faith!
Now don't tell me God doesn't have a sense of humour!

Social Networking

2008-09-11T21:53:00.008+01:00

The world's largest particle physics laboratory, CERN, has been in the news lately and by now most people will probably know that it was here in 1989 that the Internet or World Wide Web first came into existence. A neat irony that! In order to break up atoms, it was necessary to bring scientific minds together by inventing a brand new means of communication.
I don't suppose Tim Berners-Lee and the others who first set up the original 'internet' ever dreamt that it would become the sprawling giant that it now is.
There have, of course, been some downsides to the whole project because any tool that human beings create can be used to harm as well as to help but overall it has been an amazing force for transcending borders and boundaries and opening up the field of knowledge to people all over the world.
And, what's more, it has been very useful for enabling people to keep in touch with one another all around the world, or even to help create new relationships altogether.

In the last few days, I've had a couple of interesting personal examples of this.

First of all, through Facebook, I received a message from a young man who had once been in our youth fellowship in Duntocher, over 20 years ago. Inevitably we had lost touch and I had no idea where he was or what he was doing.
Now, thanks to the internet, he has got in touch with me and I discover he (and his family) are in Canada and involved in a Presbyterian Church there.
What moved me most, however, was the little postscript he added at the end of his email:
"PS. You'll never know just how close I came to chucking in the shipyard for the cloth! You inspired us all!"

And then, just today, I received an email from Australia with the subject-heading "Do I know you."
Apparently the sender had (through Google) randomly stumbled upon this blog and my name rang a bell.
So he wrote:
"Are you possibly the Iain Cunningham I knew in the late 60's, early 70's from East Kilbride who attended Hamilton Acadmey at the same time as I did. The comments and tone of the entries on the blog are very reminiscent of the young lad I remember although the photo does him no justice at all."
What did he mean?? I haven't changed a bit! ...Have I?
To both Dougie and Wullie I'd like to say - if you are still reading this blog - thanks for getting in touch!
And to Tim Berners-Lee (and everyone at CERN) - thanks for making it possible!

The Black Hole

2008-09-10T22:46:00.004+01:00

Well the LHC at CERN (don't you love acronyms!!) has been switched on... and so far, so good...
We have not all disappeared down a black hole... yet... though some pessimists believe it is still a real possibility.
However, if anyone is interested... I KNOW what happens when you disappear into a black hole.
(So does anyone else who has ever been inside my study! )
And, although it may seem to flout the laws of physics and everything else, I can report that from time to time it is possible to get back out of it and into the real world again. I do it all the time.
In the international footballing scene Scotland seemed to dig themselves into a bit of a black hole in Macedonia but tonight they dug themselves back out of it with a gritty 2 -1 victory over Iceland. (I think that might be a local supermarket team, but I'm not sure.) Even here, though, they peered over the edge of the "event horizon" when the team captain got sent off and they had to hang on desperately for the last ten minutes or so.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about just now, you either haven't been watching the news or you couldn't care less about football, or both.
By the way, I'm sorry I wasn't able to upload a picture to go with this post. I tried to take some photographs of black holes but I couldn't get them in focus. :-)

A recovering chaplain

2008-09-05T08:41:00.005+01:00

I've just spent a very interesting/exhausting 5 days or so in St. Andrews. Unfortunately, it didn't involve any golf, or walking on the beach, or relaxing in seaside cafes or restaurants. It did, however, involve some serious over-eating!
I was at St. Andrews University, serving as chaplain to a conference run by the Church of Scotland Ministries Council for candidates for the ministry.
And a very interesting bunch of folk they are too!
Of course, as chaplain I have to observe strict confidentiality so I can't tell you all the different things that made this group (of about 90 people) so interesting. :-)
Seriously, though, it was quite encouraging to know that there are still men and women with great skills, talents and abilities willing to accept the call to ministry.
It's a long time ago now but when I think back to the days when I was training for the ministry I regret that we never had anything like these conferences (or many of the other things that are now in place for students) to help prepare us for the task. We (more or less) had to jump in at the deep end and hope that we could very quickly learn to swim.
And, not surprisingly, many didn't, and went under within the first five years of ministry.
I was delighted to learn just the other day while at the conference that there are now virtually no ministers dropping out during the first five years of ministry.
That can only be a good thing for everyone concerned.
Anyway, I know I said that I was sworn to secrecy... but without naming any names I can reveal that somewhere down the line some congregation somewhere is going to call a minister with the extraordinary (and totally useless) talent of convincingly impersonating a velociraptor.

Sheep may safely graze

2008-08-18T08:45:00.002+01:00

We have not seen very much sunshine in this part of the world this "summer."
However, most of the many weddings I have conducted since June have been blessed with good weather. One evening in early July, I was heading home from one of those weddings through a lovely part of rural South Lanarkshire (near Quothquan) and I couldn't resist stopping at this point to take a photograph of these peaceful fields. There were plenty of clouds in the sky but just enough breaks in them to allow the evening sunshine to light up the rolling hills and fields. The sheep lazily grazing away just added to the sense of tranquillity. I could have driven past in a hurry because (as always) there were many things still to do that evening but how much more satisfying to stop the car, get out and then just stare...
Reminds me of the poem by W.H. Davies.

Leisure

WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Gie us peace!

2008-08-14T11:02:00.005+01:00

I came across this interesting stone in the churchyard of St. Dieniol's Church, next door to the library.

When I first saw it I actually mis-read it as "The Place of God."

It seemed to me to be a fairly accurate summary of what many people nowadays think and feel. God's place is consigned to the graveyard!

It can be true in two different senses: firstly in the sense that the only time some people think about God at all is when they are confronted by the end of their own life or the life of someone they care about, and secondly (and perhaps even more common) is the notion that God himself is dead and faith in God is nothing but a foolish delusion.

Many people are happy therefore to wish that God will "Rest in Peace" and that those who still go on talking about God will give it a rest. ("Gie us peace!" being their watchword.)

I think for me part of the problem lies in the way that the words "peace" and "quiet" have become associated with each other.

We need a much more robust and lively understanding of what peace is.

It is not just the absence of war, or conflict, or even of hassle.

It is not just about having some space or time out of the busyness of living.

In other words, it is not the peace of the graveyard.

