Socks of Merino Wool

Trump is in the White House
Musk is on the Moon
Washington at minus nine
Did a chill travel down
Your left-wing spine
Or are your feet a-dancing
Your heart full of hope
As we walk into the future
Along an uncertain
Political tightrope?

There’s Gaza to rebuild
Hostages to repair
Putin to, frankly, stop
Ukraine’s wounds to heal
From years of bloody warfare
And let’s not forget
We were all slaves in Egypt
Refugees in a foreign land
So let’s give our neighbours
An open heart; a helping hand

Yes, Trump is in the Whitehouse
And Musk is on the Moon
It’s time for a cup of tea
We’ve made it thus far
We’ve made it to noon
And I’ve made a decision
To celebrate life to the full
To fill my glass with bubbles
Wear socks of Merino wool
And sing the praises of the King
And good old John Bull.

Dreaming

Vivid, well known
Characters to me
Fully fitted with souls
Personality, accents
Particular clothing
Walk onto my dream-stage
Without permission -
Not exclusively at night -
With stories to tell

When my defences
Are off-guard
Like Nathan the prophet
Illuminating the
Silver and the spiders’ webs
Treasure and trip wires
The whole truth
And nothing but the truth
Is acted out around me

Insecurities exposed
Failures examined
Sins confessed
Fears faced
Sadness
Hopes
And dreams
Unspoken prayers
Strutting and fretting

Colourful performances
Formed in less time than the
Flickering of an eyelid
Persisting for hours, often,
Evaporating in seconds
Characters retreating
Beyond some thick curtain:
Rarely stopping to take a bow

Dad-daughter 10K challenge 2025…Post Four 15.01.25 Winter Training methods: Porto v Press-ups, Botox v Blaise

Of course, we’re told to think ‘there’s no right and wrong, just different’ ways to prepare for an athletic showdown…but I’ll leave you to judge whether ‘my’ truth is preferable to Rachel’s.

Over the course of the last month, the weather in Bristol and London has been wintry, cold, grey, and often wet. And dark.

One can react in several ways to inclement conditions. I’m not sure why, but if I’m out of the sack at 5 or 6, everything seems equally impossible – so going for a run is just as unappealing as anything else.

Before I know it, I’m decked out in high viz t-shirt, headgear, shorts over leggings, trainers and socks, gloves, and, heater on in the car, I’m gone, driving down to the flat-ish route around Bristol Harbourside or the more local, Blaise, and after some leg-swings and lunges, I’m off, podcast selected for a pre-dawn 5K.

Then back, shower, tea, and fuss around with Strava to record my efforts.

Rachel’s methodology – remember the showdown is later in the year as we attempt a 10K – has been, shall we say, alternative?

Strava tells me I recorded 12 runs or walks in December and, thus far in January, 3 runs and a few walks. My most recent Harbourside 5K took 30:03 minutes and the one completed on Nov 26th – 29:39.

Yes, that’s right, despite the commitment to ‘training’ I’m getting slower.

Meanwhile, I’ve noticed that Rachel has kept very quiet about her winter training. When I spoke to her a few days ago to see if she was heading out for a run – on a rare sunny day – her reply was ‘I wanted to go for a run this weekend, but I had my Botox done on Friday and they advise you not to do any strenuous exercise for a couple of days’.

And before that, a previous weekend exchange of WhatsApps revealed that, due to the weather, work, and why not, Rachel had relocated to a posh hotel and was relaxing, reading a book, cocktail in hand, lounging around beside an outdoor infinity pool in sunny Porto.

I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions.

Wrong End of the Telescope? Via Dolorosa

From a child’s perspective, there is no wrong end of a telescope or binoculars…they are just playing and enjoying the world close up and far away.

A few years ago, at Easter, I spent a week travelling around Israel. After an evening in Jerusalem, I embarked on a tour, thanks to a friend-cum-guide, first to Philippi then up to the Golan heights and a couple of nights in Galilee, before driving down the Jordan Valley, floating in the Dead Sea, and back to Jerusalem, to spend a few days wandering round the old city.

Whilst walking through the narrow streets I got caught up in a surge of tourists and devotees following the Via Dolorosa, the Way of The Cross, or the Way of Suffering. Some groups were wearing the same-coloured hats or in a group trying to keep the flag on a pole leader in view. The procession, organised by the Catholic church, attracted maybe a thousand walking from one ‘Station of the Cross’ to the next, supposedly following the route taken by Jesus, from the site of his arrest and interrogation to the crucifixion, and burial. Some traditions add a further ‘station’ to celebrate the resurrection.

What has this to do with telescopes?

And why is a good Protestant believer bothering to write a blog about the Stations of the Cross – normally the reserve of Catholics or the Orthodox?

Often we see the events that took place from one end of the telescope…but there is another end and perspective on the stations of the cross.

In short, the ‘normal’ way for believers is to go beyond weeping over the injustice of his arrest and conviction and suffering to believing that Jesus as the Messiah (or Christ) went to the cross for us, in our place, taking the punishment we deserved, so that we, the guilty, could be forgiven and acquitted before God.

Isaiah among other Jewish prophets had seen these events in advance:

‘He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon him…he poured out his soul unto death and bore the sin of many’ Isaiah 53v3-12

This end of the theological telescope is referred to as substitutionary atonement. Substitutionary because He died on the cross instead of me, the judgement I deserved He took upon Himself on the cross. And atonement, because the result of this debt being paid on my behalf is our broken relationship with God is healed, so we are at-one-ment with God.

When I first heard this message of grace – that God loves us and all this is freely available, all God wants is for us to believe and receive it as a gift; to abandon (repent) of any attempt to try and be good enough for God. I used to say ‘This is too good to be true. There must be a catch?’ But there isn’t. Jesus said, ‘Freely you have received freely give’.

God has shown His love for us sending His Son to die for us and be raised to life again so that we can be forgiven and brought back into a relationship with God – the bible calls this the gift of eternal life. ‘Life’ or ‘Zoe’ in Greek, means God’s own life, which is eternal and indestructible.

