Goodhand in Banbury

 Now we have the kitchen space there is nothing like taking time to cook and bake. So after going along to the weekly communion service at Marlborough Road Methodist Church in Banbury, where the focus was  'Teach us how to pray' I spent an enjoyable afternoon in the kitchen. The warming drawer ( a special treat for me) really does help get things speeded up so you can be doing a number of dishes at the same time.  Brown bread well kneaded, as well as needed!!! takes half the time to rise in the warming drawer. Then onto the dough to make some Paul Hollywood Christmas buns. I made some last week, and while delicious if I do say so myself, they did vary a lot in size. So I worked hard to get them more presentable. Not yet ready for the Great British bake off. Celeriac is a root vegetable that I have only in recent years come to appreciate and use. So one Celeriac Gratin curtesey of 'Nigella' made ready to take to London to feed the family as we undertake our grandchildren

Sitting in worship on Sunday, where we have before the altar hearts in the colours of Ukraine, I was struck by how we take sides.  It seems that we have more easily understood that Russia invaded Ukraine, following on from its much earlier invasion when Crimea was seized. That hospitals, energy infrastructure have been attacked and civilians killed. War crimes have and are being recorded with accounts of mass killings, rape and torture. Overall the response of western nations has been to welcome people fleeing the war and to provide weapons that Ukraine might defend itself. The trap to avoid is to see this as the work of all Russians. It's not. The dictatorial rule of Putin and allies is what has led to the situation that sees a war in Europe. However we cannot ignore the fact of western governments that sought to appease the Putin regime and the interconnectedness of big business. It comes as no surprise to find revelations that still money flows both ways as rich and powerful app

I made a conscious decision on retirement to stop and not do anything but truly rest and wait for new opportunities to arise.  So one moment you are truly retired and then suddenly in the space of 24 hours you almost think you are back at work except this time everything is by choice.  So I found myself by choice leading an afternoon session at our church. Set within an Iona liturgy I had opportunity to share some thoughts about the Iona community that has had a profound influence on my thinking, life and ministry. The focus of the reflection time was a 'Blessing' workshop, and as I have always discovered, people wrote some amazing prayers. All very different with insight and challenge. I was pleased to be able to put them into a small booklet and let everyone have a copy on the Sunday. If you ask others to write you do so yourself and here is my offering. As our church has St Hugh's as its patron saint it felt write to pen one based on this. Bless O God St Hugh’s.   Like a

  Staying near Cheddar Gorge gave us opportunity to visit the beautiful Wells Cathedral. It really is impressive outside and inside. I can't believe I have never visited before. We must have spent well over two hours wandering around and of course having a  coffee. The fact thee is so much open space before it really means you get a sense of its size and beauty. A proper cloister to wander around before going into the main worship space. And wow what a space and a stunning roof. Great choir stalls and such detail. Everywhere you looked the altar coverings used for the various seasons were stunning. Son in law who is an organist knew where we were when we sent this picture.  The prince of Peace looking up at the Cathedral holding the crown of thorns. While we were there we had opportunity to see an exhibition entitled 'Threads through Creation' by Jacqui Parkinson. They were stunning. It felt such a light and airy place. Very modern yet hundreds of years old. It felt like a