I much prefer the Biblical/Hebrew concept of "shalom" which (brilliantly) can be used as a noun, as a verb or as an adjective as well as being the means of saying 'hello' or goodbye.' Peace is something you do, as well as something you can have and a quality that can permeate anything.

This is a positive, muscular, heavy-duty kind of peace that is life-affirming and life-enhancing. It is about things not being broken or wounded or incomplete. It's about fulfilment and engagement: not escape.

That's the kind of peace I wish you all...

but here are the lyrics of an old Eagles song that could perhaps be taken either way

"I Wish You Peace"

I wish you peace when the cold winds blow

Warmed by the fire's glow

I wish you comfort in the, the lonely time

And arms to hold you when you ache inside

I wish you hope when things are going bad

Kind words when times are sad

I wish you shelter from the, the raging wind

Cooling waters at the fever's end

I wish you peace when times are hard

The light to guide you through the dark

And when storms are high and your, your dreams are low

I wish you the strength to let love grow on,

I wish you the strength to let love flow,

I wish you peace when times are hard

A light to guide you through the dark

And when storms are high and your, you dreams are low

I wish you the strength to let love grow on,

I wish you the strength to let love flow,

I wish you the strength to let love glow on

I wish you the strength to let love go on.

The Reader part 2

2008-08-11T17:27:00.006+01:00

Well... holiday time is over and it was back to work for me this weekend.
Hopefully it will also mean back to some blogging.
Weather-wise it was a pretty disappointing break. Most of the time I seem to have succeeded in avoiding any glimpses of sunshine that may just have fallen on the British Isles the last couple of weeks. I was in a number of places in England and Wales, including Manchester, Hawarden (more of which in a moment) Bristol and Buckinghamshire. And wherever I happened to be at any given moment, the sunshine was usually somewhere else.
In fact the photograph above is a little bit misleading in that there is actually quite a lot of blue sky showing. An hour or so after that moment, however, there was yet another monsoon.
Having said that, the main aim of my holiday break was not affected in any way by the weather, for I had decided that what I wanted to do most was some reading. Nothing too taxing or demanding. Nothing too 'useful' either. This was to be reading as a form of escape and relaxation.
I had intended (as I said in my last blog) to start with Jonathan Coe's "The Rotter's Club" and in fact I had begun reading before I left home.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take the book with me and for the moment it remains unfinished.
However, I had managed to pack a few others and over the course of the two weeks I read the following:
1. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. Actually I finished this just before I went on holiday. Excellent story, well-written. Definitely to be recommended.
2. The Rotter's Club by Jonathan Coe. Interrupted in mid-read by my all-too-common forgetfulness- so no final judgement on this one - though I really was enjoying it.
3. One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson. Very well written crime/detective novel set in Edinburgh. Interesting and (mostly) believable characters and an intricate but well-controlled plot line. Another good escapist read.
4. Enigma by Robert Harris. Some years ago I saw the film of this fiction, set in wartime Bletchley Park, and I thought I might find reading the book pretty boring, but it certainly wasn't. Actually I find the true story of Bletchley Park exciting but there is enough of the real historical background in the book to make it work. Having visited Bletchley Park itself a couple of years ago it was very easy to visualise every location in the novel. Another recommended read.
5. Out by Natsuo Kirino. I'm not sure exactly why I chose to buy this particular book. It is not the kind of story I would normally feel attracted to. It is certainly not one for the faint-hearted. But it was the highlight of my summer reading- though highlight is a particularly ironic word in the context. Brilliantly gritty and disturbing, this 520 page novel is a descent into the darkness of the human psyche and it leaves you wondering what any one of us just might be capable of doing, and what boundaries any of us might just cross if the circumstances were right (or should I say wrong?) Probably what makes the story most disturbing is that the circumstances in question amount to little more than boredom and hopelessness. But you'll need to read it for yourself to see what I'm talking about.
6. Steal You Away by Niccolo Ammaniti. Another story populated by low-life characters; this time in Italy. I didn't find this novel quite as enjoyable as Ammaniti's first book "I'm Not Scared" but it had its moment.
7. The Two of Us by Sheila Hancock (My Life with John Thaw) I haven't yet finished reading this biography/autobiography but it is certainly much more than you average showbiz biog. Very well written and interesting, especially the structure of the two lives side-by-side.
8. Flights of Love by Bernhard Schlink (author of The Reader) This is really a collection of seven different stories. They are slightly longer than the average short story, all written in the same cool, understated but poetic style as The Reader. The stories are not connected with each other on the surface but the title Flights of Love indicates a shared theme, explored in many different ways. It ends up as a pretty uneven collection, though. I think some of the stories try to do too much in their attempt to deal with Germany's historical past but there is also some pretty good pieces of writing in the midst all of this. Unfortunately, I don't think it quite reached the heights of The Reader.
9. Raids on the Unspeakable by Thomas Merton and
10. The New Man by Thomas Merton.
These last two books I borrowed from and read in St. Deiniol's Library in Hawarden (pictured above) where I stayed for two nights.
It was a trial visit, scouting out a possible location for some study leave next year. The library's website advertises it as a place for "bed, board and books", but it is also a place to meet some really interesting people, most of whom were engaged in much more intellectual pursuits than I was, writing dissertations for postgraduate degrees or books for publication and so on.
I think I will be back.

A few extraordinary moments

2008-07-25T11:14:00.003+01:00

Following up on my previous post... one of the books on my summer reading list that I am really enjoying just now is the above "The Rotters' Club" by Jonathan Coe.
It's a delightful read.
Here's a short paragraph that gives another slant to what I said in the previous post. It's an extract from a story within the story, written by the main character:
"I wonder if all experience can really be distilled to a few extraordinary moments, perhaps six or seven of them vouchsafed to us in a lifetime, and any attempt to trace a connection between them is futile. And I wonder if there are some moments in life not only 'worth purchasing with worlds', but so replete with emotion that they become stretched, timeless, like the moment when Inger and Emil sat on that bench in the rose garden and smiled at the camera..."

