Tulip Time

We had a successful writers meeting of the Thursday Night writers group on Tuesday morning, via this thing called Hangout (if that sentence makes sense).   Many many years ago when we were young marrieds all living in the same city my two sisters and I used to meet on Thursday nights after work and have a bottle of wine (or two) and write.

We are now all published authors - .admittedly in a very small way in my case - and so we still call our rare writing get togethers "Thursday nights".

I feel a bit down at the moment. Don't know why?  Maybe a lack of sunlight as it has been raining so I have not been getting my balcony morning sun sessions.  And I feel so tired. But that is probably because of the arthritis. The kind I have - and my mother, and my granny had - is a disease like lupus, when the body's immune system turns on and attacks its own person. And it does lead to an immense weariness - like running on empty.

I doubt its isolation that is getting me down as I am by nature a solitary person.

The Captain went out to do some shopping for Terry, a housebound friend, on Wednesday morning, and brought me back a bunch of pink tulips, which will be very cheering.  They are such stunningly beautiful flowers.   If he can find a moment, I will ask if he will post a picture of tulip-time at Arundel Castle on this blog, to lift everybody's spirits.

We had a day out there with Penny one Spring and it was so lovely - its walled kitchen garden high above the little town - and tulips everywhere.  That was quite some years ago too.  (Is that a dinosaur tail just disappearing round the castle walls?)   The years are hurtling by, faster, faster and faster.

The world can look so glorious now - even after 6,000 years of imperfection.  So how heartbreakingly lovely was the paradise garden of Eden that we lost?   I hope we will all find out one day, during the Thousand Years when the Kingdom of God turns the whole earth into the paradise of peace and beauty it was always meant to be.

And it will be soon. Which brings me to the question about urgency. Why is the message so urgent now? Why are we trying every way we can to reach people?

Suffering will end only when God removes all the wicked and the violent from the earth, which will happen at Armageddon - the day of Jehovah's anger.

And Zephaniah 2:3 tells us to: "Seek Jehovah, all you meek ones of the earth, who observe his righteous decrees. Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably you will be concealed on the day of Jehovah’s anger."

When will that happen? God’s Word foretold the conditions that now threaten mankind. Current events indicate that God’s time to act is close.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 says:  "But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal,  having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness,  betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God,  having an appearance of godliness but proving false to its power; and from these turn away."

When we see these conditions increasing worldwide, what should we do?  And how can people seek for Jehovah if they do not know him?

Hanging out? Or not?

Its Monday morning and we are trying to connect with each other on Hangout. By we, I mean the Yorkshire, Sydney and English Channel Branches of the family.  Nothing is happening so far though we are all trying.      And we failed. 

Oh well.  And actually the worst thing about lockdown for me, so far, is having to appear on all those computer cameras.   And just as we gave up - and I went off to make lunch for the Captain and me, they succeeded in getting through in something called Teams.  Well the Yorkshire branch - Sheffield/Hull - managed to.

We plan to try again tomorrow... there is only a narrow time window given we are on opposite sides of the globe.  My bro has been an Aussie for a long long time now.

It was quite a busy morning. Our first Waitrose order came - it was all very efficient and on time,  and we got that unloaded and into the fridge freezer etc. Then Col's moth trap arrived and he has been making it. It is a hideous thing on our lovely balcony bower.  I did manage to get the day's studying done on the balcony before the moth trap horror had me in retreat.

Here is a piece of possible good news from today's Guardian:
"In cities, human lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic have offered some respite to the natural world, with clear skies and the return of wildlife to waterways. Now evidence of a drop in underwater noise pollution has led experts to predict the crisis may also be good news for whales and other sea mammals."
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/27/silence-is-golden-for-whales-as-lockdown-reduces-ocean-noise-coronavirus

Suddenly we are leaving a bit more space, a bit more quiet, for the animals. Though I still worry about our seagulls, who can usually rely on bringing up their families on fish and chips from all our splendid chippies and restaurants along the river. They rely on us, and we continue to let them down.

And so it will be till God's Kingdom is ruling over the earth.

And what will that Kingdom do, according to the Inspired Scriptures?

The answer is as clear and simple as this.    Shortly, God will replace all human governments with his own government. It is a heavenly government - it rules from heaven.  And its subjects will enjoy peace and good health, such as we have never yet known it.

Isaiah 25:8 tells us that, through that Kingdom government "He will swallow up death forever, And the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will wipe away the tears from all faces. The reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, For Jehovah himself has spoken it."

He will wipe away the tears from all faces. All causes for sorrow and suffering will be gone.

