For Dizzying Excitement and Fearless Political Controversy...

... you will have to find another blog.   This seems to be mainly: What I Did in my Holidays.

And what we did yesterday was shop and have Jacks round for supper  - and watch the Commonwealth Games.    Supper was fish pie (Cooks, not cooked), ratatouille (made with the courgettes from a friend's garden), creme caramel (Lidl's) and rhubarb crumble (cooked by me and Linda, rhubarb grown by Linda's friend).

It is always lovely to see Jacks. We heard the latest saga from the Channel Islands - always fascinating.   And laughed a lot about the awfulness of ageing.   And what a hot night it was - we had all the windows open but there wasn't a breath of air.  

We also talked about marriage, and about a mutual friend who has problems.    So, while I don't think I can manage any controversial, Politically Incorrect opinions to spice up my blog, I was wondering if I could say something useful about marriage after 41 years.

The main thing is that the Inspired Scriptures, both Hebrew and Christian Greek, really are the Users Manual. They are inspired by Jehovah, the Maker of marriage.  He knows how it works, and if we follow his advice, it does.    It tells us that marriage is a sacred arrangement, and that the husband should cherish his wife as a really precious gift, and the wife should have deep respect for her husband.

And its interesting and chilling to see how effectively "the world" destroys the family arrangement by promoting the opposite values.  Societies where women have no freedom and no choice can promote behaviour in husbands that cannot be respected, and certainly does not lead to a wife being valued.   In the West now, the idea that all men are foolish children and all women tough and independent (and "need a man like a fish needs a bicycle")  does much the same job.

But, if we stick to Jehovah's standards, and the wonderful teaching through the congregation, we can make each other happy instead of unhappy.

The other thing is that the longer a marriage goes on, the more running jokes you have, and the funnier they get.  Which helps a lot too.