The Elusive Butterfly

2008-07-25T10:53:00.003+01:00

Even without a proper zoom lens it is not difficult to get good close-up pictures of flowers because, for the most part, they just sit there, perfectly still. Unlike people they don't freeze in front of a camera or put on a funny face to hide embarrassment. You don't have to ask them to smile. What you see is what you get.
Photographing a butterfly is a bit more difficult -especially without a good telephoto lens- because they never seem to stay still for more than a few seconds.
On the dunes above Embo beach in Sutherland I came across a patch of thistles which seemed to be a happy feeding ground for a whole host of butterflies.
Above is one of them.
I know it is a fritillary but I'm not 100% sure which one as (I believe) there are three kinds of fritillary found in the north east of Scotland. [Again, someone more knowledgeable correct my facts if they are wrong, please.]
I think this may be a Dark Green Fritillary.
Now - I know it doesn't look in the slightest bit green but that just proves the ingenuity of those who identify and classify things like butterflies, of which there are so many varieties. The green (apparently) is on the underside of the wings (of the male only?) I can't remember exactly what I read somewhere about them and I don't have time to check.
To get a clear enough picture [and remember to click on the picture to see it full size] I had to get in to about half a metre from it. Not easy when the butterfly refuses to sit still for more than a few seconds at a time. This one, however, was enjoying a long drink of thistle nectar and gave me just enough time to snap away.
I think it is the elusiveness and fragility of butterflies that makes them so fascinating. (I can't help feeling my age when a certain song by Val Doonican runs through my head as I type these words!! - The Elusive Butterfly of Love, for those too young or too sophisticated to know.)
I may have quoted these lines before but many, many years ago I once wrote:

"The painting of a word on paper
or the ghost of an idea
are as fleeting as the glance of light
reflected from the rippled pool,
or the wings of a butterfly
rubbed against the summer air."
(c) Iain D. Cunningham

One thing I love about photography is its ability (very occasionally) to freeze such elusive moments in time; though perhaps in the very act of doing so, the reality is distorted. Butterflies, for example, just do not sit still for as long as it took you to read these words!

Impulse buying

2008-07-23T10:48:00.003+01:00

Last week I bought myself a new guitar!
(A Tacoma DM14C electro-acoustic if you want to know.)
I've been saving up for one for a while.
My trusty old Yamaha FG-335 acoustic has just celebrated its 30th birthday and, like myself, it is getting a bit worn around the edges - or to be more precise along the fretboard. Admittedly I have seen a lot more than 30 birthdays.
Recently the Yamaha has also been harder to keep in tune for some reason. Maybe the tuners are just worn out too.
I was amazed to discover that people still buy and sell that old Yamaha on eBay for as much as £150. It was a good guitar, and has served me well, since it was first given to me away back in 1978. It's built like a tank and has withstood a fair amount of rough handling without any major injury. Unfortunately it would probably cost £100-£150 to have it re-fretted and the fingerboard repaired or replaced, so I thought the time had come to look for a replacement.
I did my usual thing and embarked on some research into makes and models - Ibanez, Takamine, Freshman, Tanglewood, Taylor (way out of my price range!)...
I saw (and more importantly heard) Newton Faulkner play his hand-built Benjamin guitar and briefly lusted after one - though I have as much chance of ordering and owning one of them as I have of owning a Ferrari!
Tacoma were not even on my radar, until I picked this one up in the guitar shop.
Right away I loved the clean bass sound and the fine and beautifully smooth neck. It just felt right. And it sounded good- even with my playing.
But I wasn't going to make any impulsive decisions (I said to myself) and informed the salesman in the guitar shop that I was going to visit another couple of guitar stores and music shops before I made up my mind.
I left the shop and started walking towards another store - less than half a mile away.
I walked quite quickly to begin with, then found my pace slackening off - not because I was out of breath but because I was getting further away from that guitar which I'd just played. It was calling out to me like a little puppy with irresistibly-appealing big brown eyes! "You know it is me you want!!" "Remember what I felt like in your hands!"
So I turned round and walked straight back to the shop and impulsively handed over nearly twice as much as I'd set out to spend.
All of this is a perfect illustration of why shopping and I just don't go together, and why shopping is for me a rare experience.
It's been well said that "the best things in life... are not things."
Well, the thing about any well-made musical instrument is that it is so much more than a thing. It represents possibilities yet to be explored, because any musical instrument is only ever as good as the hands that play it and the mind that controls it.
A bit like our own human lives I suppose.
This was also when I realised that my own guitar-playing hasn't evolved much in the last 25 years. New guitar: new challenge! Learn some new tunes and some new techniques.
Oh - and there's another new challenge. This one won't fit into the boot of my car!
And it's not a Ferrari.

Consider the lilies of the garden

2008-07-21T21:28:00.004+01:00

One of my sisters has a fantastic garden.
A few years ago it was little more than a field in the highlands of Scotland. Now it is an oasis of colour and beauty. The transformation is the product of lots of creative imagination and lots and lots of constant hard work.
The whole garden is quite amazing but I usually like to home in on individual plants or objects because there is often as much great beauty and interest to be found in the small things as in the big picture.
The flower photographed above was one of my favourites this 'summer.'
I am no expert (certainly not when it comes to actually WORKING in the garden!) but I believe this may be a variety of Zantedeschia or arum lily. I'd be happy to be corrected by anyone who knows otherwise.
These flowers are not exactly shy and retiring are they? They almost SHOUT at you to notice them. And why not? Even the plant world seems to have its celebrities enjoying their moment of fame.

[Don't forget to click on the picture to see it full size.]

Going and Coming

2008-07-09T12:48:00.006+01:00

One of the first things I noticed about Trigony House Hotel was the lintel above the main doorway. Carved into the stone were the words:
The Lord bless thy going out and thy coming in.
A slightly more interesting and unusual 'welcome' sign than the ones you find at the entrance to most modern hotels!
Given the order of the 'prayer' (i.e. beginning with going out and ending with coming in) I wondered if it had more to do with wishing guests a good shooting expedition than simply welcoming them to the lodge for the first time but somehow, for me, it set the tone for our mini retreat.
Of course perhaps it is meant as a variation of the old Scottish way of saying goodbye "Haste ye back!" ...i.e. once you've gone, we hope you come back again soon.
Then again - maybe it's just because in the Psalm from which this is a virtual quotation (Psalm 121) going comes before coming.
I better stop rambling now because I don't know whether I'm coming or going!