Substitutionary atonement as wonderful as it is, is half of the gospel message; the good news that Jesus preached.

The New Testament teaches that once someone has let go of their own life and trusted that Christ died in their place and experienced the gifts of forgiveness and eternal life, they are placed ‘in Christ’ - Christianity is not a human being believing in an external Christ.

This is a phraseology not well understood in our Western culture. The Bible is interested in who we are ‘in’. For example, Levi was said to have been ‘in the loins of Abraham’ ie a descendant of Abraham, or ‘in Abraham’ and therefore everything that Abraham did, Levi did. So, when Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek, even though as a priest he was used to receiving tithes.

‘Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes through Abraham…for he was in the loins of Abraham’ Hebrews 7v 9,10

Jesus taught that, as believers we would be ‘in Him’ just as He was ‘in’ the Father.

‘Do you not believe I am in the Father and the Father in Me…the Father who dwells in me does the works’ John 14v10,11

And later, in the same chapter Jesus continues:

‘The Spirit…will be in you…a little while longer and…you will know that I am in my Father and you in Me, and I in you’ John 14v 17,20

‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him and We will come and make our home with him’ v 23

The apostles that followed Christ preached the same message that as believers we are ‘in Christ’ and ‘Christ is in us’ and therefore we were included in all the events from the arrest to the cross and the resurrection – we were not spectators.

Substitutionary atonement as wonderful as it is, is half of the gospel message; the ‘good news’ that Jesus preached

This is called ‘inclusive atonement’ and is the teaching of the New Testament alongside substitutionary substitution.

Traditionally, there are 13 ‘stations of the cross’ marking steps along the journey of Christ from arrest to burial. There are minor variations from tradition to tradition and most do not include Resurrection. I shall concentrate on the stations in bold.

Jesus is arrested and condemned to death
Jesus takes up his Cross

Jesus is stripped of his garments and nailed to the Cross
Jesus dies on the Cross

Jesus is laid in the tomb
Resurrection

He suffered all these ‘stations’ for us and did it alone and yet, by virtue of being ‘in Christ’ we were included and participated in these events, 2000 years ago in Jerusalem.

You were arrested by Christ
You were stripped and nailed to a cross
You died
You were buried
You were raised

Arrested

For many who become believers, or come to Christ, or ‘find faith’ - whatever phrase is used - their experience is like an arrest.

Paul wrote the following words: ‘Not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of (arrest) that for which Christ Jesus lay hold of (arrested) me’ Philip 3v12

Famously, for Paul, he was ‘arrested’ on the road to Damascus. No two believers hadve the same experience and yet each one is like an arrest…even is it is with love!

Stripped and nailed to the cross

The disciples had to let go of their nets to follow Christ – stripped of their identity as fishermen. We have to let go of the nets ‘nets’ we’re holding on to, is we are to follow Christ.

Nailed to the cross – ‘I have been crucified with Christ’ Gal 2v20. At first sight, this may seem to make no sense at all, after all, you weren’t even born in AD30, but just as Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek by virtue of being ‘in Abraham’ so it is true to say ‘I was crucified with Christ’ because God has placed us ‘in Christ’.

Through or ‘of God you are in Christ Jesus’ 1 Cor 1v30

Died

‘As many as were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into His death…our old man was crucified with Him…we died with Christ’ Rom 6v3,6,8

‘It is not I who live, but Christ…’ Gal 2v20

‘You died, you life is hidden in Christ’ Col 3v3

The New Testament cannot be clearer. Our death has been accomplished in Christ, past tense. When he died, I died.

Buried

‘We were buried with Him through baptism…’ Rom 6v4, Col 2v12

Raised

‘God…raised us up together with Christ’ Eph 2v6

The New Testament speaks about conversion to Christ as a shift - a deliverance - from ‘in Adam’ to ‘in Christ’.

In Adam, we ate from the wrong tree, with all the consequences that followed – estrangement from God, each other, and the environment…a disintegration.

In Christ, we inherit everything Christ has done and therefore we were included in the events leading up to the crucifixion, the crucifixion itself, the burial, and the resurrection, and are now recipients of Christ’s life.

We can do nothing to achieve this. Christ has done for us what we could not do for ourselves. The in-Adam-you was arrested, crucified, and buried only to be raised as a new creation, as an ‘in-Christ-you’ - Christ living out His life through you and as you.

The Telescope?

From an adult’s perspective, there IS a correct way to hold the telescope, and this is where this metaphor breaks down! Both ends are vital.

A warning. Once you ‘see’ both perspectives everything changes.

A well-used illustration of Paul’s argument in Romans is of a criminal in the dock facing the Judge, awaiting the verdict. There is no doubt that the criminal is guilty, let’s say of theft. The penalty is a fine that he cannot pay. All seems hopeless until the judge tells the criminal he is free to go; someone paid the fine. There is nothing the thief can do to pay the fine, it’s already paid, nor is he required to pay the fine.

Wonderful though that is, it acquits the criminal but doesn’t change his nature.

With substitutionary atonement, our sins are forgiven, the slate wiped clean, but the sinner remains. You will hear the following types of sentences fall from the lips of those who cling to substitutionary atonement: ‘I am covered over with the robes of righteousness’, or, ‘when God looks at me, He doesn’t see me, He sees Jesus’ or ‘I am a sinner saved by grace’.

Lurking in these phrases is fear: ‘If God were truly to see me hiding under the robes…’ but the gospel is far better.

Substitutionary and inclusive atonement together enables us to see that God has not only dealt with our ‘sins’ He has dealt with us as ‘sinners’, crucifying us on the cross with Christ. We are no longer in Adam we are in Christ. We are no longer deriving our life from the satanic hold of slavery to sin in Adam but starting out on a new path, a new life, drawing on the life of Christ Himself, incorporated as we are ‘in Christ’, learning to walk like Jesus did, not in His own abilities or strength, but from the Father’s:

‘The Son can do nothing of myself but what He sees the Father do, the Son does in like manner…I can do nothing of myself’ John 5 v 19, 30

‘I am the vine, and you are the branches, He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit, without Me you can do nothing’ John 15v5

Coffee#1 Cold Friday

Writer, scarf, laptop
Flat white, tumbling syllables
Biscoff cheesecake joy

The Illusion of Control

https://morethanwriters.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-illusion-of-control.html

This article is my monthly post for the More Than Writers blog which is the blog for the Association of Christian Writers (ACW)

The Illusion of Control?

