Author Archives: northumbrianreflections

Maybe I’m missing something but I just don’t get it. I watched incredulously the scenes from Leicester as thousands of people lined the streets and waited for the passing of a coffin with the bones of a dead king who … Continue reading →

I didn’t read too many books during my teenage years. I was not particularly happy at school and therefore skimmed over just sufficient reading to pass my exams. I found that books got in the way of my sports and social … Continue reading →

Contrary to expectations, the beginning of this year has seen me travelling extensively, engaging in lots of different contexts, meeting many people; community folks, church leaders, students and those working in the charity and public sector. I feel at times … Continue reading →

I’m not sure if absence necessarily makes the heart grow fonder but one thing I do know is that an apple a day keeps the writing at bay!     Let me explain the reason for my absence in blogging … Continue reading →

I don’t think that I have witnessed or been so aware, so close to home, of an event of such historic significance in my lifetime.  This is a momentous day in Scottish and British history. As a Community we have … Continue reading →

I have reluctantly accepted the arrival of autumn. The shorts and t shirts have found their way back into the drawer and are unlikely to make another appearance until next year. For the first time in several months I am … Continue reading →

                             Despite the rain, the mud and the ‘multitudes’ of people, there is something within me that says I would really like to go to Glastonbury. I … Continue reading →

In an era of bland, predictable, shallow political rhetoric how inspirational and refreshing to hear the words of a remarkable man.  Martin Luther King’s speech at Newcastle University, on the occasion when he was awarded an honorary doctorate, back in … Continue reading →

I am feeling really low today.  Despite the fact it’s a Bank holiday, the sun is shining, my shoulder injury is healing and I’ve been in my shorts and t-shirt, relaxing over lunch in our lovely garden. Dismayed, Annoyed and … Continue reading →

40 years ago today my life changed. A mountaintop experience. I had linked up with a group that I knew from my Harrogate school days in the Cairngorms of Scotland. I was training to be an Outward Bound instructor, they … Continue reading →