Isaiah 33:24 assures us there will be no more sickness - no more Coronavirus lockdowns.   ""And no resident will say: “I am sick.” The people dwelling in the land will be pardoned for their error."

And when thinking about this prophecy in Daniel 2:44, as I so hope you will, please bear in mind that the book of Daniel contains the amazing 70 weeks prophecy. It not only told the Jews the exact year the Messiah would appear, but it warned what would happen after the Messiah was "cut off" in death.

And it was fulfilled exactly.

Daniel 2:44 says that “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. And this kingdom will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it alone will stand forever,."

God's Kingdom will put an end, once and for all to the time that "man has dominated man to his harm".

I would like to leave you with this question.  Why is the good news urgent?    Why are we knocking at doors worldwide trying to tell you the good news of God's Kingdom at this time - even if it can only be at your virtual doors in some countries at the moment?

Condors! And a Flare-up

The Self-isolating Bird Club was  discussing a bird defending its nest - forcefully - the other day, which caused Chris to mention that he had been attacked by many birds in his time as a naturalist.   Which reminded  me in my turn that, even though I am not a naturalist, I had been attacked by a seagull. And Col reminded me that Shadow and I had been attacked by mynah birds while out walking in Dhahran.  One of them parted poor Shadow's hair.  He looked so surprised. Obviously the mynah had a little one on the ground and the valiant parent was defending it from wolf and giant.

The seagull presumably had young on the ground too. I was on my own, knocking at a door, and it went for me. I had to run - well I say run, it was my first outing on the doors in the wake of my first knee op - a tentative try-out - so it was more of an undignified hobble, with my Watchtower magazine over my head.  I took refuge under a tree while it prowled and growled for a bit until it felt I had learnt my lesson.

I am assuming it had a young one on the ground, but maybe it had a religious objection?

Anyway, I said I was fairly safe at the moment bird-attack-wise, given I am not allowed out.  Unless, I foolishly added, I got carried away by a giant bird while I was out on the balcony.

That gave Himself a chance to speculate about the size of Condor that would be required. I think he is now up to Dinosaur.  Well, what can I say?  If he scored the goal, it was me who went and set it up.

So far Thursday has been taken up by the arrival of my new Ears, much puzzling over the Handbook - how on earth do we fly these things? - and trying to sort out our next two on-line Waitrose deliveries, to secure the slot.  They ARE both propositions for Wittgenstein, as Basil Fawlty might have said.

I am trying to read through what I hope is final draft of my next novel, but Thursday has not been a day for concentrating on anything.

And now its Friday - and what have I done.  Very little, but unfortunately I am in a fair bit of pain from an arthritis flare-up.  Its not as bad as it can be, but its making walking very difficult.  And in fact it became horrendous and we both had a night of torment.  Its my left leg/hip, plus my right knee is swollen and painful. 

It was back on the bedpan.

I wish they were not so cavalier about painkilling and would give me something that would actually deal with the intense pain of these flare-up. The agony goes on relentlessly, hour after hour, and codeine makes no difference whatsoever.

I had to pray to Jehovah during the night and put my faith in his promise that he will not let things go beyond what we can bear.

We want everyone to know their Creator and to know how to call on him for help.  So I have been thinking that, as we can no longer knock at your doors, maybe I could call at your virtual door and offer you a Bible study - just a tiny bit at at time?

It would begin something like this:

First, a simple question:   What Is the Good News from God?

And the answer from our Creator himself is that he wants us to enjoy life on earth. He created the earth and everything on it because he loves mankind. Soon he will act to provide a better future for people in every land. He will relieve mankind of all the causes of suffering.

And then we would read Jeremiah 29:11, which says:   “‘For I well know the thoughts that I am thinking toward you,’ declares Jehovah, ‘thoughts of peace, and not of calamity, to give you a future and a hope.""

Thoughts of peace and not of calamity - to give us a future and a hope.

Then I will leave you with two questions to think about, if you wish to.

Has any human government, even with the best will in the world, ever succeeded in eliminating violence, disease, or death?

What kind of government would we need to achieve this?  The good news is that there is one.

The Little Hearts Fly Up

I am having an on-going problem re my new Ears.  I had had all the prelims then the Lockdown came before I actually went to get the things fitted.  But over the last few days various people from The Audiologists keep ringing up wanting to speak to me about trying to get them to me.  And I keep explaining that I can't actually hear them - not until I get my new Ears.

Its a classic Catch 22. 

