We’ve lived in Yarm for 40 years. It’s a border town on the south bank of the River Tees, in what used to be the North Riding of Yorkshire. Egglescliffe,…

Like the rest of the world, you must be aware of the conflict in Iran, and like me, check the news each day with a degree of concern. It’s a…

We are well into Lent on the road to Easter now, so an Easter thought or two.A few days ago I viewed the 2026 Easter video of The Church of…

I didn’t get to post a Christmas message this year. So here are some post-Christmas thoughts, which suggest the reason.We hear a lot about commercialisation and the season’s overwhelming stress:…

 We had an enjoyable visit from Barbara’s friend and her children recently. A ten year old boy was amazed at our many books. “Why do you have so many?” he…

 An old TV series which I Iove is “One Man and His Dog”. It’s a competition between shepherds in sheepdog trials. The dogs, invariably Border Collies, seem to have a…

Memory is a kaleidoscope of bits and pieces. We don’t recall a continuous storyline of life, as in a book or movie; no – we recall fragments, incomplete pictures, partially…

 A few weeks ago we returned from holiday in a delightful coastguard cottage near Weymouth, Dorset, overlooking Chesil Bank and the lagoon or “Fleet” it protects. But I’ll always remember…

Thursday 8th May 2025 was the 80th anniversary of VE Day. This extract from the Westminster Abbey Service of Thanksgiving programme sums it up: Right across the United Kingdom, people put…

In word association, “Easter” will often trigger “eggs”. My wife tells me that Easter eggs have rocketed in price this year; yet despite the cost they are just as omnipresent…