The Past is Another Country - and a Flareup - Right leg

At this time of year getting together with family, we find ourselves talking about the past, so I thought I would end the year with this old photo of my parents wedding.  My granny is there, my aunt Jo, my uncles - so young.  The war is only just over as you see from the uniforms.

All gone now - the Nabbs family.  But not forgotten.  

My hope of course is that they are not forgotten by their Creator, Jehovah, because if so I will see them again when the time comes for the resurrection. Well, I will IF I am there of course...

The family get togethers are important, but everything is so Christmasified - even Bargain Hunt, which we watch every lunchtime.  And I was surprised to hear, via Bargain Hunt, in its short educational interlude, how little Christmas was celebrated here in the UK until Dickens wrote his best-selling "Christmas Carol".   And yet now the whole business has reached hysteria pitch.

I found this in cyberspace, which, if correct, tells us that it was celebrated here until the ban in the 17th century, and presumably did not reappear as a national celebration until the 19th century:   

"Three hundred and seventy years ago, between 1645 and 1660, Parliamentarians completely outlawed Christmas. The Government imposed a festive vacuum each December which was underpinned by the Puritan belief that the Catholic celebration was a sinful extravagance fuelled by immorality. "

I certainly believe it is not a Christian celebration but, as a Christian, I also believe I have no right to impose my views on others.

I have had such a painful 48 hours - starting with a dramatic stomach upset on Tuesday morning, turning into a violent arthritis flare-up - right leg - which has left me barely able to walk.   After a night of pain, no sleep, and disturbing Captain B to help me totter slowly and painfully to the loo, I gave in and took two of my superstrength painkillers - for emergencies - with a bowl of cereal - on Wednesday morning.

While I am still in a lot of what hospitals call "discomfort", I am now able to totter, slowly and painfully, to the loo without having to cling to Captain B all the way.  And I am now suffering from the side effects of the painkillers.

Oh dear, oh dear.   

It seems a bit of a sad way to end 2022 with such a bad flare up, but I need to remember that I haven't had one like this for over a year and be grateful for that. And to remember the hope for better health - perfect health in fact - that lies ahead of us.

Appropriately, out first  study article for 2023 is: Keep Your Christian Hope Strong.  It can be found on the website JW.org if anyone would like to read it.

And perfect health is something that we, the damaged children of disobedient Adam, have never yet known.  So how wonderful will it be?  I guess we can't imagine.

The Letter, The Mirror and the Light

This was the letter I sent to the gentleman who talked to us at his door, on a very cold morning. He said he has no belief in God, but that he knows a lot about what we believe as he had a friend he used to go fishing with who was a Jehovah's Witness.

For some reason, I asked him if he knew what Sir Isaac Newton had to say about the Bible.  Its possible that I may have been making some kind of muddled connection between Izaac Walton who famously wrote "The Compleat Angler" and this very different Isaac.  Who knows?  But the gentleman at the door seemed quite intrigued so I said I would pop a letter through his door.

I did. And here it is. What he thought, or thinks, of it, I do not know.

3rd December 2022

Dear ......

I enjoyed our chat with you this morning. And I hope we didn’t let too much of your valuable heat escape.

This is the quote I mentioned, from the website JW.org - the reference is below, if you want to look further into this, if you are online.  If not, of course, we would be only too happy to help.

It interested me as I was a Catholic Convent schoolgirl, a long time ago (dinosaur proof fencing round the school playground…) and I was taught all sorts of things that were not Biblical, things that often directly contradicted Bible teaching. And you were speaking about how the Church had imposed Bible teachings on us.  

Well, it has certainly imposed its teachings. But are they from the Bible?

Anyway here is what Sir Isaac Newton had to say about it.  

"The famous mathematician Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) also had a keen interest in the Bible. He understood that the holy ones will be raised to heavenly life and will rule invisibly with Christ. (Revelation 5:9, 10) As for the subjects of the Kingdom, he wrote: “The earth shall continue to be inhabited by mortals after the day of judgment and that not only for a 1000 years but even for ever.”

"Newton considered Christ’s presence to be centuries away. “One reason why Newton saw the Kingdom of God so far in the future was because he was profoundly pessimistic about the deep Trinitarian apostasy he saw around him,” said historian Stephen Snobelen. The good news was still veiled. And Newton saw no Christian movement that could preach it. He wrote: “These prophecies of Daniel and John [the latter recorded in the book of Revelation] should not be understood till the time of the end.” Newton explained: “‘Then,’ saith Daniel, ‘many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.’ For the Gospel must be preached in all nations before the great tribulation, and end of the world. The palm-bearing multitude, which come out of this great tribulation, cannot be innumerable out of all nations, unless they be made so by the preaching of the Gospel before it comes.”​—Daniel. 12:4; Matthew. 24:14; Revelation. 7:9, 10."

