Goodhand in Banbury

 It really doesn't seem possible that a year has now passed since we moved. However when we look at the back garden we can tell things have moved on. It was just a bit overgrown and neglected. The wooden structure must have once looked good but it was falling down and dangerous.   So no choice a major clearance was required before we could start to restructure  Its always hard to rip things out but we really had no choice. It left us with a lot of bare fencing and a long garden in need of dividing up into areas. Thankfully at the bottom corner there was some paving ready to take the new greenhouse. But a bit of extra paving was required. I might be getting too old for all this heavy lifting !!! Area ready for Greenhouse What do you do with a falling down structure?  You up cycle it to make a new border. Unused wood and raised beds take shape. Not too bad so far. So some trellis constructed to divide the garden with new planting and a view from the back door.   More trellis to break

On Wednesday 24th May Methodists will recall the conversion of John Wesley who, in spite of already being a priest in the Church of England, felt something was missing in his life. On this date he was to experience the movement of the Holy Spirit which gave to him an assurance that God really did love him. He then without intending created the Methodist Church while remaining an Anglican priest.  He managed to share a Gospel of God's Love for all. He managed to hold the tension between experiencing God's presence, a gift from God not earned, and the need to put into action that Love that had touched him and was available for all. John cared and understood that the coming of Jesus was not just about saving the soul for eternity but the transformation of life in the here and now. At a time when our own society is so riven by division built on lies and hatred about others, so as to gain and retain power, these words of John are still powerful and true. Why is it that so many peopl

 Having read David Baddiel's excellent book 'Jews don't count' which really helps to gain a proper understanding of racism towards Jews I had to read his latest book 'THE GOD DESIRE' Baddiel writes 'A close friend once said to me: but don't you want to believe in God? I said: yes. Desperately. That's why I know He doesn't exist.' This book is well worth a read. It has not altered my belief in God, rather it has helped to crystallize an understanding that has formed in my own mind over many years in relation to how I view death. I am going to die and death is a reality. I believe there is a God, for me as revealed through Jesus. So I trust in some way I will live but I am not hung up on what that looks like. Believing this means I can get on with living now trying to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Mind you if I  mention to my children in passing I am going to die they don't like me saying it. But I will. It's an end but not The end. B