When I was a child, sight fascinated me. I didn’t understand eye sight. It was almost like my mates had two lights in their heads, but they didn’t work in the dark. I remember one night, when I must have been about 7 or 8 years of age, asking my play mate, “How far can you see?” After getting no response, I followed up with, “Well, can you see the stars or, the moon?” “Yes”, he replied. “Well then” I said, “can you see Ballasalla?” “No” he replied. Ballasalla is a small village about 2 miles nor
It is Easter Monday at 6.37 p.m. However, it will be Tuesday when you are actually reading this blog. I am just back from a very wintry walk through hail and sleet. It is freezing out there and I wouldn’t mind, but we got caught in another hail shower out on Langness earlier today. Most folk would say that it has been an awful day. Yet it is only the weather that has been awful. The rest of the day has been absolutely fine. Every morning I listen to the weather forecast on the radio, but the wea
Natures Resurrection!
Easter is a time when the earth comes alive. The signs of early spring are so much fun to look for. The green buds of nature burst into life - the grass has to be cut again. Happy days!
We can take a walk through a glen or a garden and smell the bluebells. The scent is unmistakeable and well …… heavenly. We know the promise of summer is not far away.
For Christians the glorious scent of nature reminds us of the Easter resurrection promise of new life in
I am 5 weeks into chemo. I still have a little hair left and apart from my skin drying up a little, everything else seems to be normal. I am indeed very lucky and very fortunate to wake each day feeling good and in reasonable health. When I think of my situation just a few weeks ago, I was waking every day breathless and in pain. I have indeed much to be grateful for. Back then, I was tempted at one stage to ask the question. Why me? Then I remembered an incident that took place back in the 80's
It is 6.20am on Easter Sunday morning. The dawn chorus is now beginning at 5.10 for those of you who have been following my dawn chorus time checks.
Well here we go, another day and, who knows what it will bring. At the time of writing this blog, I haven't a clue what I am going to write about. We could be just about anywhere by the time I reach the end, from the law courts, the media or hopefully just you and me. Not everything that appears in these blogs is original. During the course of
On the third day he rose again.”
Tell us, Mary, what did you see
that early morning
on your way?
“I saw his tomb,
I saw the glory of Christ,
now risen,
angels who gave witness.
I saw the cloths
that covered his head and body.
I heard him speak my name
and turning, saw he was alive
At daybreak
I came weeping to the garden
for the one I lost.
But now, the Sun risen,
it was paradise,
and I, a new Eve,
had news of life for all the living.”
Following the No Smoking Day campaign supported by all the major health organisations I now give details of the effects of smoking on the health of the public, particularly children. It is obvious that society should do as much as possible to stop people starting and if they do we should encourage them to quit.
The cost of smoking is high. In health terms, it is responsible for an estimated
120,000 premature deaths in the UK each year: 46,000 from cancer, 40,000
from circulatory disease a
What if you were suddenly to discover that those pills you have been taking for whatever ailment were nothing more than Smarties. Well, God bless the Smarties as far as I am concerned. My little story for today did not evolve around a packet of Smarties, it was water. However, the principle is exactly the same.
I seem to have spent a lot of Easters off the Island for one reason or another. Where ever I have been, something always seems to have taken place that has marked the event and etche
8.40 a.m. It’s Good Friday. Well, what is good about it? I guess it will come down to me as to whether today is a Good Friday or not. If I look at it from my position 6 weeks ago, when I could hardly breathe and was heading fast down the pan and compare that to today’s situation where I am 5 weeks into chemotherapy and everything looks much brighter, then today is not just Good Friday but a wonderful fabulous Friday.
So, let me now share a few of my Good Fridays of the past with you.
I
The Cross of St. Francis
One day in the opening years of the 13th century, a young man named Francesco Bernadone, son of a wealthy merchant, entered the tiny deteriorating church of San Damiano, a mile from Assisi in Italy. The young man had all the advantages a prosperous family could offer, but uneasy, he searched for something more.
Only one noticeable object was left in the unused, neglected church - a large life-sized cross hanging above the dark, dusty altar. The Icon of Christ C
We find many references to feet in Scripture. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of peace.” Handel took this verse and composed one of the most beautiful solos in his Messiah—a powerful yet gentle offering of peace and glad tidings to all God’s people.
In the New Testament, a woman anoints Jesus’ feet with precious oil, and it reminds us of his eventual burial. Jesus himself tells his disciples that if they are not welcomed in a town, they should
7.35 a.m. Today the wind is blowing hard from the Northwest and according to the forecast it is going to increase throughout the day. Rain will arrive by lunchtime. The day is going to get steadily worse. Or is it! Do I have the power to decide what my day is going to be like? Can I change things for the better? Well probably, a few lines at the end of this blog may help you to decide. For those of you who have been following my dawn chorus time checks. I noted Mr song thrush at 5.22 this mornin
Jesus was rejected and executed, but instead of responding with hatred, instead of “an eye for an eye,” Jesus suffered alone, in our place, for our sake. His new commandment – “love others as you love yourself” – bears no resemblance to hate.