I do like a good optical illusion. The brain can’t always compute. Perhaps we should rethink the illusion: our brain’s penchant for creating 3D images from 2D drawings, is surely the most impressive illusion?

It appears that the somewhat combative relationship between imagination and illusion also holds true with writing.

I’m sure it must be the case – except for ardent atheists – that even the word ‘author’ is a troublesome term. So many novelists, poets, lyricists, and playwrights are only too willing to acknowledge that their ideas seem to arrive from without rather than from within.

Our imaginations seem to be in a perpetual partnership with an external source. Whilst I still struggle with the ridiculousness that God the Holy Spirit, let alone anyone else, might pay the slightest attention to my writing…when I come to think about it, that is exactly what I believe. It has become my new normal.

Moses had his burning bush. My most recent encounter with an ‘out of the blue inspiration’ was as thrilling as it was pitiful in comparison - an alliterative phrase ‘Dull, dreary, December’ which evolved into a humorous poem with a dash of hope.

But here’s the essence of my question: has anyone else encountered the same ‘heavenly editor’ interrupting your best-laid authorial plans? A few weeks ago I settled down to write the sequel to a historical novel (which will be (!) flying off the shelves later in 2025). The plot was clear, and I had my well-developed characters and protagonist from Book 1, so, I knew what I was doing, I just needed the discipline to get it written.

Two weeks in, a terrible thought snuck into my consciousness, ‘No, John. You are writing Book 3, not Book 2. Book 2 should take you West, not East.’ I ignored this irritating thought and tried to shoehorn its ideas into ‘my’ Book 2…but, like all authors when faced with an implacable editor, I eventually acquiesced and went West.

I conclude, therefore, that I am not in control. A little like using a Sat Nav. I still have the steering wheel, the brakes, the heater, and the sound system…but the navigation system I have grown not only to trust but enjoy. It takes me along unplanned routes.

Remembering Autumn

It’s easy to look on
Ice covered windscreens
And frost-laden rooves
And dream of direct hits
Heat from the summer sun

And forget Autumn
That prelude
Before gloves, hats, and
Black tights favoured
By cold-averse runners
Are standard wear

Tilted forwards, our minds
Require a jolt to plunge
Into the past to
Be reabsorbed by
Whatever was witnessed there

Morning: minus 3
To rid the car of grime
Winter filth in my sights
Steaming soapy water
And I advanced:
Harbingers of Spring

Instead, I stumbled upon
Autumn
Sycamore seeds lodged
In every crevice, sleeper
Spies in a foreign land

The past, lest we forget,
Has a potency…
…I reached in and slung
Each tawny spy
Away with the grime:
Forbidden fruit

A Walk in South Wales

Route: Dragon’s Back to Waun Fach, a circular walk

Weather: perfect January day, 4oC, mostly still, full sun, frosty/icy/slippery in parts.

Time: set off at 10.30, one tea break after an hour (tea + dark choc nut bar), one lunch break (tea, cheese/jam sarnie), various photos along the route, finished at 1.45. Just over 3 hours.

Home: cold beer, Walkers Thai Sweet crisps

Notes: small carpark about half full already by 10.30. Such a beautiful day, so no surprise that there were about ten other cars in car park. £5 suggested donation to honesty box. And off on the clockwise route up, down, up, down, up Dragon’s Back, stopping for photos occasionally and a ten-minute tea break. Then up to the summit of Waun Fach – second highest peak in S Wales – and down to a saddle. Turn right and down for a long walk back to the car park.

After dull December days, a treat

Others: a few family groups often with a happy dog, mostly pairs of walkers (about 1 in 10 were using walking poles), all in proper hiking gear, only one fella seemed to be determined to walk fast, a group of fell runners. Long gaps between walkers so there was plenty of time away from crowds.

First tea stop

Lunch stop

Walk down

Dreary December

Dreary, dull December
Grim, grey skies
Bad as beige,
Shadowless, sunless,
Mushroom-soup-like
A miasma of mizzle

I cry out for contrails
Or blustery blizzards
I burst out and bellow
For January blue-sky bliss,
For wandering in the woods
In well-worn wellies

And filling my fingers with
Pure spotless snowballs
Then shall I submit:
Arrest my alliterations
Stop my stooping, and
Pause my petulant pen

Happy New Year!

What should we do? Tomorrow – Sunday 29th December 2024

The trouble and the joy of living in England is that the particular tensions that lie bubbling beneath the surface like some almost extinct volcano, provide a constant supply of material for us to moan away to our heart’s content.

Like the miserable Steptoe and his ever frustrated more ambitious son ‘Arold, in Steptoe and Son, we are never quite as happy as when we’re disgruntled. Or the impossible relationship between Basil Fawlty and Sybil, and Manuel; we thrive on dysfunction.

Into such a society riven with division came Jesus.

The issues of rich v poor, toffs v working class, private v state schools, and more distantly, church v chapel, are still as present as they ever were…just scratch a little and they come roaring back.

One of the reactions to all these divisions is to try and ignore them, disengage, pour disdain ‘on the lot of ‘em’, and blame the government for everything from the state of the roads to the length of a Mars Bar. Just so long as we don’t take too close a look under the bonnet, at home, or at ourselves.

Into such a society riven with division came Jesus.

You could join various groups in Jesus’ day:

• the very popular Pharisees were offering a recovery of a very ordered society full of Mosaic law and associated traditions and the promise of resurrection and heaven for the righteous

• or you might be drawn to the highbrow Sadducees who were more concerned with social justice here and now rather than life after the grave

• or you could head for the hills and join the Zealots: ‘terrorists’ to the Romans and ‘freedom fighters’ for Jews who wished to overthrow the Roman oppressors and create an independent state of Israel

• or try the Essenes, looking for a spiritual kingdom of God to arrive

On top of these groups were the hierarchical leaders of the Sanhedrin, Chief Priests, scribes, the Herodian Kings, and the Roman occupiers; Pontius Pilate being the governor.

