Philip Blackedge

When legs frail, he taught more, listened more; when hearing went, he prayed read more; when sight diminished, he remembered more and shared more; 27/4/23

Creme Egg was invented at recession time. for us to hold onto our determination to celebrate, like an egg, that remind us of hope, of new life, and better days to come. 10/2/23

As long as we remember the huge reserve of kindness within, we don't need snow to fall, in order to let them to come out to play. 14/12/22

OriginalSin, in church that is how to call the prejudice 4/7

It was queen's speech this week, many policies were announced, but the one that caught my attention is the one that actually doesn't apply to Scotland. The notion that your neighbours get to decide on housing applications for extensions and the alike.

While living as I do in remote countryside, when the season of spring is in full flow, I start to get itchy feet. The hills around me call me a bit, I have a desire to get in the middle of nowhere, to be in the wild.

Today as marks of being of a festival in space and science for Big Bang week. And this year Scottish astronomer royal hymn is to celebrate the works of James Clerk Maxwell. Maxwell is a not well enough know 19th century's Scottish scientist, his work as according to Einstein the basis of thesis for relativity, and it paved the way for the Big Bang theory, which stated that the universe in fact billion of years old rather than biblical belief, only a few thousands.

Are you an adrenaline junky? I am not. Watching some of the competitors in winter olympics has made me realised what a coward I am, I am a big fan of Terror Firmer, and more firmer than less terror.

Do you remember there was a talk about passport, whether they should be red or blue. Today passport related to Covid, Scottish government being discussing restrictions on those who do not have a Covid passport. Whereas in Europe some in lockdown protested even in violence. It raises a huge number of questions, do we restrict the liberty for the unvaccinated medically vulnerable? What prices freedom. But one core issue for me is, what you do when people just won’t agree with you. When all the arguments, evidences presented, and still people refused to agree.

I tend to love this time of the year, this part of the autumn. Despite the recent weather all altering rhythm of leaves changing colour, sunlight being different, in the countryside the sky is dark enough to see the stars by.

As you mentioned the climate is in my mind at the moment with car-free day today and Cup26 in the news, and it's likely to be on the news sometime. It's the conference in Glasgow world's leaders gets closer to the stark reality of the extend of climate chaos, and the world need to combat is become clear. This week a group fo 50 religious leaders, signed a declaration concerning climate change, they promise to think about the issue, to amend the way they do things as a result, and to advocate and speak up for change. It sounds pretty feeble, doesn't it? A group of faith leaders promising to have a think, and then promising to do more, and to be bladder about it.

Yesterday we were given news of report on covid vaccine which is sobering to say at least. It suggested the efficacy of vaccine declines with time, which raises the possibility of another dose. But that report also found some people who are on immune repressions, may have little or no immunity at all by taking the vaccines. There are many people I know who have arthritis, transplants, or other sickness require use of immune repressions, and for those people, whilst for many of us start to enjoy some of the freedom we've lost, while their shielding maybe permanent. This make it especially difficult that we're not all in the same boat. It's very hard decision have to be made during this pandemic, and I don't envy those who've have to make them. The balance between civil liberty and communal responsibilities has been at height of public than ever before. Do we risk creating more vulnerable people due to loss of income or jobs, or mental health in more lockdowns, or do we protect the medically vulnerable at all cost.

Past few weeks being some kind of treat for sports fans, football, golf, cricket, rugby, and Olympics on screens. As if being provide something of hopeful distraction from more difficult headlines in the news. The withdraw of troops in Afghanistan has give me a lot of pause for thoughts. I know many folks who served in military, people who lost friends in that conflicts, and as Taliban gains ground makes people who served there wonder, whether what they did, what they suffered, what survived has been a good effect. In sports, it's easy to know what victory looks like, you have rules everybody agrees. You have criteria of success, be it fastest time, of most goal, lowest score, and in which time-limit to achieve it. And even if your victory is by fraction of a second, you know the difference between winning and losing. Real life is not that easy, because the rules keep changing. And in the place like Afghanistan, it's hard to know what victory look like, or when the work is done.

Does it irritate you when people mispronounce words, apparently that's a lots of people in recent poll has come up with 10 most irritating mispronunciations, there's some old favourites in there, "Percifically" instead of "specifically", "Probaly" instead of "probably". but my only irritate seems be around names, my denomination is perhaps unwisely call Scottish Episcopal Church, but it's often pronounced EpiscoPal, which sounds less like a religion more like a medial procedure.

While the conversation is growing around the issue of violence and abuse to women, Scottish government task forces are currently examining the case for making misogyny as standing alone offence. So that which the UK Labour party also published in paper yesterday and also raised in queens speech. As often happens important issues like this arose I felt a sense of shame. Violence against women has being going on far longer than my life time, but it's only now that we even began to give it prominence it means.

When I was 7, two elder boy walking in front of me on the way to school asked me, "Are you United or City?" Referring to the two major football teams in Manchester. Mildly terrified, I said I didn't know. When they asked me again, I still didn't know. The next time I panicked, boldly asked them who they're supporting. And when they said City, I said, So do I. And we carried on to school. That evening I confessed my new allegiance to my dad, who quickly informed me, "No, you're United" And so began a life-time support for the Reds. Earlier this week while I was playing tennis, it started raining. Yes, here in Glasgow, believe it or not, I mentioned to a friend I was playing with, I held from Manchester with its proud tradition of rain, his immediate response was to ask me whether I was Red or blue.

With pending election again I find myself begin to ask particular question, What is truth. It's the question Pontius Pilates put out during his trial, and at these days of fake news and alternative facts, it's a very important one; Now I suspect, all these piece of papers reading it one way or another contain truth, there're things lays in election material, but truth is very much matter of perspective. To Pharisees, their truth is very clear, Jesus is a danger to everything they hold dear. To Pontius Pilate, history assembles Jesus was threat to the peace. And because of these clear and simple truth, an innocent man get killed.

The timber of resolute disk in Oval office made from failed rescue mission to NorthWest passage quest to Arctic.