Sermons And Gubbins

  This poem was written for our pub poetry group at  The Barking Dog . The theme, with it being held on St George's Day, was England/The English. I hope you enjoy reading it! The English Abroad (An ode to Flanders and Swann) The English are best.  The English are best. The English are coming; we're impeccable guests. All of the others are rude, foreign pests. The English, the English, the English are best. The lads are on tour And it’s the girls’ big weekender And dad and his golf mates are off on a bender. The English are best.  The English are best. We're off on our jollies, in need of a rest. Sun, beer and sex is our only request. The English, the English, the English are best. We’re off on a plane to your unspoilt land and we'll speak LOUDLY and  S-L-O-W-L-Y  SO YOU'LL UNDERSTAND. THE ENGLISH  ARE  BEST. THE ENGLISH  ARE  BEST. On holiday, we're always impeccably dressed. We'll turn up at the restaurant in flip-flops and a vest. The ...

This poem was written for our monthly church poetry group at St Michael's. The themes to choose from were a Red Sky, Easter or A Waste of Time. This one touched all three. Happy Easter to you! Vigil The sky turned red. At three o'clock he breathed his last as it turned black. It has been hours, with no light since  My sun, my moon, my stars, my Prince. I will stay here, though it is late  I will wait for dawn to break  I will wait for light to be  I will wait until I see  the shadows on the ground again  Our hill,  their  cross, my hangéd man. I'll wait until the sky is blue  I will wait 'til I see you with your body now drained of life  how could there be a better sight  as soon, there'll be an empty cross and who, then, will know to mourn this loss? The grief, the hurt, the pain, regret;  all these things they will forget. Time will all these things destroy  In time, their tears will turn to joy. Passover will turn ...

T his sermon was first preached at our Sunday morning service in 23rd February 2025. The gospel was Luke 8:22-25. I hope you enjoy reading it! I love a nap. I don’t just love it – I’m pretty good at having a nap too. Honestly. if napping ever becomes an Olympic sport, I’ve a really good chance at representing the country. Let me tell you some of the places I’ve had a nap: On a cold, hard bench outside Sydney airport in Australia. Not so much a nap that one as an attempt at a night’s sleep – I had an early flight the next morning and didn’t think it was worth booking a hotel, as I could get a few hours in at the airport. No-one told me the airport closed overnight until security came along and kicked me out! Not my most comfortable night’s sleep, but I still managed to get an hour or so in. In the middle of a packed, very noisy pub during the 2007 England-France Rugby world cup final, head down on the table, snoring away. I’d honestly not even had that much to drink! On the Berlin unde...