Calm between the storms

2008-07-09T12:24:00.003+01:00

On Sunday I was preaching about some of the 'storms' of life that inevitably come our way, sooner or later. Given the recent 'summer' we have been 'enjoying' of late some might have been forgiven for thinking that I was just talking about the weather. But, of course, I meant it metaphorically.
Sometimes these 'storms' can be emotional or even spiritual tempests that threaten to overwhelm you altogether. At other times it might just be, as for myself recently, a whirlwind of activity or busyness.
Either way, any opportunity for calm is very welcome.
I have been very busy lately, especially with funerals and weddings, but on Sunday evening into Monday we had the opportunity to find some calm between the storms spending some time at the lovely oasis of tranquillity that is Trigony House Hotel
Whether it was the comfortably large room, the really excellent food, the beautiful garden and surrounding countryside... or just the extra large bed... it was a truly restful overnight stay. But perhaps most refreshing of all is just having friendly staff that serve you willingly and even gladly.
It reminded me that Jesus gave his disciples some very powerful and thought-provoking examples of service (like washing his disciples' feet) to show that he had come to serve not to be served, but he also set an example of allowing people to serve him. I am sure this helped to give him the strength he needed to do all that he did- that along with his frequent retreats into the quietness of the hills.
O let the summer come...

The Reader

2008-07-04T09:14:00.002+01:00

Sometimes the act of writing comes very easily. You get an idea and the words spill out almost by themselves. Such times however are almost as rare as hen’s teeth.

Most of the time, it is just plain hard work. Sometimes it even seems a totally impossible task. The blank sheet of paper, or worse the blank computer screen, taunts you and mocks your lack of inspiration.

I find that by this time of year I am running almost on empty. And yet my role as a preacher demands the production of something new (or nearly new) every Sunday. I know when I am needing my holiday. And I know what I have to do when I do get the time off. I need to read: not write— just read for the sheer enjoyment of it.

I’m a bit of a binge reader actually. Once I get started I tend to devour book after book.

I’ve already gathered together some of the books I intend to take on holiday with me. I know I won’t get through them all but I don’t want to run out either. So I’ll take more than I need and (if past experience is anything to go by) I will still find a bookshop and buy some more.

To be honest, I have started my binge, although I won’t be on holiday for some weeks yet. Ironic, perhaps, that the first volume on my holiday booklist is called “The Reader.” by Bernhard Schlink.

No comments on it until I’ve finished… except to say that it is already a pretty good read.

Now back to that blank computer screen: I’ve a sermon to write!

Seizing the day

2008-06-26T23:56:00.005+01:00

OK - it wasn't quite 'the whole truth and nothing but the truth' when I said I didn't take any pictures at Linsay & Kerron's wedding. In fact I took a few pictures before the event, of the marquee/gazebo in the garden, the empty hall and the florist preparing the church etc. as well as a few pictures in the house as we were all getting ready - such as this one of Lynn putting on Linsay's make-up. But I knew that when the time came for me to get into the wedding car with my daughter any kind of camera was just going to be in the way.
In any case, I also knew that I would not be able to compete with the official photographer for the day, Owen Roseblade.
[Great name that, isn't it? Only if you didn't say it very clearly someone might think you were saying "Havin' a Nosebleed!"]

Well, I'm happy to say that Owen has lived up to his reputation.
As a photo journal of the day it really does capture the joy of the occasion.

O Happy Day!

2008-06-23T13:51:00.005+01:00

In reply to those who have asked why so little blogging lately, my excuse has been all the planning and preparation for my daughter's wedding on Saturday (though to be honest my contribution was marginal in comparison to what my wife did.) Apologies also that the above picture was not taken by me but by one of the guests "Chu." I was already wearing two hats as Father of the Bride and as Minister; I didn't want to complicate things further by trying to be amateur photographer as well.
I do have a few pictures taken before the wedding (i.e. when the sun was shining...) but once proceedings got under way I am afraid I was too busy to even think about taking photographs.
It was an absolutely brilliant day from start to finish. Beforehand I had wondered how it might feel walking down the aisle with Linsay then having to conduct the worship. Would I be completely overcome with emotion?
I have to admit that halfway down the aisle there was a brief flutter... but from then on it was just a totally joyful day, helped no doubt by the fact that Linsay and Kerron themselves seemed to be having such a good time.
My task was made easier by the fact that Linsay and Kerron had invited a friend, Andy Flannagan, to lead the praise at the beginning and end of the service and their former employer Andy Reed MP, to read the Bible readings. There was another Andy (Cunningham) in charge of the sound desk - so we almost had as many "Andes" as South America!
The ceremony was followed by champagne in a slightly chilly Manse garden, then a barbecue (cooked outside but eaten indoors) and finally a ceilidh in the church hall, led by "Rule of Three."

Come and worship...

2008-06-12T17:36:00.004+01:00

Anyone who knows me will be aware that I rate the activity of shopping slightly below dental treatment in the scale of pleasurable pastimes. In fact, normally, I will do everything in my power to avoid shops altogether.
However, earlier this week, I spent a few days helping my eldest daughter to move house from one part of the great city of Manchester to another part of that same city. I really enjoyed the opportunity to spend a few days with her before her imminent wedding. I also (believe it or not) enjoyed building up all the flat-pack furniture- a bedside cabinet, a wardrobe and three bookcases. [By the time I got to bookcase number three I was an expert!]
However, it was also necessary to visit some shops during the course of my few days of being a one-man house-removal firm. And one of those expeditions into (for me) virtually foreign territory took us to The Trafford Centre, pictured above.
(I didn't have my camera with me so I have had to borrow a photograph from the Flickr site of Nicola Whitaker )
If you have not seen the Trafford Centre for yourself, you do not know what you are missing. To be honest, I'm not quite sure what I didn't miss!!
Believe me, this is one of the wonders of the modern world.... in a perverse sort of way.
Actually my first thought when we arrived was that somehow I had taken a detour and had accidentally ended up in Disneyworld. Well, for a start there are about 10,000 car-parking spaces. And everything looks like it has been manufactured out of resin. Then I wondered if I might be having an Alice-in-Wonderland moment.

