Our journey of Passover slowly comes to an end; the station is already in our view, we can see the spiritual platform onto which we will soon disembark. This journey began mid-February, on Ash Wednesday when we were invited to leave our spiritual slavery. The circumstances of the second lockdown were fittingly gloomy; our locked churches underlined the mood. Forty…

A few years ago I was wondering how to avoid becoming decrepit faster than my age would indicate. Because my workload mainly involves mental rather than physical powers, one unfortunate side-effect was gradual muscle atrophy in my upper body. The obvious solution was a regular exercise in the gym but the very thought of that was putting me off; I…

The cherry blossom is one of the quite commonly recognisable symbols of Japan. As someone with a long-term interest in Japanese culture, I was impressed by a well-manicured cherry tree in blossom that I spotted in a garden a couple of days ago while walking the dog. Someone really had put some effort over the years into shaping the tree…

I don’t know about you but my knowledge of shepherding is next to nothing. The last time I came across a flock of sheep was in 1 BC (before Covid) when I was walking in the hills. The encounter was literally fleeting as the sheep ran away at the very sight of me. Based on my superficial knowledge of sheep…