A month ago many of us were finalising our preparations to Christmas: adding final touches to make the house spotless, to decorate the Christmas tree, to buy more food ‘just in case’ and to look for last-minute presents; or to pack bags to go away. Whatever we were doing just before Christmas, it had one main purpose: to have a…

In accordance with the law, the first son of the Duchess of Cambridge will be heir to the throne, even if he has an older sister. A couple of years ago an effort was made to change the law that the first child, regardless of its sex, would be the heir to the throne. It became even more urgent when…

A twenty one year-old American student has just gained a restraining order against her parents. They must remain at least 500 feet from their only child or risk arrest, and must make no attempt to contact her until after September 23 next year. A judge ruled in court that the student must be allowed to live as she chooses, and the…

What we assume to be happiest time of the year is approaching; we will be denying the doom and gloom of the shortest days and the longest nights of the year, enjoying the festive atmosphere and the company of family and friends. Of course it will not just happen. In order to make it happen we have already made a…

One of my first public appearances as parish priest of St Mary’s was at the official opening of the Fochabers bypass. I didn’t do much – I was just standing among other officials and spectators, looking handsome (that was the most demanding bit). After about 30 minutes the first cars were allowed to pass along the route. Since then drivers…