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A book review of Joan Chittister’s book about ‘Growing Older Gracefully’

Magpies is a new parent / carer and toddler group which will be co-led by Matt and Hannah Ashpole from St Mary Magdalene Church in Gorleston. As we followed 2 year old Emmaus Ashpole round the house as she pushed a small pink pushchair, Hannah chatted to me a bit about their plans.

The idea of transformation has always excited me. There is something magical and inspiring about it whether that be the transformation of a derelict garden, a clay pot dressed in a magnificent glaze, or a plastic toy in my son’s hands transforming from car to robot! The best transformations, however, are those that happen in…

I will never forget the first time I visited a category B prison; not least because of the rigour of the checks and security.

We moved house recently. Our new home will require quite a few alterations to make it as we want. Fortunately, I enjoy DIY; it gives me an excuse to buy more tools and to lay them out neatly in the new shed we’ve acquired. I feel like a boy with a new toy! To me…

The other day I was looking for my glasses. I couldn’t find them anywhere. I even recruited my wife to help me in the search. It was only when my son came in and happened to ask what we were doing that the mystery was solved. He said, “You mean the ones on the top…

Perhaps I shouldn’t admit it, but sometimes I feel anxious about getting older.

I have always enjoyed the idea of the paradox. A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to our expectation. It can even take the form of an image, like the staircase that appears to climb endlessly. Pablo Picasso invented a paradox of his own when he said that ‘Everything…

As soon as we can take a holiday abroad again, I want to walk another part of the Camino pilgrim trail in northern Spain. A few years ago I walked one fifth of the trail. The experience far exceeded my expectations, partly due to the unexpected beauty of the scenery and buildings, partly the food…

A few weeks ago my next-door neighbours moved out. The next day the builders arrived and started work.

What does a development worker do during lockdown? Although it may sound like a joke, it was a genuine question and one that worried me back in March 2020. I was delighted not to have been furloughed but had no idea what my work was going to look like in the new world of isolation….

Contentment is a word that troubles me. My dictionary defines it as ‘a state of happiness and satisfaction’. I used to regard it as something that was reserved for the slipper-wearing elderly, whose careers had ended and who regularly enjoy a sherry at 6.00pm by the fireside. I have known many happy and satisfying times…