New beginnings

Here it is...the project I did not want to begin.

Not because I didn't like the yarn,
Not because it was complicated,
Not because I had other projects,

But because when it was complete she would take it away with her to start a new chapter in her life and our threads would be spun a little further apart.

Such a long absence. Here is what I got up to for the Diamond Jubilee with my other friends at Knit on the Town. We decorated the town clock.

The Help

The American Civil rights movement is a rich seam in literature and it's latest incarnation `The Help` first came to my attention as a novel a couple of years ago. Set in Jackson, Mississippi the main character Skeeter is a young aspiring writer, who, after leaving college returns home to find her peers to be married young mothers, whose homes are run by 'The Help', black women who cook and clean for their white, middle class employers. Although she was raised under the same system, upon return, Skeeter looks upon this arrangement with fresh eyes, particularly noticing the way in which the black women are the main carers for the children. Skeeter decides to secretly write a magazine article using the stories of the her friends' maids though, in the violent climate of the Southern states in the 1960's she underestimates the risk that the women are taking..

Kathryn Stockett was herself raised by 'The Help` in lieu of an absent mother and it is her authentic voice which makes the story work. I would not want you to be under the illusion that this book is earnest or heavy, in fact, the moments of comedy are as powerful as the moments of high drama and tragedy. The characters, setting and relationships are vivid and live so powerfully on the page that it is easy for the reader to slip into the story and feel as though you are part of it. The recent film adaptation is of equally high quality, though obviously cannot encompass all of the plot twists and turns that a novel can.

I am sure that like me, you look back to such times and congratulate yourself that you live in a more enlightened era, that you could not be swept along on a tide of institutionalised inequality, that if such injustice were happening you would have the courage to speak up. Times such as these when we do not recognise injustice are the most dangerous of all, when it creeps into the fabric of our nation, when we think it is a thing of the past. How will future historians, novelists and film makers portray the times we now live in?

Upside down thinking

Osama bin Laden died today.


An evil, sinful, misguided murderer died.


How has the world changed?

3000 people who died in the 9/11 attacks are still dead. Their families are still mourning and not a second of their lives has been restored.

24 children have lost their father.

So what has been gained?

A lust for 'justice' has perhaps been satisfied. I say perhaps because I'm not sure that those who want revenge will actually be satisfied with one life in exchange for 3000. Already people are asking about the manner of his death. Was it too quick? Did he suffer?

Jubilation for some on the streets of Washington.




What could the alternative have been?


Here's another old saying that deserves a second look: 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.' Is that going to get us anywhere? Here's what I propose: 'Don't hit back at all.' If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasions to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

I can almost hear the shaking of heads and accusations of 'oversimplification'.


"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and it's unwritte companion, 'Hate your enemy'. I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of true selves,your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best-the sun to warm and the rain to nourish - to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run of the mill sinner does that.

How can the West claim any kind of moral superiority if we live by the murderous rules of our enemies?

We don't need to 'stand idly by' and watch as our enemies attack us, instead

"Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you." Matthew Chapter 5 verses 38 - 48 The Message


Just imagine for a moment the world turned upside down.

Ok maybe that's a little ambtious for now.

So maybe only your little corner of the world. Your family, your school, your town.


As someone else once said...

"You may say Im a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you will join us and the world will be as one."

The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton

Another book that I would not have picked up, let alone read had it not been on the Reading Group list. The book is described by Kingsley Amis as 'the most thrilling book I have ever read.' All I can say is he needs to get out more! The plot certainly had pace but was a little too fantastical for my tastes. The book did make me ask the question, who in authority can we trust, is everyone who they truly claim to be? Overall, glad I read it, but won't achieve my top 100.

Auntie Alices Runner Bean recipe!
2lb runner beans,
4-5 onions,
1.5lbs demerara sugar
1.5pints vinegar
1tablespoon tumeric
1tbls mustard
1-2tbls cornflour
Slice beans very small and finely chop onions.
Cover with salted water & boil until tender.
Strain water off,add the sugar & most of the vinegar.
Boil for 30 mins.
Mix spices with rest of the vinegar & boil for another 30 mins Enjoy!

God speaks

I am so glad that this time last week I had little idea what lay ahead. Little did I know that the OFSTED call would come on Tuesday morning and they would be in school on Thursday and Friday. That news puts you straight in the zone or what I like to call OFSTEDLAND. Not a small village in Belgium, but a place where only lesson plans, observations and assessment of pupil progress records seem to matter! My family have been wonderful having put up with my physical but not mental presence for the last four days.

Yet in the midst of my self centred worry, I am reminded of God's grace, presence and forgiveness. A couple of years ago a friend of our eldest daughter was having a difficult time, we helped her and her family where we could. Sadly, her mother died in the last few days and the pain for the family continues. I was reminded of the comfort and grace that God can provide as T wore her prayer shawl during the funeral. A lesson perhaps, to let God handle things, including me.