Or you might opt to stay out of trouble in the North and catch fish.

But Jesus’s message couldn’t have been simpler: ‘Repent and believe, the kingdom of God is at hand’.

We do need to unpack this a little as the words carry all kinds of baggage twenty-odd centuries later. ‘Repent’ means change your mind and your thinking, it’s a complete 180-degree change to face in a different direction - the kingdom of God isn’t confined to the future or the past it is ‘at hand’ – i.e. within reach, it’s now.

Jesus’s message couldn’t have been simpler: ‘Repent and believe, the kingdom of God is at hand’

Jesus went on and demonstrated the reality of the kingdom in his own life, the way he lived and taught and his relationship with God, calling Him, Abba, Father. Actually, Abba is a closer term, almost Daddy. It’s certainly a term of deep respect and affection, of endearment. And from that relationship with his heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit, he taught memorable parables and performed miracles. He also warned the Pharisees that they were ‘blind leaders of the blind and they will end up in the ditch’.

He trained disciples who had repented and believed that the kingdom had arrived in the person of Jesus, and they too were transformed and began to live out the same life, performing miracles, and caring for the least.

After the crucifixion, resurrection, and the baptism of the Spirit at Pentecost, Peter stood up to preach the first sermon of the church. What would he say?

Pretty much what Jesus preached.

This should not surprise us and yet it does…particularly if our church experience has as much in common with Jesus’ message of the ‘kingdom of God now’ as the Pharisees had in common with Jesus, steeped as they were in rules, laws, and tradition.

Peter brought his sermon to a conclusion with a few words in answer to a question ‘What shall we do?’

‘Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (Christ means Messiah, it’s not a surname), for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the Holy Spirit, the promise is to you and your children, all however far away, as many as the Lord our God will call’ Acts 2 v 37-39

This is what we should be preaching now: the three keys needed to enter the kingdom of God, now:

1. Repent

2. Be baptised and be forgiven for your sins

3. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit

The disciples had to leave their nets to follow Christ. If Jesus is calling you, you will know what you have to ‘leave’ in order to ‘repent and believe’ and follow.

Because I grew up in England and had been baptised/christened as a baby, I had a choice after repenting and believing later in life. My choice was to be baptised as a believer, to express my newly found faith, rather than rely on my infant baptism. Others choose differently. Let the Holy Spirit lead you.

From that moment on the Holy Spirit will lead you, teach you, prompt you, guide you, be like a river within you, correct you and convict you if and when you get lost, and call you into whatever the King wants you to do and be to others. He will also join you to others, and minister to you through them, some of whom will be apostles, or prophets, or pastors, or teachers, or evangelists, and administrators.

It won’t always be easy. Look how they treated Jesus; we shouldn’t expect to be treated any differently, so expect opposition, social exclusion, and different forms of persecution. But remember one thing: you’ve been given a gift. You didn’t earn it through trying to live a godly life. The godly life, the life of God, the eternal life, has been given to you as a gift. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, ‘nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus’.

That’s enough to get started.

Unwanted Stone

It’s hard - moving house
That dialogue with yourself
To discard, to abandon to the past

The marks you made
The log burner, the
Handles on kitchen doors

Grey paint imperfectly slapped
Or forgotten shoes gathering dust
Under the bed

But leave behind you must
If, where you are going
Is smaller, narrower, more focussed

Puts a sculptor’s chisel
Into your hand, moving
A necessary circumcision of

Unwanted stone
Unveiling what perhaps
Was there all along

Book Review: Light Force, Brother Andrew and Al Janssen, Hodder & Stoughton (2008)

‘Who do you know in Hamas?’ Abdul asked.
’I have met with Sheikh Yassin [the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas]’
‘What do you wish to discuss?’ His pirecing gaze was unrelenting.
‘I represent Christians in Holland and the West…I would like to know his thoughts about the Palestinian situation.’

That remarkable conversation between Brother Andrew and the leader of Hamas took place in Gaza in 2001 in the aftermath of the second intifada (Arabic for uprising); the first lasting from 1987-1993.

If I have one critical comment about Light Force it is this: the title. It feels sterile and impersonal whereas the book is all about personalities – the love of God and the person of Jesus Christ. But let’s move on – this is not a book to judge either by its cover or its title. It is a must-read.

Light Force has been a compelling book for (bedtime) reading in the run-up to Christmas. Many of its diary-like pages are devoted to further meetings with Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem and elsewhere in Gaza and the West Bank. It has been a gripping read, particularly so in the current terrible conflict between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah as a consequence of the attack by Hamas on unarmed civilians at the Supernova music festival and kibbutzim including Be’eri Kibbutz on October 7th 2023.

Brother Andrew is well-known to many Christians for his other book God’s Smuggler which describes his conversion to Christ, and the miraculous healing of his crippled leg, and the subsequent story of how as a young man he dedicated himself to illegally transporting Bibles and Christian literature behind the Iron Curtain (often in a VW Beetle) to persecuted Christians living under atheistic communistic dictatorships in Russia, Eastern Europe, and China during the 1950s and 1960s.

Tension in the book is almost tangible as he finds extraordinary ways to meet with leaders from Hamas and Hezbollah

After the publication of God’s Smuggler, it was too dangerous to continue his travels to the Communist block but by then he had formed an organisation, Open Doors, to carry on the work. His focus then shifted to the Middle East and the conflict between Palestinians and Israel – and the Christian church existing on either side of the national divide.

Tension in the book is almost tangible as he finds extraordinary ways to meet with leaders from Hamas and Hezbollah – terrorist organisations dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the ‘liberation’, as they see it, of Palestine from Israeli occupation. The impressive core of the book, however, lies with his adventures with Jewish and Palestinian Christian believers and the influence he, and Open Doors, has had in strengthening the church in Israel and in Gaza and the West Bank, bringing Arab and Jewish believers together.