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2009603?q=john+milton&p=par

 

So while Christendom has certainly imposed its teachings, are they from God’s word?   And do you notice what Isaac Newton has to say about the Christian preaching work, and when it will be done, and why it could not be done in his day?

I would of course love to know what you think about what he said.  And I would be happy to talk some more about “the word” if you want to.   As I guess you will know from your talks with your fishing companion, we believe that Jesus is the word of God, the only-begotten son of God, and the one who was there in the beginning, working beside his Father, helping him to create all other things.

Anyway, if you would like to know more, please get in touch, or go to the website JW.org.  And I am enclosing an invitation to our meetings, which are open to all.

Best wishes

 

I am reading Hilary Mantel's The Mirror and the Light, the third part of her Wolf Hall trilogy. It is such a page turner - and very interesting too in the frightening mixture of politics and religion that it describes.

The Sally Poem

I must note that I have sent cards in response to the two flats who sent to us, and to  the two Peter's - to Peter, Barbara and Co, a Clouded Yellow and to Peter, Marie's husband, a Swallowtail.  I was best friends with their wives, both of whom are gone now.  Diana and I shared a flat in our Uni days, and Marie was a kindred spirit in the odd (to me) world of Planet Expat.  We never ran out of things to talk about. 

I would have loved to have shared my books with both of them.

I hope I will see them both when the time comes for the dead to be woken, but for all three of us that possible future lies our Creator's hands.

I also got a card off to Elizabeth who lives locally - a Comma butterfly.  We hope to meet up in the New Year, maybe at our favourite cafe which so far has survived... 

I was so pleased when a facebook friend in Oz asked me if I would re-post my poem about Sally on his page as he wanted to share it.  It is lovely when people enjoy what you have written.  So here it is, reposted here too: 

WALKING SALLY

Round and round the bushes

Sally rustles

Past picnickers and children

Sally bustles

Cyclists and grey squirrels

Sally hassles

Joggers and old ladies

Sally passes

On new grass and ducks bread

Sally grazes

On cats and Konkord Castle

Sally gazes

Bent twigs and giant sticks

Sally carries

Terriers and tomboys

Sally harries

Home again at sunset

Sally hurries

Up the slopes of Brocco Bank

She scurries

Hoping for her doggy bix

And marrow

And another walk in Endcliffe Park

Tomorrow.

Sally has been a long time gone, sadly. But it brings back memories of so many happy walks in Endcliffe Park, a ribbon of woodland, meadows, ponds and stream that can take you from the inner city to the moors at Ringinglow. And there is a nice cafe or two en route. Ken often used to stop there for his morning coffee, when walking Sally and her successors.

All are gone now. Ken - and the dogs he walked. But the trees they walked past are still there.

Our lives are so short now. Which was one of the things that started me really wondering as I approached my 40th birthday (and how long ago that was!). Is this all we are ever to see of this lovely earth? Is there any meaning to it? And the question I had always asked from when I was first able to ask a question: Why? Why is there anything at all? Where did it all come from?

And I had no idea until the two Jehovah's Witnesses who knocked at my door showed me the answers were there, in plain sight, on the Bible on my shelf.

Red Sky in the Morning

We had a beautiful red sunrise on Sunday morning, which put me in mind of the old rhyme:

Red sky at night, shepherd's delight; red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning.

So Sunday was not likely to be a good day for shepherds... a sharp decrease in the price of wool maybe?  On the other hand, the morning weather forecast told us of dangerous weather conditions, a sharp freeze, causing rain to freeze as it fell - especially in the North. So maybe wool prices will, in fact, go up.

Captain B, at home amazingly, kindly offered to chauffeur me to the Hall.  The ice seemed to be gone and it was pouring with rain when he came to pick me up. We drove back by a stormy English Channel.  We had a wonderful talk about the creation - both its awe-inspiring immensity, and its equal awe-inspiring tiny details.  

So important as there are two witnesses to our Creator, Jehovah.  The creation itself tells us that it has a Grand Creator, and the Inspired Scriptures, both Hebrew and Christian Greek (Old and New Testament) tell us who he is and what he wants for and from us.