Perhaps some people will find the Trafford Centre, and similar places (if there are any) to be places of inspiration and delight. To me it all seemed tackier than hot bitumen and as tasteful as tofu. (And, again, anyone who knows me will know what I think of tofu!)

Don't get me wrong- the place was utterly spotless and well-maintained, and clearly cost plenty of money to create, but to me it was the most over-the-top extravaganza I have seen in a long time.
In fact, I think that the Trafford Centre is to architecture what the Eurovision Song Contest is to music- i.e. there is some sort of relationship there but I don't quite know what it is.
I wonder what the reaction of some of my Kenyan friends might be to such a place?
But it set me thinking.
What is actually going on here?
Perhaps the explanation is simple: shopping has become a religion.
If the local superstore is the parish church of this new religion, giant retail parks like The Trafford Centre are the cathedrals and temples to the new gods. Like the great medieval cathedrals of Europe, these are places of pilgrimage for the consumer age, a homage to the gods of retail therapy and consumer credit.
The green domes of the Trafford Centre do look a bit like film-set copies of renaissance cathedrals. However, the main entrance is more of a Greek or Roman temple. (It's hard to tell which as all sorts of styles seem mixed up with each other.)
They are certainly places of sacrifice!
I know...
I ended up getting my credit card out too!

_The food hall... or maybe the deck of a luxury liner...

The perils of public speaking and live broadcasting

2008-05-30T14:10:00.002+01:00

There are many perils and pitfalls facing anyone who would speak in public. Most of us who do it for a living, in one context or another, will have our own cringing memories of gaffes and blunders we have made, which is probably why there is a little frisson of secret delight when someone else does it!

Perhaps the only thing worse than accidentally saying the wrong word to a 'live audience' (since speaking to a 'dead audience' doesn't count!) is broadcasting your gaffe on national radio.

I was driving home a couple of days ago and, though I tend not to listen to the radio when I am driving, I was tuned in to Radio Scotland in order to hear the news at the top of the hour. Immediately following the news and sport there is normally a traffic report.

The female announcer (whom I will not name on compassionate grounds) unfortunately stated -with all due solemnity- that, as a result of excess surface water, traffic was very slow in the Charing Cross Underpants!

I just wonder what was in her mind at the time...

No, actually, I don't.

She compounded the error by immediately noticing her mistake and trying to correct it thereby drawing it to the attention of those who had not heard it in the first place.

For, of course, the truth is that we often hear what we expect to hear, just as we often read what we expect to read.

It's just a pity that sometimes we fail to say what we expected to say...

Oh, incidentally, she meant to say Charing Cross Underpass... I think.

Late for lunch

2008-05-27T11:24:00.002+01:00

This is where I should have had lunch on Wednesday!

Holyrood Palace, one of the Queen's official royal residences in Scotland and home to the Lord High Commissioner and his retinue during the General Assembly.

(The photograph is not mine but from T Stadler's Flickr site. You will maybe understand why in a moment.)

To set this in some context I should explain that I am very much a last-minute sort of person (at least in terms of preparing for talks, sermons, speeches, meetings etc.) but, paradoxically, I absolutely hate being late for a meeting or other event. In fact, I will often arrive far too early for an event rather than be caught out by heavier than usual traffic or by some other unforeseen delay.

So imagine my frustration on Wednesday when we were too late for lunch.

Originally we had been invited to the palace on the Sunday but I had to point out that, since I am a Parish minister, Sunday was a working day for me and I couldn’t manage.

The palace very kindly issued another invitation for the Wednesday—the last day of the Assembly.

Although not a Commissioner at the General Assembly I was due to present the report of the Nomination Committee, of which I was convener. I had, of course, prepared the report at the very last minute the night before.
In the event, some of the reports before mine provoked lengthy debate and so went beyond their allocated time. By the time I stood up to speak I was already supposed to be at Holyrood and the palace had already phoned to ask where I had got to.
So we were too late and couldn’t go the palace after all.

However, the Moderator, Rev. David Lunan and his wife, Maggie, whom we have known for many years, invited us to have lunch with them instead. And a very nice lunch it was too!
(I have been reliably informed that we probably would not have been so well fed at the palace ...but I couldn’t possibly comment.)

The map re-drawn...Motherwell now in Europe!

2008-05-14T00:14:00.004+01:00

Tomorrow night the focus of many in the footballing world will be on Manchester for the UEFA Cup Final. Though it is not my team I will certainly be a Rangers supporter for the night.
But I was celebrating another achievement on Sunday... Motherwell FC (the team I do support) qualified for a place in Europe [not that Motherwell, the town, wasn't already in Europe, you understand... but you do have to use the right jargon... come to think of it, I should have said 'Motherwell got into Europe!' followed, probably, by something like 'the boys done well.']
Actually, the 'Well did very well, considering the trauma that the club went through at the end of last year. Much of the credit for that must go to our manager, Mark McGhee, but on Saturday, at least, some of it went to local Carluke teenager, Darren Smith, who got us on the way with the opening goal.
Pity he got so carried away with his goal celebrations that he took off his shirt.

The other Albert

2008-05-14T00:04:00.004+01:00

This is the other Albert - Albert Bogle - he certainly wasn't "born at Nexus in 2007" but he was the driving force and inspiration behind the National Gathering. Now he just has to convince the General Assembly (many of whom were probably not at the gathering) that it really was a worthwhile event.
...which it certainly was!

Albert

2008-05-13T15:55:00.002+01:00

You are invited to a party

2008-05-08T16:34:00.002+01:00

One of my favourite speakers at the National Gathering at the weekend was Michele Guinness - and one of my favourite quotes out of all that she did say, as she invited us to enjoy celebrating, was this:
"Our God is a party-loving God and Jesus is a party-going Saviour."

...not that the casual visitor to some church services I've experienced would ever suspect this!

Leaving your mark

2008-05-06T09:34:00.001+01:00

Another little picture from the weekend's "National Gathering."
There was an All-Age Worship Event on the Sunday afternoon. Lots of fun it was too, with singing, dancing, drama, and food too...
At the end of it, those who had participated were invited to leave their mark on the tarmac - using chalk. For, of course, the truth is that wherever we go in life we leave behind our mark, for better or worse, and at the same time we are constantly picking up something of what others leave behind. (That's the first principle of forensic science after all, isn't it?)
I took loads of pictures of what folk left behind of themselves in this way - messages about how much they'd enjoyed the weekend, pictures of themselves or their friends, Bible verses and sayings. I've chosen to post just one of them with the simple anonymous blessing to anyone who might pass by "Have some love!"
Is there any better gift than that to leave behind - not just on a pavement but in our everyday lives?

