Well – it’s all real now. I am going to be ordained Deacon at Bradford Cathedral on Saturday 1st July 2017, to take up my curacy at St Mark’s Harrogate one day a week (plus Sundays). While the journey is by no means ending on the 1st July, it is a significant milestone, and many […]

It is now just over 3 years since my 365 project turned into more of a “100” project, and I’ve been looking back over some of the photos I’ve taken, and reflecting on the fact that I actually really miss doing it. If you needed any further persuasion as to why it’s a good undertaking, […]

Imperial Shuttle Chocolate Cake Equipment 20cm square baking tin, greased and lined on the bottom Modelling clay Cake board, black fondant icing, silver shimmer powder Ingredients: Chocolate Sponge Cake: 350g softened butter 350g caster sugar 6 large eggs 350g self-raising flour 2 tbsp baking powder 2 tbsp cocoa power (optional) Milk Chocolate Ganache (filling and […]

The second discovery we made this summer was The Forbidden Corner, up near Middleham. What an extraordinary place, and well worth a visit. It’s quite hard to describe in many ways. A common description is “folly” or “maze”, and they seem as good as any. It’s essentially a very large, enclosed garden (in the sense […]

We made a couple of discoveries this summer of good places to visit, both on the recommendation of friends. The first is Redcar beach, which was a great place to visit. At only just over an hour from Harrogate, it is probably the closest beach to us in terms of travel time, and it’s pretty […]

Just a quick shout out to LightReaders (www.lightreaders.com) who sent me a lovely e-mail, asking for permission to use this photo of mine (right) in their advertising this year. They “have presented Christian music with Biblical storytelling to numerous churches and organizations in Ohio for the past twelve years. We present for the Audience of […]

I have now successfully submitted an assignment in PDF format via the Common Awards Moodle, including analysis by TurnItIn!! I did have to do a few more tweaks, so I’ve updated my Using LaTeX for Common Awards page with the final instructions/template for anyone mad enough to do the same.

While I was at this year’s Easter School in Durham, I have the chance to attend the book launch of a new book, which has several contributions from YMC tutors. The book looks excellent, and is available now in paper and Kindle format from Amazon. Once I’ve read a bit more of it I’ll do […]

Prayer is the lifeblood of the church, and having discussed personal quiet times, it is worth thinking about corporate prayer – or prayer meetings. Sadly these can make the heart sink, at the thought of sitting in a cold, uncomfortable chair for 20 minutes in silence without 3 other people who are looking at their […]

If you attended a Christian Union (or equivalent) as a schoolchild or student, you will already be familiar with the concept – if not always the practice – of “Quiet Times”. What is it? For those who aren’t familiar, the “Quiet Time” is a (ideally) daily exercise of taking some time out, and spending it […]