And we had a stormy sea on a rainy Monday.  I talked to my siblings on Zoom. Two of the cats appeared briefly - one in Oz, one in Sheffield - and all seems well.  Apparently Australia is having unseasonably cold weather, given it is now the height of Summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

Its another medical week. My much delayed hospital appointment came through, in the form of three letters with different dates and times on them, but we worked out the right one and got to Rheumatology on time on Monday, to be seen by a very pleasant locum, who I have not seen before and likely will not see again.

My blood results are all good, which is very encouraging. And he has batted me back to Dermatology re the skin problem. They say it is probably caused by the arthritis - by my immune system turning on my skin now it is running out of joints to attack - and Rheumatology says it is nothing to do with them it is all the fault of my Derma.

So I am in mid-court at the moment, and guess I need to chase up another appointment.  But I am probably going to have to live with this until I am no longer living, or until Armageddon, whichever comes first.

I mentioned my painful back - despite the year of Physio - and he told me firmly that that was nothing to do with his department but was due to age - wear and tear.  Well, fair enough, I am past my sell-by date, and the Department of Oldageology does not exist - by which I mean the Department that can cure old age.  Only the Kingdom of God can and will do that.

And today I have an eye-test - local - with painful drops.   Anyway, I am grateful for all this, and like everyone else am worried about the state of our over-loaded NHS and how long it can and will survive. And I worry about my part in over-loading it. 

To the Museum

My big adventure got me stressing out in the early hours of Thursday morning - worrying about having to go to the Museum with the lads' latest finds - driving my sleigh through the icy wastes.  The FLO - Finds Liaison Officer to us civilians (or non-detectorists) - was visiting and the lads were all out a'detecting in some remote location that necessitated a very early alarm call. 

We had arranged it for 12:30, to give the sun, which did come out, time to melt the worst of the ice.  Anyway, I did find a place to park - not very near - and after a cold but safe walk and a cold wait outside her door, I finally found the lady herself and got the latest finds handed in. It is impressive how well regulated it all is, how the Finds are logged and recorded, all adding to the picture of our history.

And I had a part in the Ministry School, standing in as an emergency householder.  This was our key Scripture:

"With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore.  The former things have passed away.” - Revelation 21:3,4

This promise encompasses everything we could want right here on the earth.  And our hope is to show that this promise is really going to be fulfilled - and soon.

 Col very kindly chauffered me door to door so I could appear on the stage in person - though I could have done it in Zoom had it not been possible to get there.  There were still sheets of ice outside our front doors.

There was a bit of a thaw yesterday afternoon, so it may have gone now. It's still too dark to tell.

Cards/letters sent: Pete's email replied to, and Sheila, Dave and Archie have a Clouded Yellow Card.  I did the email to Pete during the field service yesterday as I wanted to send him that quote from Sir Isaac Newton.  It is one I have already blogged.

https://sueknight2000.blogspot.com/2022/02/returning-my-wings-to-their-box.html

Until I read this on the Society website, JW.org, I had no idea that Sir Isaac knew and had spoken out about what the Bible actually does say, as opposed to what we are told it says.  I was hoping, I am hoping, that Pete, a scientist himself, might give it some serious thought.

The Old Mill Lodges

The News is so sad and depressing that it is hard to know where to start. We have had a Winter tragedy as three young boys have died after falling through ice on a frozen pond, and one is in hospital fighting for his life, at 6 years old.  

Since I began to write this blog, the little lad has died. So it will be a bleak midwinter indeed for their families.

I can only hope they know - or will come to know - about the resurrection hope - that their children are not lost, just sleeping safe in the everlasting arms until the time comes to wake them.

It could have happened to my sister and me on the frozen Mill Lodges back in the 1950s. 

And if this very cold Winter continues, there will almost certainly be deaths from hypothermia. How are the street homeless coping with the cold nights?  If you read George Orwell's "A Clergyman's Daughter", you will find a vivid description of just what it is like to sleep out on the Winter streets, in the UK.  He was speaking from personal experience.

On a much cosier (and I hope not insensitive) note, Professional Masterchef UK has finished.  They chose three great finalists - my favourite Charlie didn't win, but getting into that final is a win, careerwise. Nikita, who did win, had also been brilliant throughout. And the other finalist, Sagar, cooked a starter that is the dish I would most have liked to eat, out of all the lovely dishes on offer.  It was Puri/Poori (not sure of the spelling) based - Indian street food, but cheffed-up for the occasion.  It looked totally delicious.  