Every tent tells a story

2008-05-06T08:50:00.002+01:00

One of the central features of the National Gathering was the array of around 200 "story-telling" tents.
The tents had been purchased by congregations, or groups of congregations, and were set up as mini exhibition areas through which the different congregations could share their own stories of what was happening in their part of the world. And the variety of presentations, not to mention stories, was amazing. [There was even a congregation from Argentina that had taken a tent to share their story.]
Some had gone to great lengths and exercised some real imagination to produce eye-catching displays: others relied much more on their people to simply share the story with others. The overall effect, however, was to break down barriers between individuals and groups and get folk talking to each other and making new friends.
The sharing of stories is often what creates community and binds communities together. And, what's more, the act of sharing your story with someone else can often be as much a source of encouragement as hearing the stories of others.
The tradition of community story-tellers used to be very strong in Scotland. Often these story-tellers were travelling people who would go from one village to another sharing their tales and entertaining the people and no doubt on the way gathering more material for more stories.
It's an art-form that, thankfully, is being revived by the Scottish Story-Telling Centre.
As its director, Donald Smith, points out: "In the old Scottish Traveller proverb a story should be told ‘eye to eye, mind to mind, and heart to heart'. "
There was a lot of that going on at the National Gathering, as you can see from the picture above.
I wish more preachers would realise the importance of story-telling as a way of opening up the imagination of people and getting them to think for themselves, instead of trying to tell people what to think.
After all, we have in Jesus the example of one of the best story-tellers in all human history.

Anke dje, anke be

2008-05-05T20:20:00.006+01:00

I know! I know! I've had far too long a break from blogging... and by now I am bound to have lost all of my readers. So, no doubt I am now just talking to myself.
But - hey - I'm a preacher, I can handle that! Plenty of experience.

Talking of preachers...I've just met and also listened to the preaching of the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu.
Now there is someone who is surely never going to be short of listeners!

I have just returned from the Church Without Walls National Gathering in Edinburgh, and what an inspiring and refreshing experience it was. I'll say more about it in future posts, because this was one occasion when the camera was working overtime, but for the moment I just want to mention what a privilege it was to be in the hall with about 3,500 others, listening to the Archbishop delivering a message that was thoughtful and thought-provoking, careful and challenging, but also at times very moving and at times very funny.
For example...
"Are you the kind of person who, when he wakens up, says, 'Good morning, God!' or the kind that says 'Good God it's morning!'"

What I liked most about John Sentamu (and it was true not just of his preaching, but also of his one-to-one conversations) was his authenticity.
He is, quite simply, a man filled with genuine enthusiasm-and it makes him such an easy person to have a conversation with because he is truly interested in the person he is talking to. That's an example definitely worth following.

Oh... and he knows how to have fun too...

Towards the end of the worship service he got hold of a djembe and joined Jane Bentley in leading the singing with some enthusiastic drumming.

It's interesting to me that, according to the Wikipedia definition of a djembe* [and who would ever doubt Wikipedia? :-) ] the purpose of the djembe is to gather people together to hear some news or to celebrate... exactly what the National Gathering itself was all about.

* "According to the Bamana people in Mali, the name of the djembe comes directly from the saying "Anke dje, anke be" which literally translates to "everyone gather together", and defines the drum's purpose. "Dje" is the verb for "gather" in Bamanakan, and "be" translates as "everyone" in Bamanakan.

Dear Green Place

2008-04-18T18:54:00.005+01:00

After my visit to the Orchid Fair at the weekend I was relieved to hear that Glasgow District Council had thrown out plans to allow the building of a nightclub and restaurant in the Botanic Gardens. I have nothing against nightclubs per se but I think it would have been a pity if this particular project had been allowed to go ahead, a view shared by many of the garden's neighbours.
Every city needs its oases of tranquillity and the Botanical Gardens in Kelvingrove is precisely one of those. It's also the place I often used to go to in order to eat my lunch when I was a student - although I concede that this is a less compelling argument for preventing the proposed development.
In our own individual lives too we need similar quiet places; a place that can be for us an oasis of light and shelter where we may be able to appreciate the beautiful things of life in the midst of far too much busy-ness and ugliness... or simply a place to pause and draw breath.
I wish you the gift of tranquillity in your own dear green place.

Catching up

2008-04-14T21:28:00.003+01:00

Another of my readers pointed out that my web-clock was an hour slow!
I wondered how long it might take for someone to notice.
Actually... to be honest, I just couldn't be bothered correcting it. But now that it has been pointed out, I have made the necessary changes. Hopefully now it is showing the correct time.

Long pointy beard

2008-04-14T21:08:00.003+01:00

One of our younger readers made the observation that the orchid pictured in the previous post looks "like a man with a long pointy beard!" I'm sure she must have been referring to the above Yosemite Sam from the Looney Tunes cartoons.
However, you may have some alternative suggestions as to the resemblance.
I'd like to hear about them. Just don't tell me that it looks like ME!

