Author Archives: northumbrianreflections

Apologies for those who have been waiting for our travel blogs. Sparse or no internet access has prevented us from posting them in the latter part of our trip. So, as it used to be, like waiting for a London … Continue reading →

Something you do more than usual in the course of travelling from host to host is receiving meals around a diversity of tables.  There does indeed seem to be something sacred in these sharings.  We have enjoyed the hospitality of … Continue reading →

        German Travel Blog   Ken Humphrey   Roy Searle   Ken Humphrey and Roy Searle usually make a trip on behalf of the Northumbria Community at this time of the year.  For the last nine years, … Continue reading →

Earlier this year, Shirley and I went to see the film ‘The Railway Man’.  The harrowing tale of a British Army officer who is tortured and tormented as a Prisoner of War at a Japanese labour camp during the Second … Continue reading →

I am always fascinated by how certain things trigger memories.  Like a piece of music, a photograph, smell, atmosphere, piece of drama or something that you hear on the radio.  The sight of Spring flowers and birds singing in the … Continue reading →

News headlines might grab our momentary attention but very few sink deep into the consciousness or bring about any lasting change. The dumbing down of news reporting is governed so much by keeping the audience watching, which renders news more … Continue reading →

Well very unusually for me, but like last year, I am away from home and family on my birthday. Last February I was in Belgium for our Community’s European Gathering and enjoyed a lovely weekend in Spa before driving on … Continue reading →

I am on the early train from Whitby on the Yorkshire coast, through the delightful Esk Valley, which cuts its way through the North Yorkshire Moors and brings me to Middlesbrough. Trying to cut down on CO2 emissions, save money … Continue reading →

I’m back again at St. Oswald’s, Whitby, not on retreat but here for ten days to do some writing.   I love the place and the Sisters here. Self-catering in a little cottage in the grounds overlooking the Esk Valley, cut … Continue reading →

It’s a cold, wet and pretty miserable day here in Devon where I am seeing first-hand the damage caused by months of rain and the recent gales that have battered the South West of Britain. Leaving the cold but relatively … Continue reading →