I could never eat the meat they cook though as chefs like their meat raw - or "rare" in chef-speak. When I do eat meat, on social occasions, I like it very well done.  If I were to go out to a steakhouse - not likely as I don't like steak - I would ring up the day before to book the table and probably ask them to put my steak on there and then just to be sure - on a lowish sort of heat of course.

The ground outside the flat is still a sheet of ice, and as I cannot overcome my anxiety about falling and breaking something, I am back on Zoom - both for meetings and witnessing.   I hope this is not a big failure in faith.

Jehovah asks us to throw all our anxiety on him because he cares for us.  "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time, while you throw all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:6,7

The problem is that we don't "throw" our anxieties on Him, having done what we could about them, we tend - or I tend - to put them down and pick them up again, and worry away at them.  But also our Creator does expect us to use the common sense he gave us... which means I should be very cautious about ice.

Anyway, I could witter on about my worries for ages, so all I will say is that I have done a letter and a bluebell card for Julia.  And we have finally sorted out a calendar for next year - plus some new butterfly cards, which should arrive in a day or two. And that I got quite a bit of Zoom witnessing done yesterday.

Cards , Clowns, and Letters (along with Soup and Snow)

At this time of year we get lots of cards and end of year letters from friends, and even though I try to have as little to do with Christmas as possible - it is a religious holiday, but not a Christian one (see the link below) - I do try to reply and send non-specific cards and letters just to keep in touch.  

https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/when-was-jesus-born/

As usual I am behind and so far, for my own records, have written to Bob and Helen, Elizabeth and David, Gale and Richard, and hope to finish one to Dougal today.  I have still got some lovely clownfish cards made from photos Col took during our Maldive years. So that gives me an idea for a pic to head this blog.

But we now need some more cards made up and I must have a browse through the photos on his website.  I have probably said this before, but it was so heartbreaking to watch - in that David Attenborough documentary - the families of Clownfish - fathers, mothers, children - all working together on the reefs, helping and supporting each other, and knowing how this passion for aquarium fish was going to disrupt and destroy so many of those little families.  I guess that movie about Clownfish did not help either.  I didn't see it as I try to avoid the product of Hollywood.

And, note to myself, the Dougal card was done, dusted and posted. Though with all the strikes on at the moment its not clear how and when the mail will get through.

Saturday morning was really frosty and I did not make it to the field service group - terrified of ice, which at my age is "a terror in the way".  I also attended the Thursday night meeting in Zoom for the same reason.  I got all ready, got down to my car, found it iced up, and chickened out.  But I did join my congregation siblings for home made soup at lunchtime on Saturday.  Soup delicious - company good - and I came away with a good new soup idea - adding some harissa paste, it gives just the right amount of spicy heat.

It snowed briefly on Sunday afternoon, but did not settle. Captain M-B said it snowed heavily out Ditchling Way (where he and the lads were out detecting), and Nute sent a photo of the bungalow garden 'oop North, deep in snow.

Reading the paragraph below from the article I linked above made me wonder if maybe Jesus was born on the same day/date that Adam first opened his eyes, in that paradise garden, in Eden:

In early fall

 We can estimate when Jesus was born by counting backward from his death on Passover, Nisan 14 in the spring of the year 33 C.E. (John 19:14-16) Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his three-and-a-half-year ministry, so he was born in the early fall of 2 B.C.E.—Luke 3:23.

I don't know, as the Bible doesn't say.  And if God had wanted us to celebrate Jesus' birth no doubt he would have made the date clear to us. But maybe it is one of the infinity of things I shall learn about if I do "inherit the earth" and live forever upon it.  And let me add as always that I hope we all will. 

Then the earthly creation will be able to live in peace and happiness, including all those dear little clownfish families.  They will be no predators of any kind, human or animal, to disrupt their lives.

 

The Troll of Trondheim

The Troll is the big freeze that has hit the North of England - well, it's the name the tabloids have given it. A Guardian commentator pointed out caustically that isn't this just something we used to call Winter. And, yes, fair point.  We have no snow down here as yet, but apparently it is going to be very cold all week. We have the heating on, and our hot water bottle at night.  

Thursday morning was beautiful - cold and clear with the low wintry sun making everything shine.  Col was home on Thursday - no metal detecting! (Hold the Presses) - so we shopped.  And everything looked so beautiful that i wished I could write a poem about it. But my poetry writing days seem to be over.

I found this odd poem about a dipper by Kathleen Jamie - hence the photo which Captain M-B will have taken in Endcliffe Vale Park some years ago. I wonder how its life has gone since.  