Readers of a certain age will remember Yassar Arafat, the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). Light Force records how Brother Andrew met with him, gave him a Bible, and asked for and secured permission and funding to open a Christian Bookshop in Gaza.

This book vividly explores the extraordinary faith and courage of Brother Andrew – but also of many others inevitably caught up in the conflict. It will take the reader inside the News, away from the headlines to a very different story.

A story well told - and one that deserves to be re-told.

Despite being written in 2008, it is as relevant in 2024 as it was when first published.

The Wedding at Cana – what was that all about?

When Jesus turned the water into wine, John, in recalling the event, left us with 12 memorable well-known New Testament verses:

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee.

Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

I’d like to examine the events within the wedding from a normal social perspective - albeit interrupted by a miracle. But the problem is that John doesn’t leave it there. He states the reason he included this miracle in his gospel as it was ‘the first of the signs’ v 11

From a social point of view, we see a normal everyday event – a wedding. This must have been some months into Jesus’ ministry as John recalls that the disciples were invited along with Jesus and his mother Mary. We’re told there were servants present and a ‘Master of the feast’ and therefore a feast. The families involved had not stinted.

Someone had miscalculated the amount of wine needed and it had run out. News of this had filtered through to Mary. I’m assuming the news was kept from embarrassing the wedding families, bride and groom. Panic was setting in away from the top table and time was pressing. Jesus steps in and performs the miracle. I do have a question: where did the servants go to fill the six stone waterpots each of whom contained 20 or 30 gallons? That’s heavy. There must have been a stream, or a pool, or a cistern associated with the venue. And it must have taken some time. Nevertheless, the miracle performed saved the day.

‘Jesus, bring new wine out of me’ if that’s your prayer, He will

But what did John mean by ‘the first of signs?’

Here’s the outline of my answer – it was a sign pointing to:

• Jesus as ‘the new wine’ kept by the Master until the end

• Israel, at last, fulfilling her prophetic calling

• Anyone who believes

Jesus

The Master of the Feast says (with astonishment) to the bridegroom ‘You have kept the best wine until last!’. I can only imagine the look of incredulity on the face of the bridegroom. He had no idea there had been a crisis and now was supping a superb red as the wedding party was winding down. Both of them left nonplussed.

But the parable is clear enough. (NB I’m not suggesting John portrayed a parable as a real event, only that real events can be seen as a ‘sign’ or a parable of something more than the event) The Master is The Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who had sent Moses, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah…but the wine of the prophets had run out. Israel had not had a prophet for approximately 400 years until John the Baptist. But the true Master of the Feast was saving the best wine ‘til last. Jesus.

What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

I don’t think it is unreasonable to say that Jesus left the wedding with more disciples than when he arrived.

Israel

This is the first sign foretelling that Israel would, at last, fulfil her calling to be a ‘light to the Gentiles’.

In the Old Testament, Israel as a nation is symbolically referred to as a grape-bearing vine, or a vineyard. To make good wine, the grapes have to be in good condition, taken, trampled, and allowed to ferment, then enjoyed as wine.

Often the prophets had to warn Israel that the vineyard was not producing good fruit. But now, Jesus had arrived. Later in John’s gospel, John writes that Jesus said ‘I am the true vine, My father is the vinedresser’ John 15v1

Jesus was crushed and trampled. Arrested at night. Flogged. Mocked. Had a crown of thorns to wear. Falsely accused. Taken and crucified. It seemed as if all was lost. Just another good man crushed by those he had the temerity to criticise. But three days later: New Wine.

All those who first believed in Jesus as the Messiah and King of Israel and now risen from the dead – were Jews. All the apostles were Jews. Mary, Martha, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Nicodemus – all Jews. A new ‘Israel-in Christ’ had been revealed and within a generation, the good news ‘the gospel’ had spread all around the Mediterranean, even in Rome. Light to the Gentiles fulfilled, new wine was being tasted by Jews and by Gentiles.

Anyone who believes

There’s a beautiful song called New Wine

In the crushing; In the pressing
You are making new wine
In the soil; I now surrender
You are breaking new ground
So I yield to You into Your careful hand

When I trust You I don't need to understand
Make me Your vessel; Make me an offering
Make me whatever You want me to be
I came here with nothing; But all You have given me
Jesus bring new wine out of me

This account of the wedding in Cana is not restricted to Jesus as the Messiah, or the ‘Israel-in-Christ generation’ of the first century AD but to all generations.

The first of signs is this: this miracle of turning cold water into new wine is a prophetic picture of the promise in Scripture to all. If Jesus is calling you, you will know. There will be an unbearable quest in your heart and mind. For the first disciples, they came to a point when Jesus simply said ‘Follow Me’. They were ready. The New Testament records what happened:

‘Immediately they left their nets and followed Him’ Mark 1v 18

They left their successful fishing business. They left home. They left their previous thinking about just about everything. You will know what you have to leave. But the promise of the events at the wedding of Cana is not just for AD30, it is right up to date: ‘Jesus, bring new wine out of me’ if that’s your prayer, He will.

The first of signs for you and for me. For all.

And it is the story of so many who turn to Christ – not religious observance, not prayer, not church attendance, not bible scholarship, or doing good. The story that follows faith in Christ is one of unexpected changes. You may well want to meet fellow believers in a church, have a real hunger for reading the bible, or find yourself praying, singing worship songs like New Wine even, or prompted to give time to someone, or money…but these are the outcome of genuine faith in Christ not the demands of a religion. You may even see God working in other people’s lives as you pray for them such as miracles of healing or provision or forgiveness as Christ ministers to others through you.

And there will be crushing. Suffering. Opposition. Your own struggles. But just like the early disciples you will see His suffering in you and His glory in you.

The song contains another verse:

‘Cause where there is new wine
There is new power
There is new freedom
And the Kingdom is here
I lay down my old flames
To carry Your new fire today

The first of signs.

