Books for Busy Mums (and Dads) Part 2

Last week I blogged about some poetry books that I like to read with my own kids, and with the schoolchildren that I spend time reading with each week. The other resource that I use every week at school and that my gang at home have loved are a series of short stories, two in [...]

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Books for Camp: YP’s Guide to the Bible

I’ve had another little spurt of book reviewing for our summer camp for Pathfinders (ages 11-14) as I’m trying to work out which books to order for the bookstall I’m going to be running. YP’s Guide to the Bible is a great little 32 page booklet, costing less than £3. It’s a reference guide for [...]

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Vicarage Recipes: Failsafe Flapjack

I can start with 4 ingredients in the cupboard and have 2 trays of flapjacks ready and out of the oven in less than half an hour. This is a delicious flapjack recipe – my absolute favourite, with a chewy texture and a delicious caramel taste. It’s my go-to recipe for home-made treats in a [...]

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Writing Right: Recording For Posterity

Last week I made the unhappy discovery that the Vicar is meant to write his marriage registers in indelible ink. It’s obvious when you think about it – you don’t want your marriage certificate to fade after a few years, but unfortunately we hadn’t thought about it and hadn’t had it pointed out either. This [...]

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Hydroponic Cynicism

Now, I don’t want you all to think that I’m cynical, but at the end of last week I saw some laminated sheets tied to some railings just round the corner from us. They were adverts for a local company who supply hydroponic equipment. Hydroponic systems are used for growing tomatoes, but also for growing [...]

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Reaching the Unreached

Just to put the pinnacle on a super-busy week, the Vicar is off on a conference this afternoon. Only 24 hours, but it means I have some interesting travelling arrangements to make to ensure that the rest of us get home safely from the Boys Brigade awards evening, as I’m going to be carless. I’ve [...]

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Glimpses of Brokenness

Some of the things that I’ve come across or heard in the last few days: A granny was robbed of gold necklace after she collected her grandchild from our school nursery. Lunchtime yesterday. A friend’s business was burgled a few days ago. When police came round to look at the break-in they smelt something suspicious. [...]

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Men up the Tower

As I mentioned in my last post, this Sunday just gone some stone fell off our church tower, shattering on the paving slabs just in front of the main church doors. I’d thought it was plaster, but in fact the stuff that came off was sandstone. The sandstone has weathered and suffered the effects of [...]

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Weekend Adventures at the Vicarage

My head is still spinning a bit after this weekend. On Friday an old pal from our Cambridge church turned up on our doorstep wanting a bed for a few nights – he’s on a walking tour of the country. My parents also came to stay and Rocky’s fiancee stopped over Saturday and Sunday nights. [...]

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Books for Busy Mums (and Dads) Part 1

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have picked up that I help out at our church primary school most weeks, reading with kids who need a bit of a boost with their comprehension and language. What’s been fun for me this year has been spending time with kids with a wide range of [...]

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