The Dipper

Kathleen Jamie

It was winter, near freezing,
I'd walked through a forest of firs
when I saw issue out of the waterfall
a solitary bird.

 

It lit on a damp rock,
and, as water swept stupidly on,
wrung from its own throat
supple, undammable song.

It isn't mine to give.
I can't coax this bird to my hand
that knows the depth of the river
yet sings of it on land.

https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/literary/winter-poems-poetry-snow-frost-rossetti-poe

I do like Kathleen Jamie, but wonder why the water swept "stupidly" on?  A very odd adjective that jars, but not in fruitful way - not for me anyway. Water looks beautiful and purposeful, as it weaves its way to the sea, part of the amazing water cycle, the intelligent design, that keeps this planet so blue and so green.  

The water cycle is described poetically in the Book of Job:

"Yes, God is greater than we can know;

The number of his years is beyond comprehension.

He draws up the drops of water;

They condense into rain from his mist;

Then the clouds pour it down;

They shower down upon mankind."

 -  Job 36:26-28

A perfect system.  But I guess we won't see it working in its full perfection until the Kingdom of God is ruling over us.  (I seem to have borrowed a bit of format from the poem there, but never mind.)

Trolley Time

On Saturday, I did make it back to the field service.  The venue was changed  to one I find it much easier to get to, one that is before, not beyond, the roundabout of terror.  The planners kindly added to its terrors some time ago by adding a big supermarket with its entrance right on the roundabout.  I had been praying about that roundabout, and am very grateful that I did not have to tackle it.

So to show my gratitude, I attended the meeting at the Kingdom Hall afterwards, and found myself signing up as a volunteer stand-in for the literature carts/trolleys.  I have been putting it off for ages, but now I have had my year of physio I feel I must give it a try. My back is as good as it is ever going to get, before Armageddon.  

The Kingdom preaching work is so urgent.  The situation in Haiti is now so desperate that I wonder about how my brothers and sisters there are coping. I know Jehovah will help them every step of the way of course, help we are all going to need as we see  "the increasing of lawlessness" everywhere, as Jesus foretold for this time.

Why not accept a home Bible study now, while it is being offered so freely?  As I am not William Shakespeare, I can't find words good and powerful enough to tell you how grateful I am that I did.

On Sunday I had to deliver a letter containing a quote from that great scientist Sir Isaac Newton to a gentleman we met on the doors on Saturday.  I might post the letter in a blogpost this month. And I also called in at Tesco's and found some goats milk.  So we are The House of Two Milks again.

It would be so much kinder to be The House of No Milks (and no cheese, nor any dairy) given the suffering it all causes...  When the whole earth is being restored to paradise, will there be a kind way of having dairy products, or will we simply not want or need them?

It is now really cold - we even treated ourselves to a hot water bottle on Sunday night - and there is snow in the North.  I will try to find one of Captain Moth-Butterfly's snow photos with which to head this blog - in its honour.   The question is: Will there be any snow pictures taken this winter?  

Probably best if it does not get too cold as fuel prices have risen so drastically that I don't know how people are going to manage.

Songbird

The news on the 1st of December was that another one of my generation has gone. Christine McVie, of Fleetwood Mac, the writer of Songbird, You Make Loving Fun, and Temporary One, among many others, died at the age of 79, after a short illness.

I am glad to hear it was a short illness, at least.  Lovely voice, great songwriter, and now gone - her life over.  How quickly it goes for us damaged children of disobedient Adam. We are all temporary ones, at the moment.

The picture of a Dartford Warbler seems appropriate today.  It was taken by Col of course.

Thursday was busy.  I had what turned out to be my last P.E. lesson, as I was signed off from my Physio - not so much because I am now so buff and sporty that I don't need it any more, but more because the Health Centre is going to have a long overdue renovation in the New Year, which is going to take months. 

We had a water outage for an hour or in the afternoon, and I had to puff and pant up and down the stairs keeping two neighbours who are not internet-minded informed. It is all exercise.  I also did a load of washing, and made a crumble with Jim's apples - with sugar, not salt this time. (My Cookery Tip for the day: When making a fruit crumble, use sugar, not salt.) And I finished my studying for the Thursday night Ministry School - which is the best  education programme in the world, and is offered without charge to all who want it.

We are being reminded now of the immense - and very satisfying - teaching work that will be done during the Thousand Years, when the dead are woken from the dreamless sleep of death. Many millions of them will never have known who their Creator is, and who the promised Messiah is, and they will need to learn.  We will all be learning then, as Revelation tells us that "scrolls" will be opened. There will be more divine instruction. We are getting such good training now in paying attention and following the perfect law that "belongs to freedom" and which will lead us to "the glorious freedom of the children of God".