The princesses of the palace

2008-04-14T19:32:00.005+01:00

Well, I shook the dust off my camera case and, at long last, gave my camera an outing. We headed into the city (Glasgow) to the Kibble Palace (part of the Botanic Gardens) for an "orchid fair" that was taking place there over the weekend. The Kibble Palace itself is always worth a visit, especially after its recent restoration.
It took me back more than a few years because when I was a student in Glasgow I often used to go there to eat my lunch.
However, on this occasion, the main focus of attention was the Orchid Fair that was taking place - an opportunity for orchid growers from all around the country to display their prize specimens.
There were two things that I really enjoyed about the exhibition- the first (perhaps rather obviously) was the collection of orchids themselves, in all their incredible variety; the second was the enthusiasm of the growers as they spoke to visitors about their plants and how they looked after them.
I almost always respond to enthusiasm. I know that some people who have particular interests and passions can sometimes be a real bore but most of the time the enthusiasm of people is infectious, especially when such people are not trying to show off their superior knowledge but are simply expressing their own love for whatever has grabbed their interest.
When it comes to people trying to share their faith you get both types. Sadly there are more than a few who could bore the pants off anybody when they start talking about what they believe- some can even be quite offensive and a real turn-off- but people with a genuine passion for their beliefs who are not trying to belittle others or bully them into sharing their beliefs can often discover that their enthusiasm is infectious too.
Anyway, enough of that and back to the orchids.
They come in such an astonishing variety of colours and shapes that I was mightily relieved that digital photography had been invented- otherwise I would have shot off four rolls of film in half an hour and not been able to afford the cost of developing the prints. 120 digital photographs however costs nothing to look at one the computer screen.
Of course, I have absolutely no idea what variety any of the particular orchids were, including the one pictured above, but I just marvelled at their beauty and thought to myself - no wonder people get enthusiastic about them!
All the same, I am not about to take up orchid growing myself. I know my limitations!

Hot under the collar

2008-04-08T12:20:00.004+01:00

Those who know me will be aware that I am not someone who likes to get dressed up in clerical attire. Personally, I think that "dog collars" suit dogs better than people (although dogs may think differently.) The one situation where wearing the "dog collar" sometimes comes in useful is in hospital visiting. It can act as a passport to visiting someone outside of normal visiting times. However, yesterday I did visit someone in hospital, outside of visiting hours, wearing a perfectly ordinary shirt and tie (even though I have to admit that the tie is almost as absurd and useless as a dog collar.) I simply explained that I was the patient's minister and my explanation was readily accepted. (Maybe that means I look like a minister??)
The only other times I tend to wear a clerical collar are when conducting funerals or weddings (in the case of the latter it goes well with my kilt.)
My reasons for not going in much for clerical attire have nothing at all to do with fashion. (Again, anyone who knows me will realise that I know next to nothing about what is fashionable.)
It is simply that I believe in a relational, rather than a formal, style of ministry, so it is important to have as few barriers as possible between me and other people. I think God works best through our own individual personalities which, after all, are his gift to us, rather than through any kind of 'uniform' that suppresses who we are and gives us a formal status.
I realise of course that many people (including no doubt a number of my own congregation) will see things quite differently.
I respect their views.
After writing the above and while "googling" the net for a suitable picture to go with it, I came across this blog post which raises similar issues but much more eloquently. I have to say, however, that unlike Elizabeth MacFarlane I have rarely if ever suffered any kind of abuse while wearing the collar: I just think it gets in the way of real conversations.
Still on the subject of clerical attire, I am grateful to Steve Tilley for pointing me to this video that gave me such a laugh.

Quiet strength

2008-04-07T10:46:00.003+01:00

The image above from Japan shows a famous cherry tree whose roots have split a massive granite rock in two.

Had a busy but enjoyable day yesterday preaching in my own church in the morning and in the local baptist Church in the evening.
In my morning sermon I quoted a song/hymn I had written some years ago but had forgotten all about- a reminder that there are different kinds of strength, other than brute force.

O Lord, in your weakness you were strong
As you stood on trial for love.
You wouldn't give in to fear or anger;
your heart would only forgive.

At the mocking of kings and jeering of soldiers,
your dignity was abused;
yet love was the answer you silently gave:
Let it be Your way that we choose.

O Lord in your silence you spoke boldly;
the world had nothing to say.
A whole new Creation, from your dying,
came into being that day.

While the scoffers and cynics
still have their moments,
and faithful ones are confused,
your love is the answer you silently give:
Let it be your way that we choose.
(c) Iain D. Cunningham

Reflection

2008-04-02T11:09:00.005+01:00

I'm a bit short on inspiration these days. Just too many things that have to be done by strict deadlines. However, someone in my congregation just passed on to me last night a meditation/reflection that she wrote, although what she actually said was: "I held the pen."
If you are feeling a bit fragile, fearful or unsure of the future, think of this as God's message to you today.

The photo is of one of the beautiful beaches on Islay

I have no eyes to see what you hold in your heart,
you cannot feel me until you let go of your fear,
you will never come to harm so long as you have me.
Take my hand and feel my love,
embrace the gift I have given you,
feel the light in your heart
and know that I am always with you giving you strength.
Take time and I will give you joy.
Through me you will know yourself,
you cannot help but know me,
I am with you all of your life,
and beyond.
You know me just as I know you,
we are one.
Be still,
be quiet and I will come to you when you are ready.
Take time to hear my voice.
You will recognise me as you would yourself.
Through me you will know love as you never have before.
Take it!
There is always more.
You will never be shut off from me.
There is always more.
Bring yourself closer to me,
feel my presence with you.
This is home.

(c) Joan Hazelwood

Who knows what goes on inside her pretty little head?

2008-04-01T17:55:00.006+01:00

I've spoken before about our cat, Tess. She can be a strange creature sometimes - one minute very affectionate, the next fairly ferocious.
When I am working at my desk she has a habit of jumping up onto the desk and walking all over the computer keyboard (which makes for some interesting new words) before settling down usually on the pile of papers that I am working on, or else she will try to curl up on my knee which is equally distracting.
This morning she did her usual and, as often happens, her attention was drawn to the movement of the cursor on the screen. Since I wasn't going to be working with the computer at the time I decided to do something to keep her 'out of my hair' or at least off my knee. I put a DVD into the pc drive. Now, I've noticed already that Tess likes watching wildlife programmes on the telly, especially if it involves elephants, or members of the cat family. Well, this was a documentary on Mountain Lions.
It worked!
She was transfixed! She sat on the desk totally absorbed by the pictures on the screen. I'm not sure how much of the commentary she understood but I think she fancied herself prowling among the mountain regions of South America. She was definitely star-struck!
I think she could turn into a real desk potato if I let her...

