St Mary the Virgin Church

‘You can’t please all the people all of the time,’ sighed God, as the sports results came in on another Saturday afternoon. Not everyone’s prayers for victory could be answered. Not that so many prayers are uttered these days – though desperate times bring desperate measures. A sporting theme this month, only slightly apologetically. For it’s the time of year again when those who devotedly follow a football team, or of other sport, can have their hopes of a title or a promotion teetering on fulfilment, or they may be staring into the jaws of relegation. As Bill Shankly, one-time […]

Once upon a time there were three lovely parishes called Escot, Feniton and Payhembury. They nestled cosily together in the equally lovely valley of the River Otter. One day the new Vicar said, ‘We need a strapline.’ ‘What’s one of those?’ came a sensible enquiry. ‘Keep up!’ piped another up cheekily, ‘it’s one of those trendy phrases people feel they have to have these days.’ So the parishes talked amongst themselves and said, ‘How about Love, Hope and Faith? What things could be better? – and three to match the three parishes.’ ‘Excellent!’ cried one, ‘Bingo!’ cried another. ‘But we […]

Just under 30 years ago I met Margaret Thatcher. Well almost – I was in the same room. Whatever you may think of her, she was a scientist, and thankfully understood at a pivotal stage that we humans may be changing our climate. She was therefore a strong advocate for new government funding of research, and the creation of a centre to do this: the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research at the Met Office. In 1990 she formally cut the ribbon. My first Met Office job was in the Hadley Centre. Roll on nearly 30 years. Two Anglican […]

Jesus’s ‘Beatitudes’ carry familiar phrases – ‘Blessed are the meek/Blessed are the poor in Spirit/etc’. A recent Facebook post offered a wonderful modern-day ‘Beatitude’: ‘Blessed are we who laugh at ourselves, for we shall always be entertained.’ It was accompanied by a photo of three monkeys in fits of laughter. Wise, as well as witty, words. (With thanks to the ‘Clergy Coaching Network’ Facebook group for this ‘Beatitude’.) February is not renowned as a fun month. Winter’s cold and gloom have their welcome, even if the days lengthen. As a child of the ’60s, my domestic  soundtrack included Flanders and Swann’s songs. ‘February’s […]

There are many things I don’t understand. One of them is why anyone would wish to be Prime Minister. Particularly now. I’m grateful that strangely someone does. How swiftly the message of ‘peace on earth to all men’ can recede in Christmas’s wake. I shan’t wade into the Brexit debate. But at the start of this New Year the political wrangling and many uncertainties cast a heavy shadow. ‘The hopes and fears of all the years’ we sung; these now seem condensed into an event in March around which debate has become increasingly toxic. ‘Here’s a New Year message for […]

Imagine for a moment you’re a Roman citizen in AD 320 or so. All your life, you’ve merrily celebrated on December 25th the feast of the birthday of Sol Invictus – the ‘Invincible Sun’ and patron deity of the emperor. Now, though, Emperor Constantine has rebranded it the Feast of the Nativity, for his new upstart deity Jesus Christ, the true sun god so he claims. You are irate. How dare he trample over our festival? OK, so he’s the emperor; he can do what he wants. You share your grievances over a jug of beer with a Germanic pagan […]

               Monday 10th December, Christmas Social 8pm @ Tuck Mill Cottage

One of those blue historical plaques, increasingly common on old buildings, humorous-ly says ‘Jacob von Hogflume 1864-1909, inventor of time travel, lived here in 2189’. If only we could travel forward or back in history. What would we tell the future, or the past? November 2018, 100 years on from the end of the Great War. What would we tell those celebrating the end of those tragic four years? What would they be keen to tell us? November is a month of remembrances. ‘Remember, remember, the fifth of November,’ and all that. Not that on the 5th we think about […]