It is suddenly much colder, after our strangely warm November, and I can feel Winter approaching.  We did a shop at Tesco on Friday, as Col wanted to fill up with petrol.

Our plans for today:  Metal detecting for Himself; and hopefully if I can make myself face the roundabout of terror, I will be back out on the doors, followed by a short meeting at the Kingdom Hall.

I have no idea what to say to people this morning - well, I mean I know what I want to say, but it's that first minute or two at the door.  I have to rely on Jehovah if I am to get myself out there, what with roundabouts and doors to face.

A Medical Week

I distinguished myself this week by making a rhubarb crumble, but putting salt into the crumble instead of sugar... I hope this is not the beginning of the end, dementia wise. Mind you it was not me who put a bag of salt in the sugar cupboard.

I often use raw brown sugar in my crumbles and it would have been fine it I had only done so this time.

Col had his eye test yesterday, and I have my next Covid vax today, which I lay awake worrying about. Will my poor battered immune system, which can't even shake off this ongoing cold, be up to it?  

I also have my physio tomorrow, but that at least is local and does not require half the day to get there and back. We had planned to do a bit of shopping in Chi after the Tuesday trip, but were so tired out by all the hospital procedures, all involving a long wait, that we didn't feel equal to it. We would have landed ourselves in the rush hour anyway.

I enjoyed the drive though - with notes of Autumn colours gleaming in the greyness. Who could get tired of living on the earth, even now when it is so far from the paradise it was meant to be, and will be?  

I am in the bonus years - under the Threescore Year and Ten rule. We both are.  We do not have many Autumns left. So once again, I hope and pray that Col and I (and all of us) have unnumbered Autumns ahead of us, in the restored earthly paradise - with absolutely no medical appointments needed - ever! 

And here is a great poem to say goodbye to another November. I first came across it in The New Oxford Anthology of English Verse, edited by Helen Gardner, and I found it online, on the website: https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/song-the-feathers-of-the-willow/

I really like the half rhyme it begins with, between willow and yellow.

SONG by Richard Watson Dixon

The feathers of the willow
Are half of them grown yellow
Above the swelling stream; And ragged are the bushes,
And rusty now the rushes,
And wild the clouded gleam.

The thistle now is older,
His stalk begins to moulder,
His head is white as snow; The branches all are barer,
The linnet's song is rarer,
The robin pipeth now.

The photo that heads this blog is of Conifer Tufts, and was, of course, taken by Captain Moth-Butterfly.

A Sad Anniversary

It is now the third anniversary of Ken's death and Nute was saying that it has not got any easier.  She has done all the right things - she went back to work, when they asked her if she would;  she is working on her next book; and she is a busy mother and grandmother.

But the loss remains. And in spite of being so busy, she feels she has just been marking time ever since.

Above is a photo of their wedding day, and of one of Ken's lovely pots - I especially like the colour of this one.

I took my first tentative steps towards getting back to the door to door preaching work on Saturday.  I got into my normal shoes and drove myself to the group.  I did not go out with them, but it was lovely to re-connect with my siblings, and, all being well, it means I will now be able to drive myself to the meeting today, and get myself out on the door to door preaching work in the week.

I find it very difficult, as I am not one to talk to people at the best of time, plus I am a very nervous driver.  But I remain grateful to this day that two Jehovah's Witnesses took the trouble to call at my door in Sheffield all those years ago.  And it is so urgent.  I do not have a lot of time left, and neither does the current system of things on the earth.

Other than that and my exercises, Saturday was a bit of a cooking day, as I made a wokful of bean and veggie chile, and stewed some apples for Captain B to have (with custard) for his weekend puddings.

This is a Wendy Cope poem that really strikes home now that Col and me are so old:

On a Train

by Wendy Cope

The book I've been reading
rests on my knee. You sleep

It's beautiful out there -
fields, little lakes and winter trees
in February sunlight,
every car park a shining mosaic.

Long, radiant minutes,
your hand in my hand,
still warm, still warm.

So I have to add some more words - another poem - a powerful and perfect promise from our Creator, Jehovah, who cannot and does not lie:

"Your dead will live.

  My corpses will rise up.

  Awake and shout joyfully,

  You residents in the dust!

  For your dew is as the dew of the morning,

  And the earth will let those powerless in death come to life."

- Isaiah 26:19

Your dead will live.  Jehovah can remember them and wake them from the dreamless sleep of death, so my hope is that Nute is marking time, busily and productively, until the moment comes when Ken wakes up again.

