May you always have work for your hands to do. May your pockets hold always a coin or two. May the sun shine bright on your windowpane. May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain. May the hand of a friend always be near you. And may God fill your heart with gladness to […]
Beginnings and Endings?
Posted on by James Woodward
What we call the beginning is often the end And to make and end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from. And every phrase And sentence that is right (where every word is at home, Taking its place to support the others, The word neither diffident nor ostentatious, An […]
Memory Lingers Here
Posted on by James Woodward
I sat in Newcastle City Centre on a Friday morning amidst the great cathedrals of that place – the shops and cafes full of worshippers and looking quite satisfied with their commitments to these rituals. I picked up my mug of fair-trade coffee and sat outside in the square watching the world go by. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Obama and the weight of expectation
Posted on by James Woodward
If you had to choose another job I wonder what that job would be? Perhaps the move from being a teacher to a builder? Out of the kitchen as a cook into a hospital as a nurse? Away from the desk to a more physical job where papers and computers […]
Angel of the North
Posted on by James Woodward
A short visit to see my parents in the North East gave me a welcome re connection with this amazing, varied place. The A1 north of the Durham services station offers sign postings to some of the most significant places in my life: Kelloe and my birth place Spennymoor and the long daily bus journey […]
Alnwick Beach
Posted on by James Woodward
There can be fewer places of peace and space and sheer beauty than the Northumberland Coast. A short car journey north of Newcastle and the road opens up to miles of golden sand and the magic of castles and churches and the raw energy of the North Sea. If you havn’t experienced this part of the world then […]