The family Zoom meeting on Saturday night went well.   Maybe we are starting to get the hang of it.  And we all seem to be navigating the Sunday congregation meeting. It now includes a random division into chat rooms after the meetings so we can have 10 minutes to talk to each other.

My nature diary is not going too well though.  There was a - well it might have been our murmuration (of starlings) on the Green yesterday - but I think I will have to record it as a throngregation as I couldn't be sure.  It was a flock of somethings with wings anyway. And there were two pigeons courting on the garage roof. (She didn't seem too keen - had a headache perhaps.)

The York branch of the family reports geese in their garden - with the photos.

It is a sunny Tuesday - hard to keep track of the days sometimes.

We watch Chris Packham and Megan on fb in the Self-Isolating Bird Club every weekday morning - fascinating as always - and I love seeing the little hearts (for love) and the blue thumbs (for like) streaming up the right hand side of the screen.  Col blocked them once when he expanded the screen - and when he shrank it back, a cloud of little hearts burst out and flew up the screen.

A cloud of love.

My Nature Diary

I managed to get cards and various enclosures done for Jo, Darren and AM today.   And I fed us.  Captain B did our weekly shop, while I commuted to my computer and attended the Field Service meeting.    We are just now waiting for the family Zoom meeting to start.

It was suggested on The Self Isolating Bird Club yesterday that we all keep a nature diary.  So I must keep my eyes open.  Our murmuration of starlings has been appearing on the Green along with pigeons and seagulls.  And here is where I hit my first Nature Diary Bump as they are not really seagulls as such, but have different types and names, like black-headed gull.  Some research may be needed, plus a younger pair of eyes.

In the meantime, here is a comforting reassuring message from the Creator of this lovely planet and this amazing awe-inspiring universe - and of us. And for whom no sparrow falls, but he knows about it.

It was our Scriptural thought for Thursday.

Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be anxious, for I am your God. I will fortify you, yes, I will help you.​—Isa. 41:10.

A faithful Christian sister named Yoshiko received bad news. Her doctor said that she had only a few months to live. How did she react? Yoshiko recalled a favorite Bible verse, today’s text. She then calmly told her doctor that she was not afraid, because Jehovah was grasping her hand. The comforting message found in that verse helped our dear sister to trust in Jehovah completely. That same verse can help us remain calm when dealing with severe trials. Initially, Jehovah had Isaiah record those words to comfort the Jews who would later be taken to Babylon as exiles. However, Jehovah had that message preserved for the benefit of not only the Jewish exiles but also all his people since that time. (Isa. 40:8*; Rom. 15:4**) Today, we live in “critical times hard to deal with,” and more than ever, we need the encouragement found in the book of Isaiah.​—2 Tim. 3:1.*** 

*(Isaiah 40:8)  "The green grass dries up, The blossom withers, But the word of our God endures forever.”
Jehovah's word is still here and is being published world wide.


**(Romans 15:4) "For all the things that were written beforehand were written for our instruction, so that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope."

Which reminds me that in my Convent school childhood, the Hebrew Scriptures, or Old Testament, were regarded as something past their sell-by date, of no relevance. So we were not taught by their wisdom, nor did we receive their comfort. And i had no idea of the power and accuracy of Bible prophecy!

***(2 Timothy 3:1) "But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here."
And we are living in the last days of this wicked system of things on the earth - critical times, hard to deal with.

From my Isolation Pod

As I float through Isolation, dodging cans of Spam, cruising in to link my Pod with the Congregation Ship 3 times a week in the vast cyberspace universe, I am wondering what sort of world we will be emerging into when we are allowed out again.  I guess it will be an even higher surveillance world than it was before.

I also keep thinking about the first series of Red Dwarf - in which the virus came through the computer screen and infected the crew (in some very amusing ways).  They got on each other's nerves severely isolated in quarantine I seem to remember - even calm Kryten (a robot) lost it.

We seem to be doing OK.  It probably helps having being married for a long time - we first met when we were students, back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth - and after all that time you have lots of running jokes that really help, and get funnier as the years go by.

We actually got a supermarket delivery slot. WE GOT A SUPERMARKET DELIVERY SLOT!!  They are rarer than hen's teeth at the moment, and even though it is for 2 weeks ahead, we only had a couple of hours in which to grab the slot. So we had to work out a virtual shopping list.

How strange this all is.   And another thing I am wondering about is if I will ever be able to venture out again after all this is over. I have always been a complete homebody.   And as for driving again...

I identify to a distressing extent with these words from the writer Janet Frame.  They are from the biography by Michael King "Wrestling with the Angel".