Dad-daughter 10K challenge 2024-2025…Post Three 13.12.24

Aim 1: to run the Bristol 10K, 2025
Aim 2: to write this blog, logging my daughter, Rachel’s, progress towards a competition 10K next year, and mine
Aim 3: to prove that my choice of earbud listening is vastly superior to Rachel’s…an unlikely tale…and maybe age-related.

Today – already I’m realising that whilst I’ve ‘troughed’, Number 3 may have peaked too soon.
Earlier this morning, my mobile made that WhatsApp notification bleep, and I just knew that Number 3 was in for a gloat and a boast.

So here it is:

10.0K 5.22’/km 53’ 4” – which of course is also 26’ 32” for each 5K. Compare this with my early morning run yesterday 5K (only) 6.13’/km 29’ 39” and the trough v peaked too early disparity is on display.

How to react?

1. Congratulate Number 3 & keep quiet about one’s own feebleness
2. Accuse Number 3 of employing a pacer/stooge/cycling?
3. Let Number 3 read this blog

In reality, I know my blog address is known so…there is no option other than option 3. Oh well.

Looking ahead, I’m anticipating emerging from Christmas with increased mass and hence slower times in January ie running may become less rapid than walking. But as I’ve started this blog with the hypothesis that Number 3 may have peaked too soon, I anticipate that the gap between our relative performances will close. It’s good to keep positive.

And, anyway, who said this was competitive?

Penultimate comment: actually, well done Number 3 – great run!

Lastly, and more importantly, the earbud update. Despite costing a mere £15.00 they are Dad-perfect. Music OK, podcasts fine.

Dad podcast:

Frank Skinner – Poetry: Seamus Heaney, Irish poet…mostly drowned out by early morning commute
Location: Henbury
Weather: Cloudy, 5oC, felt like 2oC, gentle breeze

Standing on tiptoe

One day the Sun resolved
To pay a long-delayed visit
To the Moon
That grey, crusty, cold,
One-faced world

The Moon sensing
All was not as it had been
Slung its hook and dived
Under the Earth
In eclipsical shade

The Sun, knowing
In his innards that fear was at play,
Beamed, unconcerned,
Traversed the emptiness
Of Space and drew near

The Moon, half-afraid, half-intrigued,
Popped a crescent foot out,
Beyond the shadow,
And felt the warmth sink
Crater-bound, in, and in further

The Earth, meantime,
Alarmed at the thought of
Irreversible ocean evaporation
Made plans, and hid
Concealed beneath the clouds

Had Space not been so vacuous
The Moon and Earth would have
Heard the Sun crackle and pop
With laughing joy, chewing
On a delicious secret or two

Just when all was up
And elements should surely melt
An intriguing unprediction
Took place and, like climbing under
A heavy tog duvet on a cold night,

The Sun wrapped himself
In the Earth, like an old
Familiar t-shirt
And sat back feeling
Quite at home

The Sun, now clothed in the Earth
Bathed the Moon
In multicoloured lights
And the world became
An Inside-out wonder

The whole of creation
Standing on tiptoe had
Waited a long time for
The sons of God
To be revealed

Poem in honour of J B Philips, 20th Century Anglican bible translator

Acts Chapter 6 Rethought in terms of English Law v the Law of Moses

Scene: Jerusalem AD 30-40

A few years after Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and the powerful baptism of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the church is growing rapidly as Jews turn to Christ in their thousands:

Acts 2v41 ‘And about three thousand were added to them that day’

That was following Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost. It’s worth noting that many of the three thousand would only have been in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost and, therefore, would have returned to their villages scattered throughout Israel, and further afield, once the week had ended.

However, the church continued to grow amongst permanent residents of Jerusalem:

Acts 4v4 ‘Many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of men came to be about five thousand’

The growth of the church in Jerusalem was set against continued opposition from the Temple Authorities, the council called the Sanhedrin, made up of chief priests, scribes, rulers, and elders, split as they were between two factions the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

In these early months and maybe years all the believers were Jews, placing their faith not only in the reliability of the eye-witness accounts of the resurrection but believing along with the apostles that Jesus had not only been raised from the dead but was Messiah, the Christ, and as such the King of Israel, the son of David. It was a Jewish affair!

Under great opposition from the authorities, the church looked after its own members:

‘All who believed were together and had all things in common and sold their possessions, dividing them amongst all as anyone had need’ Acts 2v44,45

Acts 6

Acts 6, therefore, is often read entirely as events taking place within the church, not in the wider religio-civic society in Jerusalem, however, the case for rethinking this is surprisingly strong.

‘In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food’ v1

The ‘daily distribution’ is traditionally understood to refer to a system of distribution within the church, amongst believers. There is ample evidence from previous verses to support this contention:

‘No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had…there were no needy persons…those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.’ 4v32-37 NIV

The apostles oversaw the distribution to those in need. Acts 6v1 seems to suggest that, by this time, a daily distribution system was in place and that within the church, the Hellenistic Jewish believers were complaining that the distribution favoured believing widows who were Hebraic Jews.

This view, that the distribution was an internal matter for the church, is emphasised in the NIV translation above by the inclusion of ‘among them’ in 6v1. These words, however, do not appear in the Greek. Compare this with the NASB and NKJV:

‘Now at this time, as the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint developed on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.’ NASB

‘Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.’ NKJV

An alternative reading of this verse potentially offers a better fit to the complex and fluid society that Jerusalem had become, now that it was split between those believing Jesus as the Messiah and those who did not; also split between Pharisees and Sadducees; the Royal family of the Herods and the Zealots, Jews who were vying for a violent insurrection; and the Essenes who were looking for the Kingdom of God to appear but whose communities were semi-detached from mainstream Jewish Society.

Governing daily life in Jerusalem, whatever faction one might have preferred, was the Law of Moses – referred to as the Law.

One way of understanding the role of the Law at the time is to consider the place of Shariah Law within British society. The current position is that within Muslim communities, Shariah Law is rulings cannot breach UK Law. UK Law holds the supremacy. For example, it would be deemed t be a criminal act to cut off the hands of thieves – which might be permissible under Shariah Law – as it contravenes British statute. This was similar to the position of Jewish society and how it intersected with Roman jurisdiction.

