↓
 

For the fainthearted . . .

  • Home
  • Comments Policy
  • Ian Poulton
  • This blog . . .

Monthly Archives: December 2013

Post navigation

← Older posts

Baltic warmth

For the fainthearted . . .

One evening five years ago,  an American Public Radio programme came on RTE Choice.  Susan Lee, an economist, explained the significance of something called the Baltic Dry Index.  It was hardly earth shattering stuff, or was it?

What was the Baltic Dry Index about?  Ms Lee explained:

Essentially the Baltic Dry tracks the average daily price for shipping dry bulk like coal, iron ore, wheat and soybeans. There are three things that make it such a good leading indicator. One, the index looks at raw materials, so it captures activity

…

Sermon for the New Year Covenant Service 2014

For the fainthearted . . .

“to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God” John 1:11

Beginning a new year in our covenant relationship with God, the word “year” can give us an acronym, an abbreviation, for what the relationship should mean to us. If we take the letters of “year”, each can remind us of a word that tells us about what it means to live as a covenant friend of the Lord.

The letter “y” reminds us of the word “you”.

Saint …

Twenty years past

For the fainthearted . . .

25th December 1993. After church, a visit to the local hospital where two parishioners had been kept in over Christmas. Willie was his usual irascible self, sat in bed, surveying the ward. His health seemed to present no cause for concern. Three o’clock that afternoon, the Rectory telephone rang, not something expected on Christmas afternoon.

“Mr Poulton, this is the staff nurse in Mr Taylor’s ward, you were in with him this morning. I’m sorry to say that Mr Taylor has just died”.

“But, he was fine this morning”.

“He …

Crossing the Curragh

For the fainthearted . . .

The radio station played Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out”; it seemed and odd selection on 28th December. The car thermometer showed two degrees and the line of traffic moved along at a steady 120 kmh. The Curragh approached. On a moonless night, darkness filled the openness between the motorway and the racecourse on one side and the barracks on the other. The imagination could fill the spaces.

A handful of lights shone from the army buildings. A hundred years ago, they would have been occupied by British soldiers, it was the …

Sermon for Sunday, 29th December 2013

For the fainthearted . . .

“So he got up, took the child and his mother and left for Egypt.” Matthew 2: 13

One of the depressing things in life is that high points always seem to be followed by low points. Have you ever noticed? The holidays are always followed by a return to work; Christmas is always followed by 2nd January; spending sprees are always followed by bank statements. Life is a series of ups and downs, but generally, for most of us for most of the time, the ups are not particularly high …

Shopping is not heroic

For the fainthearted . . .

Last night’s storm had abated by the time the visitors arrived and we went to a Kilkenny café for breakfast. The walls were filled with assorted memorabilia, including a facsimile of the 1916 “Proclamation of the Irish Republic” surrounded by images of the seven signatories.

Perhaps it was Mr Buchanan’s teaching of history, his Scots upbringing made him suspicious of the English Establishment, but from teenage years there was a respect for Irish rebels.  The leaders of the 1916 Rising were heroic figures.

The passing years raised questions about our …

Post navigation

← Older posts

Recent Comments

  • Anthony Crouch on Wallander’s half-finished heaven
  • Musana Ronald on Sermon for Saint Peter’s Day 2014
  • Beth Siders on An A-Z of Hymnwriters: Thomas Kelly
  • Harvey Davies on Heathercombe Brake School Photographs
  • Paul Pope on Young people have become boring
  • Susan Wilson on An A-Z of Hymnwriters: Katharina von Schlegel
  • TERENCE TURNER on An A-Z of Hymnwriters: Katharina von Schlegel
  • Paul Pope on Heathercombe Brake School Photographs
  • Vince on Not cancelling
  • Robert Andrew on Heathercombe Brake School Photographs

Blogroll

  • A Rambling Rector (Retired) The blog of Dr Stanley Monkhouse
  • A Somerset Lad – my other blog: part memoir, part diary, part whimsy
  • Head Rambles Ireland’s most cantankerous auld fella
  • Joakim's God Talk
  • Mixed Messages
  • Póló

Categories

Archives

©2025 - For the fainthearted . . . - Weaver Xtreme Theme
↑