She says:  "I have sometimes thought that I have an allergy to people, or that I have some chemical which is in short supply and which is needed to go through the usual process of being sociable, that a large "dose" of people exhausts the supply which must be built up again before the next "dose" and while the supply is being built up there is an aversion, a turning away, an avoidance of people as if one had been seasick and couldn't face the thought of food...  (Josie , her sister's daughter) has this avoidance of contact to such an extreme degree that she has not acquired the spoken language of people, whether through some deficiency in perception (or) as part of the avoiding process."

I think there Janet Frame is speaking of the silence of deep autism, where nothing makes sense and nothing connects. I have always been conscious of flickering connections in my brain, that on one memorable occasion meant I failed to recognise my own brother. We don't realise just what an amazing and complex job our brain does until its fails to do it.  "Of course",   I say, "Of course I can recognise my own brother"!

Well, no I can't, not unless the complex network of connections in my brain that enable me to do so actually connect and spark.   Mine do not always..  But I never wondered until I read this how much of it is chemically induced.

Of course we all carry damage, fatal damage, from the moment when our first parents cut themselves off from their Creator, their Source of life. So no-one's body or brain is working as it should.  But if we, their damaged children, turn back to our Creator, Jehovah, he will help us right now, and he will restore us to the life and perfection we have never yet known, under the loving rule of God's Kingdom.

How would I cope without Jehovah's constant loving and patient teaching? 

Bumbarrels

Now we are members of the Isolation Bird Club - Chris Packham and Megan broadcast on fb every weekday at 9.00 am. - I am trying to add a bit of value and comment (on fb).  I am not a birdwatcher - I can tell a robin from an eagle on a good day - but I love birds, as I love Jehovah's beautiful creation.  So I have been finding some lovely - and observant - poems about birds. And posting them.

And I found this paean to the Bumbarrel.  And posted it.

Bumbarrel is an old word for the Long-tailed Tit. And it, along with the bearded tit, are perhaps my favourite birds.  If you can have favourites.

And please note how exquisitely they make their nests.  Each one a little work of art, and a witness to the perfect work of the Grand Creator of us all.  And I love the way it ends, with the hedgerow being full of baby bumbarrels.

The Bumbarrel's Nest

by John Clare

The oddling bush close sheltered hedge new plashed

Of which springs early liking makes a guest

First with a shade of green though winter dashed

There full as soon bumbarrels make a nest

Of mosses grey with cobwebs closely tied

and warm and rich as feather bed within

With little hole on its contrary side

That pathway peepers may no knowledge win

Of what her little oval nest contains

Ten eggs and often twelve with dusts of red

Soft frittered and full soon the little lanes

Screen the young crowd and hear the twittring song

Of the old birds who call them to be fed

While down the hedge they hang and hide along

(John Clare, ‘Bumbarrel’s Nest’ (1832–7), 2003, p. 219)

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137030337_5

We continue in our isolation routine, watching the Channel come and go.  Its out at the moment and Col is off on his walk, along the beach.  You can go for miles when the tide is out.  I am about to attend our Zoom Meeting.

We have an extra meeting now - Field Service on Saturday morning - a morale boost for us, as we can no longer go door to door in the service. 

The Kraken Wakes (Writers in Lockdown)

I was asked by my publishers Fantastic Books - https://www.fantasticbooksstore.com/ - to do a small article for "Writers in Lockdown".   And in it I speculate as to what great writers of the past would have made of the Coronacrisis.  And admit that I am making nothing of it, writer-wise at the moment.   

The 1950s was something of a heyday for Sci Fi writers - they had all sorts of ideas - and I was wondering what John Wyndham might have made of this.   His "The Day of the Triffids" must surely still be in print, as it was recently adapted for the telly - a depressing and clunky adaptation which I hope did not put anyone off reading his wonderful and very readable book - which was about the plant world turning on us.

Then there was "The Kraken Wakes", in which mysterious Somethings - like falling stars -  fall into the sea, and slowly, inexorably, the sea levels begin to rise.  Its a really good read, if you need something absorbing during lockdown.

A great title too.  And great titles are not that easy to find.  It is from this Tennyson poem:

The Kraken Wakes
Tennyson

Below the thunders of the upper deep;
Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee
About his shadowy sides: above him swell
Huge sponges of millennial growth and height;
And far away into the sickly light,
From many a wondrous grot and secret cell
Unnumbered and enormous polypi
Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.
There hath he lain for ages and will lie
Battening upon huge sea-worms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.


Poor old Kraken!  And of course Armageddon "the latter fire" will bring relief and rescue to the animal creation as well as to all faithful humans.