Jesus carried a cross in our place, to make us free. Let us seek the joy of others rather than our own. Let us enter into the suffering of our Saviour, so that we can also enter into the suffering of our brothers and sisters.
In Graham Greene’s
8-45a.m. Another fine day. We’ve just returned from walking the Silverburn and never met a soul throughout our entire journey. The river is in a very gentle mood today. The lack of rain means that it is simply ambling along. The collared doves are plentiful now and there seems to be an abundance of pheasants. On the way home, I stopped off at the garage and bought some jelly fruity sweets. I am eating them now as I write. They taste like eels, very rubbery, I won’t be buying anymore.
Soon th
It has been a long time since I studied chemistry with that wonderful Douglas High School teacher, W.A.G. Leece. As time goes on, I have forgotten most of it. However I do remember sodium as a very active element which needs to be kept in a special container. I also recollect from WAG’s lessons that chlorine is a poisonous gas with an unattractive odour. But when these two elements combine they form sodium chloride a most useful compound, - the common salt which adds flavour to our food.
7.30 a.m. It’s a fine day once again and I’m going to head up the Silverburn to Ballasalla and back. As I write, Orry the parrot is shouting his head off; Skipper is primed at the door and all ready to leap into action. The sun is not shining yet. However, it is not raining and, the kettle has just boiled. How much more wonderful could any day be.
This coming Friday is Good Friday. When I was a kid Easter was indeed a very special time of the year. The most important aspect of Easter of cou
7.50 a.m. I have woken feeling fine again and to quote Mohammad Ali, I am feeling so fit these days, I make medicine look sick. Well perhaps a slight exaggeration, but I’m sure you get my drift.
Increasingly these days, it is not simply the weather or my state of health that contributes to how I feel, it is when I logon in the morning and read the ever increasing inspirational emails that have arrived over night from around the World. Some readers have said that they find the blog inspiring
We are chopping down the tree and forging the nails; or, at the very least, and quite as bad, we are watching others as they chop and forge. We have more choice than at any other time in history to be of service to our neighbours; we know how our being rich makes others poor; we know how our being prodigal wrecks the global ecology; we know where people are being tortured. At a more personal level, we know about the dynamics of human relationships; we know about self esteem and self respect; we
Well here I am well in to my 4th week of chemo therapy. I couldn’t have imagined it was going to go so well, at least so far. I have just returned from a walk up to the waterfall with Barbara and Skipper. This would have been unthinkable just a few short weeks ago. I am learning to be grateful for what now seems like small mercies. 5 or 6 weeks ago, it was a struggle to get out of bed in the morning, going for a walk would have seemed like winning the lottery. I never dreamed of winning the lott
I woke again at around 3am this morning; I don’t even bother to look at my watch anymore. What is time all about anyway? There are 24 hours in a day, and the way things are at present, it doesn’t matter how I divide them up. It’s now 9-30am and we have walked Skipper along the Silverburn and had breakfast. The parrot Orry has been bathed and fed. The chickens are all out, watered and fed. The ducks, geese and swans on the river have all been attended to. Nothing has been left to nature or God. W
I woke up at 3am once again. It’s not a problem as I’m feeling fine. I just couldn’t sleep again. Never mind, I now have a nice long day to plough through.
It is now 7-30 a.m. We have had breakfast and tea and now Barbara will feed and tend to the 80 odd cockatiels and canaries in the aviary, let the hens out, sort out Orry our African Grey parrot, feed the ducks, swans and geese on the Silverburn and then it will be Skipper’s turn. I am now in to my 4th week of chemo. I started to loose my
Its 7-35 a.m. I have been awake since around 2-30. Don’t know why, just one of those things. I’m on my 2nd day of my 2nd course of chemo now. It went well yesterday, however, my hair is now falling out in droves and my skin is starting to dry up. I think I might shave all my hair off today and get it over with in one swoop. I’m not bothered about losing my hair. It will grow again and is a very small price to pay towards my recovery.
On Monday night I received a phone call from a man called
Below is some information about the Quitting Aids:
Gum.
When you chew nicotine gum, the nicotine is absorbed through the lining of your mouth
Patches
Nicotine patches work well for most regular smokers and can be worn round the clock (24 hour patches) or just during the day (16 hour patches)
Microtabs
The are small tablets containing nicotine which dissolves quickly under the tongue
Lozenges
These are sucked slowly to release the nicotine and take about 20 - 30min
