shotleyfieldsforever

Just reading Andrew Murray’s The Fall and Rise of the British Left: Chapter 2 The Overpowering Tragedy starts with a quote from Tony Benn: ‘I am very, very depressed. This sense of overpowering tragedy in respect of Britain and the Labour Party has got me by the neck at the moment’. Different context in 1983 but same feeling! The different context of course was the Labour Party's shift to the right. Influenced by monetary policy and the impact of inflation on wage packets and general well being. But here we are some 36 years later and despite the tremendous impact of Labour's election campaign just a couple of years ago we now record the worst election result since Michael Foot. Like Tony Benn I am  very depressed. But it seems that this time around Labour were caught in the eye of a perfect storm. A combination of Brexit, Anti Semitism and Marxism which managed to almost remove the impacts of Austerity, Food Banks and Universal Ben...

Met a girl called Mary She was an adventurer  Threw her lot in with a carpenter  Travelled around with him Fell pregnant, off on her travels Again, visited her Cousin Elizabeth, the rhythm of her song Rang out across time That was her Magnificat Met a guy called joe An ‘0’ level in woodwork  Dove tailed joints A speciality, met his Mrs She met some guy called Gabriel, claimed he was an angel Now he’s a Dad, life is strange Off to register to vote if he’s able Only to find his Son, born in a stable Travelling across country they looked But the accommodation was booked It was a hard time of year to travel As their dreams began to unravel  But they needed to follow the system  Register for the Poll Tax in Bethlehem He was a self employed joiner She was pregnant with their first born It was a long journey to make And hard to get any kind of break Despite rumours of angels, stars and wonder No-one could help with the hunger Until they saw a sign for the food ban...

I must say that I was surprised to be given such a generous time slot for what I have to say.  My normal time slot when I am preaching is 20 Minutes so today I have time for two sermons. There is a definite connection between Christmas and Rotary International. According to St Luke on Christmas Morning the angels sang: “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to people who enjoy his favour!” Luke 2:13-14 Sometimes this Angelic message is rendered as Goodwill which of course is echoed in the purpose of Rotary which is:  to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian service and to advance goodwill and peace around the world. So Rotarians are almost challenged to ensure that around the world people of all races and colours and faiths experience as it were Christmas every day. Whether now or whether in my preaching I find myself enfolded in what some call a ‘speech event’.  Interestingly the Bi...

T'was the night before the election and frosty winds did moan. T'was the night before the election and the polls were undecided. T'was the night before the election and Boris Johnson was in the fridge. T'was the night before the election and Captain Corbyn was on the bridge. I remember some great election nights when neighbours came round and beer was drunk as we waited for Sunderland to declare. We were only ever hopeful for, rooting for and had cast our own votes for a Labour Victory with a capital L and a capital V. After all as we cheerfully reminded ourselves if Margaret Thatchers epitaph was the poll tax then Harold Wilson's legacy was the Open University. Now Boris Johnson's epitaph will be: 'Get Brexit Done'. Three words like a drum beat echoing across and through this election. I have an App on my phone, what3words. Apparently every hectare or square metre of the world can be identified by three words. Recently a group of youn...