Some recent research projects have made for sobering reading. Nearly half of the population of England say they feel lonely - up to a third say they have no-one to turn to in a crisis and would be reluctant to approach a voluntary body. Most severely affected are the elderly and infirm. The quote that broke my heart the most was the comment that for some, the TV is their best friend.
So, with that in mind I interviewed the frailest, most housebound old saint I know ... For the purposes of this post, we'll call her Edith, she's always liked that name.
What does an average day look like for you?
I wake about 5am when my night-time pain killers start to wear off. It takes me a while to get going in the morning and I like to have my breakfast well before my carers arrive. My washing and dressing ladies come about 9am. It's nice when I get the same carers for a few months in a row, I can get to know them then but often people's shifts get moved about and I have to get to know someone new every few weeks. Once I'm dressed I go into the living room and put on the TV. I stay there until my night time carers come about 5pm. The meals on wheels team let themselves in each lunchtime. On Tuesdays my cleaner comes round.... continue reading
It's been headline news for weeks now. Pundits and politicians have been slugging it out but the questions remain largely unanswered. Most of us will have to continue to live in comparative ignorance about whether elements of our text messages have been scooped up by those tasked with defending national security - or not.
It's the sort of issue that can play on your mind a smidge. And as I was stirring my noodles last night, I was toying with a number of issues that the debate raises. I pondered the issue of personal liberty. I mused about defence. And then I got more personal: I caught my breath... What would people actually see if they did read my texts?!... continue reading
Being a parent isn't easy. Being a child isn't a walk in the park either. And, even though I am currently neither, I'm often party to conversations that end with a statement like, "not yet ... maybe when you're older". Whether it's a heated conversation with an 11-year old about why they can't play Grand Theft Auto or a heart-felt discussion with a 12-year old about whether they are old enough to stay at home on a Sunday morning when the rest of the family are at church, the question of when you become old enough to decide is a hot topic.
So, where would you draw the line? Say you're a parent, grandparent, aunt or youth leader to a 12-year old. Would you let them choose their clothes? Their menu? Their school? Their hobbies? Their attitude to cleaning their teeth? Their attendance at church youth group? The colour of their hair?
How about their right to die ...? No, really, I'm not joking. Would you let them choose to die under medically controlled conditions if they were suffering with a terminal condition?... continue reading
If you live in North America or Europe, chances are that your life is difficult right now.
Bitter cold and deep snow mean that life is grinding to a halt in many places. The same storms then cross the Atlantic and dump vast quantities of water on the already drenched UK and Europe. The gales whip the sea into a frenzy, and everyone hunkers down and tries to keep warm and dry. I am keeping a daily watch on flood warnings – my aged Dad lives right next to the River Severn in Worcester (UK) and may have to move out at any time.... continue reading
The man who predicted the date that God was coming to earth has left earth to meet with God. Harold Camping, who died last Sunday, hit the headlines back in 2011 for confidently predicting – and spending millions of dollars advertising – the return of the Lord Jesus on 21st May 2011. One ad read: “Judgment Day: May 21 2011. The Bible Guarantees It. Cry mightily unto God.” When Christ didn’t appear, he revised the date to the following October. And then gave up.
It is, of course, easy to mock – and many did. Harold Camping was wrong. Jesus himself said: “No-one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24 v 36). The day of Christ’s return is a certainty, but its date is a mystery.
But, in the week of his death, here are three things to say in defence of Harold Camping, and perhaps three things we can learn from him:... continue reading
The most interesting aspect of the whole segregated-seating debate is the issue that lies behind it.
Let me say first up, I’m not for segregated seating. Neither are most people in the country, according to the media. You’re probably not, either.
But even when we agree with each other, it’s worth asking: Why? On what grounds don’t I agree with this?
Here’s the Christian’s reasoning. God has created male and female equal, and different. God has told us when and how men and women will (or should) live differently; for instance, women have the ability to get pregnant (Genesis 3 v 15-16—I don’t think this is particularly controversial!); men are called to lead their families if they’re husbands (Ephesians 5 v 23-25—this is a little more controversial…) But, apart from where God has said otherwise, there is no difference—so it seems strange and unnecessary to seat men and women separately.... continue reading
The public services are over. The singing and dancing are dying down. The news crews are moving on to the next big thing.
After acres of newsprint and television interviews, now starts the long, slow, developing assessment of the life and legacy of Madiba (his Xhosa clan name), Tata (father), or as the rest of the world knows him, Nelson Mandela.
Obituaries and biographies are funny things. It's often been noted that the first to be produced are by enthusiastic supporters who write their lives as bordering on sainthood. The rough edges of their personalities are smoothed over. Their mistakes are ignored and downplayed. Those who have dirt to spill, keep silent in the general atmosphere of adulation that follows the death of a "great one". And then - perhaps 10-20 years later - comes the reaction, when critical and iconoclastic articles and biographies appear, and the difficulties that their policies have created mature and come to light.... continue reading
The billboard caught my eye as I was waiting at the lights. The new Batman game for PS3, Arkham Origins, loomed large to my left.
I don’t usually pay much attention to ads like that, I don’t tend to play computer games – partly because I have some ethical qualms, largely because I am unspeakably inept at them - but the blurb for this one got my mind whirring.
The plot is simple. An evil villain escapes a high security prison, along with some equally vile accomplices, and together they place an enormous bounty on Batman’s head. Carnage ensues as Batman tries to round them up before they kill him and the population rips themselves apart. The concept isn’t literary rocket-science but what intrigues is the strap-line: your enemies will define you. Set at the start of Batman’s career, the thesis is that his struggle against these particular embodiments of evil defines who he later becomes.... continue reading