The Kraken, should he happen to exist, will be able to sleep on in peace then, and will treat all passing sea-worms kindly.

On Tuesday night we celebrated the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.  In giving up his perfect human life, he paid back the perfect human life that Adam so tragically threw away in Eden. And he also sanctified the name of his Father, Jehovah.

Jesus' perfect life course, his staying faithful and obedient to his Father until death, despite the horrendous pressures that Satan and his system were able to bring to bear on him, shows once and for all time that Adam could have obeyed.  Nothing would have been easier for him. Jehovah's creation was perfect. There was no flaw in Adam that made him disobey. It was a deliberate and tragic choice.

But we, every one of us on the earth now, have the opportunity to make a different choice from the one our first parents made. We can choose not to go "the world's" way, but to seek for our Creator, Jehovah, find him, learn about him, and do our imperfect best to obey him.

We are all in the valley of the decision. So what decision will we make?

If we make the choice to love and obey our Creator, there is more happiness than we can imagine ahead for us, right here on the earth.   And there is happiness right now in serving Jehovah, as he is "the happy God".  Timothy speaks of "the glorious good news of the happy God, with which I was entrusted".

We cannot now call at your door with this glorious good news. But you can call on us at our website JW.org, and you can do a Bible study with us on line.  Or I would be very happy to conduct one with you.

Please please do.

The Memorial in Isolation

Tomorrow, after sunset, it will be the Memorial of Jesus death - a most unusual memorial as it will be held in isolation - though we will be together in cyber space, on Zoom.  We have red wine available and I will make the bread in the morning.  It is simply flour and water rolled thin, pricked with a fork and baked for about 8 minutes so that it becomes cracker-like.

You can if you wish join us on line:  https://www.jw.org/en/   You will be most welcome.

"For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night on which he was going to be betrayed took a loaf,  and after giving thanks, he broke it and said: “This means my body, which is in your behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me.”  He did the same with the cup also, after they had the evening meal, saying: “This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood. Keep doing this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”  For whenever you eat this loaf and drink this cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the Lord, until he comes." - 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Whenever you eat this loaf and drink this cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the Lord, until he comes.

Here Paul was was saying to annointed Christians (those with the heavenly hope):  'Every time that you do this, you keep proclaiming the death of the Lord.'  They do this until he comes, that is, until Jesus comes to receive them into heaven and to execute judgment. At that time, the Lord's Evening Meal will no longer be observed.

As the King of Jehovah's Kingdom, Jesus will soon put an end to the whole wicked system of things on the earth.  And until he does we need to memorialise his sacrificial death as he asks us to, even if it has to be in virtual space.

Afterwards - during the Millennial reign, will there be some different kind of celebration on that day, or not?   I just hope we are all there to find out, as the hope for most of us is to live forever in the restored earthly Paradise.

The First Moth of Twenty Twenty

The lockdown goes on with no end in sight. This is a very very strange situation. Surreal is the word.

I am starting this blog on the first as Col and I are at our computers waiting for Chris Packham and Meghan to appear on our screens with their "Skull of the Day" (to identify).  Yesterday we walked in Mewsbrook Park in the late afternoon - the light was wonderful. For some reason I feel incredibly tired - can hardly make myself walk back up the stairs when we get back from our walk.

We did our hour's walk on Wednesday - not so successful this time as we walked along the river and there were too many people - not many, but too many - and it was more stressful trying to keep the required distance.

Thursday it was the virtual meeting. I was on time, but only just.  What is happening to me?!   And today we had a Zoom meeting with the family - York, Cheshire, Brighton, Bavarian and Home Counties branches.  While it was a bit of a tower of Babel, lacking the calm orderliness of our meetings, in which we all get a chance to speak, it was nice to see everybody and to wave at them.

We had a talk with Bea (of the Cheshire Branch) via old fashioned horse-drawn telephone afterwards. And while I was typing this an email just pinged to say she has as promised sent me a photo of the latest of Brian's pictures she has hung - called "Chaos". Which sounds quite apt.

And I have an email in from Anne of the Cape which I must reply to. We have been out of touch for a while, but the CoronaCrisis seems to be inspiring us all to contact each other - virtually speaking of course.

My sister, in isolation with Doris the dog, is having some very funny adventures on fb.  And the first moth of the year has checked in to our balcony hotel!  See the Captain's Log for its picture.
http://colinknight.blogspot.com/

The first of many more moths to come hopefully.  All are welcome - provided they keep their social distance - and especially their social distance from our carpets, if they are of the Carpet Eating variety!