He loved and appreciated the gift of life - and family and friendship and the endless possibilities of creativity. So he would love being in the paradise earth with the possibility of endless life ahead of him.

I hope we will all be there.

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Watching Paint Dry

This is a Scarlet Swallowtail, taken by Captain Moth-Butterfly. If you read through the blog, you will see why I have chosen it. The clue is in the world "scarlet".

It's the year for the World Cup, which has now started. And it seems that all teams have turned up at the very controversial venue.

Anyway, Captain Moth-Butterfly will be happily watching paint dry until - well, for about a month I think. England won on Monday. That is all I can say about it so far. Oh and so did Saudi Arabia, against the odds.
I try to remember to shout "Get your specs on Ref!" occasionally, just to show willing.

I am embarrassed to admit that I have been watching a show called "Tipping Point" - a quiz show that is totally banal and that I really enjoy. The Presenter is very likeable, and the Contestants are all lovely to each other.

Recently one of the contestants was asked this: "What is the name of the novel that begins:"Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful but..."

After much thought, the contestant decided that, as he had no idea, he would pass the question on to his opponent. After more thought, she decided it must be "Wuthering Heights".

And I must say that the thought of Scarlett O'Hara turning up in Wuthering Heights is an interesting one. For one thing, would Cathy have had a chance with Heathcliffe once Miss Scarlett had turned up?

Captain M-B - still down with a bad cough - had a funny turn on Monday night. He suddenly became so cold he was shivering. And while it was getting colder, it wasn't that cold. We live in a second floor flat, surrounded and insulated by other flats. We turned the heating on, he got a quilted thing to huddle under as he watched the current Paint Drying match, and I got him a hot water bottle. He was fine in a couple of hours, but it was odd.

We are not young any more. And yet, in our seventies, we have only had a short time on this lovely planet, and only the briefest of glimpses into the astounding universe in which we float.

Poets have lamented the shortness of our lives down the centuries. Don't we know that this is not right, that we were not meant to die?

In "In Memoriam", Tennyson, speaking to his Creator, says:

Thou wilt not leave us in the dust

Thou madest man, he knows not why,
He thinks he was not made to die;
And thou hast made him: thou art just.

We think we are not made to die.  And, according to the Bible, we are right to think that.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says. of our Creator: "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has even put eternity in their heart; yet mankind will never find out the work that the true God has made from start to finish."

Yes, according to the Bible, we were originally made to live forever, in happiness, not to get old, wither and die. And wonderfully, if we do accept the rescue Jehovah is offering to us and live forever, we will never stop learning about our Creator and his amazing, splendid creation.

My SmartPhone and Me

The problem with my Smartphone is that it is much smarter than I am.  And Col left me with a fearsome job to do on Saturday, as I had to supervise and photograph the return of a parcel.  The slippers I had ordered, hoping to find something I could wear on my feet without making them worse, were the wrong size.  In fairness, they did not send me the wrong size, I had ordered the wrong size - my usual one.  I know my feet are always a bit swollen these days, but I had thought because they were slippers it would be OK.

It wasn't. So Captain M-B, a very neat parcel maker, got them all parcelled up to return and I was under strict instructions that when the Postlady came to pick them up, I was to check that the address label she had was the right one, and also take a photo of her with parcel as proof of our having returned it.

I did my best but am wondering if all I got after much clicking was a selfie of me looking especially puzzled and gormless.  I daren't look. I will find out when Himself returns from The Field.

The Imaginary Cats continue to rule the roost at the bungalow. Here is their latest fb post:

Abra, Imaginary Cat mark 1, decided to revisit her kittenhood at approximately 3 this morning. I was woken up by an e-type cat racing round the bed, opened my eyes to see mad yellow ones looking back at me, ducked under the covers as she pounced, then she leapt off the bed and landed on Tabs (Imaginary Cat mark 2) who was minding her own business in the cat basket. Robust feline exchange of views was followed by a sort of diminuendo effect as they both shot down the corridor, followed by the clatter of the cat flap and blessed silence. Feeling a bit jaded this morning.

When I think about the Imaginary cats, I do wonder about their Person, Janet. She took in so many rescue cats during her life. The Imaginaries are her last two rescues, who Nute promised she would take in if no other home could be found.

And while very shy, they settled in at the bungalow with Nute straight away, so to the extent that Janet could be happy with anything, she would be happy with this.