[remember to click on the photo to see it full size]

Going nuts

2008-03-29T09:22:00.004Z

As the above ad says "It doesn't take a sledgehammer to crack a nut" but that doesn't stop some people trying it. When I was young I don't remember us ever having a nut-cracker in the house. We did use a hammer (albeit a relatively small one) to crack open hazelnuts and walnuts. Hazelnuts usually did all right and most of the time you could recover them whole, or at worst - in two pieces. Walnuts, on the other hand, often ended up mashed, or as we used to say "in smithereens." Often you had to pick out little fragments from the broken shell which also sometimes meant you accidentally crunched into a little piece of broken shell at the eating stage of the process. Painful.
I was remembering all of this the other day at a meeting when it was made clear to us that new regulations governing charities which come into force on the 1st April (of course) now require churches to quote their charity number on near-enough every piece of paper they produce. Apparently even our weekly Order of Service bulletin has to carry the number. And every email too.
We have to blame Oscar for all of this heavy-handedness. No, not Oscar Wilde, nor Oscar Madison from the Odd Couple but OSCR - Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.
Actually, it all stems from the actions of a charity in Scotland a few years ago that turned out to be a pretty bogus (or at best incompetently run) affair and all the regulations governing charities had to be severely tightened up. In principle, I agree with this, but sometimes you can go over the top.
It reminds me of what occasionally used to happen in school (and maybe still does) when someone in the class does something wrong but won't own up to it, so the whole class has to take the punishment.
Of course, as a law-abiding citizen, working in a church that respects civil law, we will comply in all respects. Promise!
I'll need to check, though, if there is any stipulation made about the size of the text that you must use to display your charity number. Would 2pt Arial do, I wonder?
One other consquence of the charities shake-up is that our church accounts now run to about 26 pages. A lot of fun for our church treasurer tomorrow as he tries to guide the congregation through the new style of accounts at our Annual Stated Meeting after the service.

He is risen indeed!

2008-03-23T00:10:00.003Z

A HAPPY EASTER to you all!

There are some stories that I never get tired of hearing and whose novelty for me never wears off. Perhaps the greatest of these is the Easter story.
Part of the endless fascination for me of the "Easter" events described in such different terms by each of the gospel writers is the sheer mystery of it all. Not even the gospel writers themselves could really say exactly what happened, because no one witnessed the resurrection itself.
That doesn't bother me. On the contrary, it comforts me. It leaves room for faith as well as wonder. It is one of those mysteries which the more you know about it, the more mysterious it becomes. The deeper you plunge into it, the deeper it seems.
I guess the word is unfathomable.
But, you know, part of the reason why no one knows exactly what happened on that "third day" is that the resurrection took place "while it was still dark." The sun hadn't even come up by the time Mary and the other women got to the tomb to find the stone rolled away.
Could that in itself be somehow significant?
Of course, Jesus seems to have had a habit of getting up before daybreak to go off into some lonely place to pray but this takes 'getting up early' to a new dimension altogether!
What I like most about this seemingly insignificant detail of the Easter narrative though is that it reminds me of a truth we find all through the Bible... the light shines IN the darkness and the darkness can't put it out, and eventually the light grows to banish the darkness itself. It's the triumph of future hope over present circumstance.
And isn't that something we all need these days?

A bit of drama and passion

2008-03-17T23:11:00.006Z

I've been getting a bit of stick lately from some people who I know regularly read this blog. The trouble is... they've had nothing new to read for ages.
I guess I could make all the usual excuses about being too busy etc. and that I have spent some of the time updating our church website but although both of these things are certainly true the more important reason is that recently I've just not had anything to say.
I know... I know... it's never stopped me before.
But there are times when you just kind of dry up, or at least need a little break.
Unfortunately, this is not an option when you have to prepare a fresh sermon or two each week. You just have to get down to it and work hard. But as far as the blog is concerned, I sometimes take the easy way out and just walk away from it for a while.
Someone who didn't give up, nor take the easy way out, was Jesus.
I've really enjoyed watching the first two episodes of the BBC's latest Drama "The Passion."
I hope the next two episodes continue the high standard. I'm looking forward to it coming out on DVD too. Tonight I watched episode two with my current Discipleship Group, which seemed especially appropriate.
I'm sure there will be some critics who will point out that the writers have introduced elements that are not in the Biblical gospels but that is inevitable and necessary for telling the story with any semblance of psychological realism. Preachers do it all the time... at least if they have any imagination! The gospels themselves give only the briefest of sketches and leave lots to your imagination.
What I like about this particular production is that the characters are relatively complex, not just cardboard cut-out 'goodies' and 'baddies.' You see that each person has choices to make - Jesus, Pilate, Caiaphas, Judas, Joseph of Arimathea etc.- and you can sympathise with all of them because their choices are not usually between simple good and bad, but between good and the best, or between evil and a lesser evil. You can understand how difficult some of the choices are and, what's more, identify with them.
I think Joseph Mawle does a reasonably good job of portraying Jesus, although he is maybe just a bit too low key. You wonder would anyone really give up everything to follow this man? Where is the charisma and excitement?
To be fair, though, we do enter the story at some of its most solemn moments when I suspect Jesus must have been pretty heavy-hearted.
No time for light-hearted frivolity then.
I'll have to wait and see how the trial and crucifixion and most of all the resurrection are handled before I give it my unqualified approval (not that the BBC is looking for it, of course) but so far, so good. And what a refreshing change from all that so-called "reality" nonsense... to have some real drama from the Beeb! Let's have some more.

The not-so-hot seat

2008-03-04T22:44:00.004Z

Well, the snow has returned and this time decided to hang around for a day or two- or at least long enough for some blue sky to appear and set it off to perfection.
We don't get blue skies all that often in Scotland but when we do, then I, for one, really appreciate them.
For some reason, summer blue skies never seem quite so intense to me as a blue sky in winter set against the white snow, or the blue sky of springtime acting as a backdrop to pink cherry blossom, or in autumn when it is a foil to the spectacular reds, golds and browns of the trees.
I passed Braidwood Loch this morning on my way to Braidwood Primary School and fortunately I had my camera in the car with me. I couldn't resist stopping for a moment to capture this particular blue sky, and that pretty cool (snow-covered) seat. Well, I certainly wasn't going to sit on it.

Mind you, perhaps it would be less uncomfortable than 'sitting in the hot seat.'
But sometimes you just don't get to choose the seat you have to sit in and you have to make do with whatever comes your way, uncomfortable or not.
So maybe dark grey cloudy skies are more common, but that just means making the most of any glimpse of blue sky that comes your way and enjoying the moment.

...so maybe I will go over and sit on that cool seat after all...