From the Vicarage

A Herring Gull's Story...   Monday, May 27

Here’s a question: is life something just to be got through, or something to be explored?

In Richard Bach’s story Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Jonathan is always being told that seagulls only fly so that they can eat. That doesn’t suit the young gull – he loves flying for its own sake, wants to know what a seagull can really do, and so sets out on a voyage of discovery. I sometimes refer to that story at christenings, the point being that baptism is also intended to mark the beginning of a voyage of discovery that starts in this world and ends in the next.

Easter Joy   Wednesday, Apr 24

On Sunday mornings at the church where I served as a curate a small group of familiar faces would gather in one corner, just as the service began. Mumbling their way through the hymns and hardly ever going forward for communion, or even a blessing, they knew that after the service everyone stayed on for coffee and biscuits. They always chose the nearest corner to the coffee urn, and as the last chords of the final hymn died away the biscuits would start to disappear.

No cake...   Wednesday, Apr 3

From the vicarage

Easter is late this year, and as I write most of Lent stretches ahead of us. So perhaps it was contemplating the thought of no cake for the next few weeks that drew my eye to a newspaper article by the singer Charlotte Church.

In her case, it was not cake but alcohol that she had been abstaining from. Feeling the benefits of ‘Dry January’ had led her to embrace a dry February as well, resisting pressure from others to drink and feeling so much better for it.

Strangers on a Train   Sunday, Dec 30

From the vicarage

On a train journey recently, Mrs Vicarage announced that she would like a cup of tea. So, Yours Truly duly made his way to the On-Board Shop (that’s what the Buffet Car is called now) in search of refreshments.

Arriving at the On-Board Shop, I stood at the counter and expected to be greeted with the usual “Can I help you?” The attendant, however, was chewing the end of a pen and puzzling over a form that she was trying to fill in. Looking up, she waved her pen towards me and asked if I could help her!

Where God scores over YouTube   Wednesday, Oct 3

If you drive, you probably know what it’s like to turn into a busy supermarket car park, carefully follow the arrows to a suitable parking space, and have to swerve to avoid someone who has apparently noticed neither the arrows nor the ‘no entry’ signs telling them that they are going the wrong way.

The Wrong Seat   Saturday, Aug 25

As a student teacher, I remember the advice that we were told always to follow when on school placements. Before taking a seat in the staff room, make sure that it’s not the one that Mr Bloggs always sits in – you won’t be forgiven!

 

Fame at last!   Saturday, May 5

In school, I once asked one of my classes how many of them would like to be famous. Some liked the idea – finding their X-Factor or becoming a famous athlete really appealed to them. Others weren’t so sure – they preferred their lives as they were. Here at the Vicarage we now have a Celebrity Bunny. Not the Easter Bunny, but our own Peter Rabbit. He is getting old, and problems with his teeth require a visit to the vet every couple of months.

A Christmas Carol...   Sunday, Nov 26

I made a cup of tea and settled down to watch the news on television. Although outside the sound of fireworks was telling me that it was barely November, my TV had updated itself. It was nearly Christmas, it was saying, and it had added a channel that would allow me to watch as many sugary, sentimental Christmas films as I liked just to prove it. That, of course, along with all the snowy, tinselly commercials telling me where I should be doing my Christmas shopping this year, and what I should be buying.

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