Jews continued to live and function under the Law of Moses, but Roman Law was supreme. The Jewish Sanhedrin could only request that Jesus be crucified but the order for Jesus to be taken and crucified had to be taken by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor.

Under the Law it was the duty of local authorities to distribute food to widows:

‘At the end of the third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce that year and store it up within your gates and the Levite…and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord may bless you’ Deut 4 v 28,29

Within the gates of Jerusalem, therefore it would have been the Sanhedrin that oversaw the distribution of food to the widows whether Hellenistic or Hebraic. It was a priestly function.

The resident population of Jerusalem at the time is estimated to have been approximately 40,000 ( Estimating the Population of Ancient Jerusalem - The BAS Library ).

It is difficult to gauge the number of widows, however, in the UK, widows account for approximately 6% of the population. And of those, approximately two-thirds are women. It may not be valid to use these statistics for Jerusalem in AD30 – AD40 but this would give approximately 2000 to 3000 widows in Jerusalem dependent on relief under the Law of Moses.

The cry from the Hellenistic Greek-speaking Jewish widows against their Hebraic Aramaic-speaking Jewish widows, therefore, may well have been directed at the Sanhedrin and the delegated local councils, rather than the apostles.

If so, it was into this difficult dispute that the church appointed seven deacons who were ‘full of faith and the Holy Spirit and of good reputation’ 6v3 to ensure a fair distribution.

Quite how that ministry intersected and overlapped with the local authorities and the priestly function in Jerusalem to distribute food to widows is unclear; the text is silent. But whether in cooperation with the authorities or entirely within the church:

Under the Law it was the duty of local authorities to distribute food to widows

The Law of Moses was upheld and fulfilled within the church!

This is exactly what Jeremiah and Ezekiel had prophesied would be the fruit of the coming New Covenant:

‘The days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and Judah…I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts…’ Jer 31v 31-34; Hebrews 8 v7f,

‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and you will keep My judgements and keep them’ Ez 36 v 26-27

‘I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.’ Ez 11 v 19,20

Jesus had criticised the Temple authorities for corruption, greed, oppression of the poor, and hypocrisy. Despite having the Law they failed to obey its demands despite hundreds of added rules and regulations. A typical critique by Jesus was:

‘Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence’ Mt 23 v 25

This being the case, it is not difficult to see how such an injustice may have occurred in Jerusalem, favouring ‘superior’ Aramaic-speaking Jewish widows over ‘inferior’ Greek-speaking Jewish widows.

There was no such favouritism amongst the apostles and so they put this right.

As did Paul when instructing Timothy left in charge of overseeing the church in Ephesus. The Law of Moses had no place or authority in Ephesus, a gentile city. Roman rule prevailed. The Law was virtually unknown except amongst Jews who met in the local synagogue.

Whatever the local regulations to may have been to provide relief to widows, Paul instructed Timothy to ‘honour true widows’ 1 Tim 5 v 3 which involved some administration. A list of those who qualified as widows was made, and the church made responsible for their relief.

Again we see the Law of Moses being fulfilled through the body of Christ as prophesied by Ezekiel and Jeremiah. Paul wrote that believers are ‘not under the Law but under grace’; God freely gives us a new heart, a new spirit, and the Holy Spirit who writes the law on our hearts so that we find ourselves fulfilling the law not reluctantly but from the heart.

Under this New Covenant, the Jewish church can finally fulfil the calling on Israel to be ‘a light to the gentiles’ Is 49v6. Within a few years Peter is preaching the gospel to the Gentiles and Paul is planting churches from ‘Jerusalem to Illyricum’ (Serbia) in Gentile-dominated regions. Churches, communities of Christians, are forming that – imperfectly of course – are fulfilling the Law of Moses as the Holy Spirit touches their hearts.

England 2024?

Ever since the earliest churches formed in the 4th and 5th centuries in England, the law of the land has been greatly influenced by the Law of Moses. The dietary and temple laws were not applicable in the New Testament era, but the moral landscape in England has been shaped through passing laws in parliament generally in keeping with the Law of Moses.

Our nation may consider itself to be post-Christian, and even indulge in passing laws that oppose the Law of Moses, but we cannot deny the historic influence of the Scriptures, the Old and New Testaments, in forming our society over many centuries.

Atheists, like Richard Dawkins, acknowledge this; he is on record as describing himself as a ‘Cultural Christian’ realising that he has largely inherited his notions of right and wrong from this Christian heritage, which, in turn, is based on the statutes contained in the Law of Moses.

Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 10 v 12: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul’, an strength,’ and quoted Leviticus 19 v18: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’.

Conclusion

Our sense of justice, equity, and morality and our current laws concerning the treatment of refugees, foreigners, widows, children, commerce, war, marriage and sexuality, property, ownership, and inheritance, if not directly then indirectly have been influenced by the Law of Moses and taken to new levels of the conscience through Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.

‘You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you’

Mt 5 v 43/44

Isaiah saw this day coming…and saw our day coming.

My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles…
…He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands shall wait for His law…
…I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the Gentiles’ s Is 42 v 1-6

It is not unreasonable to equate ourselves in the British Isles as ‘the coastlands’ nor is it unreasonable to say that the calling of Israel to be a ‘light to the Gentiles’ has been fulfilled through the early church, through the apostles, taking the gospel to the Gentiles.

And part of that ‘light’ is contained in the Law of Moses.

For the Christian, the Holy Spirit is at work in our hearts writing the Law on our hearts. We are not required to obey an external law, carved into stone. We will continue to ‘walk in the Spirit’ trusting that He will fulfil the law that He is writing on our hearts, even through such imperfect vessels as ourselves.

For those amongst us who are not believers but have a legitimate say in the direction of the nation, we would say there is much wisdom and light in the Law of Moses. Our challenge would be to read it and reflect on it, discover its wisdom, and pass laws in keeping with its light.

