Thought for the Day

18 November Trying not to get ensnared in party politics, nevertheless one can’t help noticing the reaction in the media to a certain individual talking about something being a ‘disaster’, and the fallout for friends and allies. It’s so easy to say something, it’s so hard to retract it. We will all have encountered that […]

17 November All the noises off suggest that an announcement will be made today saying that we are going to move to Tier 4. Some will be worried that their business will have to close, others that their job will disappear. For some the run-up to Christmas is their main time for sales. Getting through

16 St Margaret of Scotland Known to some as St Margaret, and others as Queen Margaret, the wife of Malcolm III Canmore, and mother of Edgar, Alexander I and David I (all Kings of Scotland), arrived in Scotland in 1067 seeking asylum.  Her brother, the Anglo-Saxon claimant to the English throne, had just been defeated

14 World Diabetes Day According to Diabetes UK one in fifteen people in the UK has a form of diabetes, which means over four million people are affected – with a substantial number not being aware that they have the condition. For some, changes to diet and regular exercise can control it, others need medication

13 November Friday 13th: are you going around all day today with fingers crossed and occasionally stroking your rabbit’s paw? Are you celebrating Scotland’s defeat of Serbia last night? Or reflecting on the situation in No 10, and what it could mean? Are you planning to watch Children in Need tonight, a charity that has

12 November There was a special commemoration yesterday of the centenary of the interment of the remains of the Unknown Soldier in Westminster Abbey. His identity is unknown, but he symbolises all who lost their lives in the conflict, and probably by extension all who suffered loss (physical, mental, material) because of the that war

There is a short scripted service on the website Wednesday 11 November 2020 Armistice Day , which can be accessed by clicking the link

10 November The scientists working for the pharmaceutical company, the stock markets and most of the press are euphoric about the development of Pfizer’s vaccine. But when the Prime Minister sounds a cautious note about it (given his more usual style) then there’s reason to pause and reflect. It is good that the vaccine trials

9 November There was a piece in the news at the weekend about the difference between the two-petal ‘English’ poppy and the ‘four-petal’ Scottish one. Looking at photos of the Queen and Duchess of Cambridge at Remembrance events yesterday, they were wearing five-petal poppies. I don’t know if they have a special significance, but it

7 November When the Vikings sacked Dumbarton it is said that it took 200 longships to carry their ‘winnings’ (aka ‘loot’) back to Dublin. How do we respond when we win something? Are we the kind of folk who stop after one raffle prize and say ‘redraw it’, or take our equivalent of 200 longships