She was of the "Everything should be perfect, why isn't it?" school of thought. And it is a completely valid question. Everything should have been perfect. And now it isn't.

If Janet sleeps safe in Jehovah's memory, every hair of her head numbered, she will wake up one day and learn the answer to that question. Everything will be perfect then. And I hope she will meet her cats again. Though that is all in Jehovah's hands, which is where it safely belongs.

The photo that heads this blog? Well, it was taken while I struggled to get a photo of the parcel and the postlady. It turns out I had managed to get one of parcel plus official return label, including our cheerful postlady's hands and scanning device. But I also had this one - of our Maldives doormat! My feet ought to be in it, but they don't seem to appear. It might not win any prizes in photographic competitions, but never mind. I am rather pleased with it.

I bought that mat from the Bandos Island gift shop many years ago - in our expat years, when Captain Moth-Butterfly was the Sheik of Araby - and we used to go to the Maldives every year with a shoal of Aramco divers. I dedicated my novel "Waiting for Gordo" to the Aramco Shoal. So it is a mat of many memories.

Ms Bean arrives on the Platform

Poor Col is still coughing and coughing, but not quite as badly... we had a better night. The sun is shining today but it seems the North may be getting the torrential rain - I read of flood warnings for Scotland in the online news this morning.

I got back to the Kingdom Hall last night - helped by my chauffeur Captain M-B, who drove me to the door. My heel is still not capable of much in the walking line, but at least it let me wear proper shoes.

My part is below. It was a 4-minuter, first return visit, and I was working on: Scripture Application made Clear. I am a clumsy person at the best of times and when you add arthritic hands... and I had to juggle: a Bible, a Brochure, a Card, and a Script. It could have ended up like an episode of Mr.Bean. Mercifully, it didn't. Not quite. So my prayers must have been heard.

Pen attended, in Pixel form.

This was my script:

Sue: Hello HH, I am glad to find you at home.  I was hoping to catch you before you moved. But I guess you are very busy with packing and everything, so can you spare me 5 minutes this morning?

HH:  Oh hi Sue. No - that’s OK.   In fact I have been thinking about what you told me last week, about the idea of peace on earth. Because things are going in the opposite way as far as I can see - and nobody seems to be able to do anything about it.

Sue: Well, if it is up to us to sort out our problems, I’m afraid I would have no hope to give you.   But if you remember I said last week that I would call back and show you a wonderful promise from our Creator, who assures us that he has not abandoned us to this. I bought this brochure to show you. It is an introduction to an interactive Bible Course and is called “Enjoy Life Forever!”  I wanted to show you this from the chapter entitled “The Bible brings hope” - as hope is what we need.   Under this question: “What kind of future does the Bible describe?, it quotes these verses from Revelation 21.  Could I ask if you would read them for us, out loud, really thinking about what they are promising us is going to happen here on the earth.

HH: Ok. Reads Revelation 21:3.4: With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”

Sue. Thanks HH. You read that beautifully.  Do you see that God will wipe out every tear from our eyes?  So what are those words telling us?

HH:  They are saying that there will be nothing to make us sad any more, no more suffering, no more stress, no more pain.

Sue. Exactly. Every tear.  Everything that makes us unhappy now will be gone, for good.  There will be no more sickness, old age and death, What do you think about that promise?

HH:  Of course, I would love it to be true. Who wouldn’t?  But how can I believe it?

Sue. Yes, it can certainly sound too good to be true, given what is happening in the world.  You really need to study the Bible to be able to put faith in everything it promises.  That is why this brochure has been published, to help people understand what the Bible says and why we can trust it.  For example, when we can see how many of Jehovah’s promises have already been fulfilled, it gives us real confidence in what he promises us will happen next.  We offer a free home Bible Course to all who want one.

HH:  The problem is we are just moving  to the other end of the country.  Otherwise I would ask you to call back and we could talk some more about this.  It is fascinating, 

Sue:  Yes, I know you are in the midst of a move and you will have so much to do. It is yet another stressful thing.  I hope it will go really well for you - you are moving to such a lovely part of the country, and that new job you have sounds great.  But please don’t forget what we have talked about. Please think seriously about it.  And we have an excellent website, JW.org, and you can find this publication, and have a look at it. You can watch the short videos that are part of it, which really do help.  Would you consider doing that?

HH:  I will, yes. But let me just find a pen and write the website down. 

Sue:  No, you don’t need to bother doing that. I have a card here with all the details. And I have written my email address on the back.  If you have any questions, I would be happy to help.

HH: Thanks.  I will do that. And I will find the time to look at that site.