Left Brain v Right Brain…for writers

Left brain v. Right brain in Writers

Original Post - click the link above to www.morethanwriters.blogspot.com

It’s difficult to avoid magazine articles, blogs, books, even, that present the world and individuals as either Left-brain or Right-brain dominant.

It all sounds so neat and tidy, as if the brain research has uncovered a key component of human personality left undiscovered for…yonks. Pictures of neurones firing away when presented with images of spreadsheets (left brain) or Monty Python (right brain) are compelling.

Thing is, we like (i) neat and tidy (ii) and eccentricity.

Or am I just talking to Brits?

Here’s a spoof conversation between two writers:

‘Tell me, Jarvis, how do you plan your novels?’

‘I’m so glad you’ve asked me Martine. Not because I know the answer, but the intonation of your soft Dublin accent has given me an idea of a character I’ve been wrestling with…’

‘I didn’t expect that! I’ve known you a long time, Jarvis, but I’ve never quite understood how you prioritise character and plot. You know, I was speaking to our mutual friend, Isaac, last week. He imagines five characters playing poker…’

‘Ah yes, Isaac and poker. He does all the maths. Brilliant at Bridge. Impressive. For me, writing is more like abstract painting. Something moves me towards a colour, and that…’

‘Something moves you?’

‘Doesn’t it you? I mean, an idea, or a feeling of dread, or ecstasy, a longing…’

‘What, about the plot or the person?’

‘Yes, exactly!!’

‘Which…the plot or the character?’

‘Pardon?’

According to the left/right brain characterisation, the left-brain dominant are efficient planners, well-organised, good delegators, and regularly water their indoor plants, whereas right-brainers veer towards spontaneity, insight, empathy, and wear odd-socks.

And, if you’re (rightly, I feel) a tad resistant to being labelled, characterised too tightly, hemmed in by dubious conclusions from brain research, or simply ‘a bit of a mixture’ then, I greet you, and say ‘welcome to the muddle in the middle’.

My right brain seems to write poetry, and my left brain is currently too strong when writing novels…I have to work hard at developing character over plot.

I’m a Chemistry tutor, passable at Maths, partial to a spreadsheet, and drool over maps, but I seem to be engaged in a process (Holy Spirit inspired?) of picking the lock to my left-brain conditioning. Some would say our whole society, education, legal, and political system reeks of Enlightenment thinking, exalting the rational mind over the wind of the spirit, is Greek-rooted. And that right-brainers have a hard time feeling at home in their own skin let alone in the company of others. In schools, we place greater importance on Maths, Science, and English (grammar) than Music, Art, and Drama and wonder why many young people feel alienated.

You’ll find right-brainers on the poetry circuit, or prophesying in church, lampooning the self-important, relieved to stumble across Charlie Mackesy, or supporting Harlequins.

For those of a certain age, I leave you with a question: are you a Captain Mainwaring or a Sergeant Wilson?

Or maybe Phoebe v Monica in Friends is a less patriarchal comparison?

The Big Thank You

For the prison break – I thank you
For kissing goodbye to the wrong tree
Now tree-of-life hugging – thank you
For slave redemption, I kneel and sing
Free at last

For the courtroom drama – thank you
For my advocate – I thank you
And no solicitor’s fees – I stagger
Overwhelmed, convulsed with laughter
Free at last

For the invitation to the king’s table – I thank you
And again when I forgot holiness
Those new clothes, smelling fresh
How can I thank you?
Loved at last

For everyday’s content:
A dew laden spider’s web
A breaking wave crashing
On a long sandy beach
You did that?

For ungainly giraffes
Clashing necks
Or endless ants endlessly
Working for the common good
For the endless variety – I thank you

For Harry Redknapp, yes, really
And Olga Korbutt, Pink Floyd
Solzhenitsyn, all apostles
Beyond the frontier
Thank you

And for Mrs Late for Lunch
The Major with a glass eye
For friends, family,
Funny people, fiery people, people
Yes, thank you

God, for naming me – I thank you
For calling me – I thank you
For Your wind-blown Spirit
Carrying me like a seed
Purpose at last

But when all is said and done
When you kneel and wash my feet
I am undone by
Your greeting in heaven
Home at last. Thank you.

Dad-daughter 10K challenge 2024-2025 Post Two 01.12.24

Aim 1: to run the Bristol 10K, 2025

Aim 2: to write this blog, logging mine and Rachel’s progress towards a competition 10K next year

Aim 3: to prove that my choice of earbud listening is vastly superior to Rachel’s…an unlikely tale…and maybe age-related.

This morning’s run
Location: front door to the farthest reaches of Henbury and back

As it was 5.45 a.m. when I set off, I was unprepared for how dark some of the stretches were. My normal haunt, Bristol’s Harbourside, is well-lit all the way. This observation, of course, is a prelude, justifying my very slow plod, at 6:27 mins/km; a way off my more competitive 5:18 mins/km a mere 4 months ago. Come on Stevens!

Times aside, I listened to Hannah Fry and Dara O’Brien’s podcast Curious Cases entitled ‘Be More Athletic’ hoping it would have an immediate pain-distracting effect. It didn’t. But I did learn that Michael Phelps has an unusually long torso and short legs, plus a long reach and huge hands, all design plusses when it comes to swimming.

 Note to self: consider buying a decent headtorch.

 Update on earpods: ordered a replacement set…white this time, £15.00. Quality report next post.

Dad podcast: Hannah Fry and Dara O’Brien Curious Cases
Location: Henbury
Weather: Cloudy, 8oC, feels like 3oC, breezy

The Naming

Atlantic blasts unleashed
You unstuck my feet
Stood on a rock, but
It was no defence

I could have knelt, I suppose
But I did not, instead
Chin in the air, eyes closed
I shouted for you to come

Pitched over, drummed down,
I joined the snakes on the ground
Returned like a small child
To the lower places

But it was here in the dust
I heard of another storm
Brewing, boiling, roaring
I looked the other way

Who are you, wind-wild
And coming from the east?
Full of terrible kindness
Pulling up the fallen

I could name you,
Except you said ‘No, I am
Here to name you’
It’s time