Can you feel it in the air?
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The Art Gallery Walsall
Posted on by James Woodward
I blogged about the Black Country on Saturday 6th of March. One of the best developments there is the spectacular Art Gallery built in Walsall. Here is a taster to tempt you! The New Art Gallery is sited in the centre of the Walsall. It was built with £21 million of public funding, including £15.75 […]
Forgiveness??
Posted on by James Woodward
Archbishop Desmond Tutu was the chairman of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The TRC was created by Nelson Mandela’s Government of National Unity in 1995 to help South Africans come to terms with their extremely troubled past. It was established to investigate the violations that took place between 1960 and 1994, to provide […]
The Black Country
Posted on by James Woodward
I have lived in the Midlands as long as I have lived anywhere – and the roads, its districts and scenery are like familiar friends. I hardly need a map – and can sometimes even anticipate possible hold ups on the ever conjested roads. It seems strange to feel that I shall soon be leaving […]
Creationism?
Posted on by James Woodward
Theos has announced Biggest evolution and God survey ever launched today. Among its key findings, the report reveals that: Only 54% of people know that Charles Darwin wrote The Origin of Species (3% believe he wrote The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and 1% think he wrote The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver). Only 15% […]
Chagall and his brilliance
Posted on by James Woodward
Chagall: Love and Exile by Jackie Wullschlager, Allen Lane 2008. £30 580pp This book must rank as one of the best pieces of writing that I have come across for many a year…. And regular readers to my blog will know that I have a certain enthusiasm for books! It really is a remarkable […]
Valuing Age
Posted on by James Woodward
Authors are vain creatures – and reviews of their own books are anticipated with some interest – here is a review from the Church Times. Valuing Age: Pastoral ministry with older people James Woodward SPCK £12.99 (978-0-281-05779-5) SAUDI ARABIA has an extremely young population. In 2003, of the country’s 24 million people, 43 […]
O Greening Branch
Posted on by James Woodward
O greening branch! You stand in your nobility Like the rising dawn. Rejoice now and exult And deign to free the fools we are From our long slavery to ignorance And hold out your hand To raise us up. Hildegard of Bingen
David Jones
Posted on by James Woodward
After the war, Jones entered the Westminster School of Art, where he developed an interest in Post-Impressionism and studied under the English artist Walter Sickert, among other influential teachers. He also became increasingly attracted by Roman Catholicism, and in 1921 he converted, choosing “Michael” as his confirmation name. It was probably the priest who […]
Time Out
Posted on by James Woodward
I remember as a student in London buying the weekly magazine Time Out to catch up on films and see where cheap theatre tickets could be bought. Always a mine of information and very candid and illuminating reviews. I wonder of it is still in print? I am back in Temple Balsall after some […]
Forgiveness??
Posted on by James Woodward
Looking down on my father’s dead face for the last time my mother said without tears, without smiles without regrets but with civility “Good night Willie Lee, I’ll see you in the morning.” And it was then I knew that the healing of all our wounds is forgiveness that permits a promise of our […]
Greenness
Posted on by James Woodward
Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee, Whether the summer clothe the general earth With greenness, or the redbreast sit and sing Betwixt the tufts of snow on the bare branch Of mossy apple-tree, while the nigh thatch Smokes in the sun-thaw; whether the eave-drops fall Heard only in the trances of […]
University Challenge
Posted on by James Woodward
Sad – perhaps – but a day away from Temple Balsall and two rather problematic journeys down the M40 – rain and snow – ice and fog sent me to the TV for relaxation! I was gald to watch University Challenge. I failed to get into the Kings College team in 1980 and […]
Speak in poetry not prose please?
Posted on by James Woodward
‘Listen, now, verse should be as natural As the small tuber that feeds on muck And grows slowly from obtuse soil To the white flower of immortal beauty.’ ‘Natural, hell! What was it Chaucer Said once about the long toil That goes like blood to the poem’s making? Leave it to nature and the […]
What will you do when you grow old?
Posted on by James Woodward
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, I grow old … I grow old … I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach? I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, […]
Pray for Zimbabwe
Posted on by James Woodward
Here in Temple Balsall we know soemthing of the human cost of the present and longstanding unrest of Zimbawe as we have a number of resisdents who lived there and love its land and people. The statement from Anglican leaders is a model of prophecy and Christian action – The Primates of the […]
In Praise of Snow…
Posted on by James Woodward
Walking in it is best! My back garden… Driving isnt fun – thank goodness you are not in charge of transport for London……
Bringing Dementia out of the shadows
Posted on by James Woodward
It is easy to knock the Government and I wonder sometimes if any of us really understand the complex and demanding nature of modern governance? Today I want to commend the Governments excellent initiatives around Dementia. Let me remind you about the plans. The ambition is to set up memory clinics in every town […]
Hugo Young
Posted on by James Woodward
Curiosity, Hugo Young argues, is the essential ingredient of the best journalism. The only way to understand any world, especially the ever complex, always churning, often deceiving world of politics, is to craft the right questions and then go in search of the answers. It was when he moved from the Sunday Times to the […]
CandleMas
Posted on by James Woodward
The Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple celebrates an early episode in the life of Jesus, and falls on or around 2 February. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, it is one of the twelve Great Feasts, and is sometimes called Hypapante (lit., ‘Meeting’). Other traditional names include Candlemas, the […]