What’s the Story in Dalamory

Music of the moment is Il Divo.

Sad really – especially when Simon Cowell is the impressario behind the operatic group…..specially designed for elderwomen like me.

Turn your face to the sun
and the shadows fall behind you.

Maori Proverb

It is possible to listen to Classic FM via satellite, but with the TV picture turned off.
Oh the wonders of modern invention. OK – so I know that the said radio station is really lift-music, but it makes a change from being worthy.

A lecturer in hermeneutics (the art of sermon preparation amongst other things) used to tell us that the traditionally Church of Scotland sermon was Three points, a poem and a deathbed scene. His manner was o­ne which made it clear he expected better of his students. Watching a film o­n channel 5 last night made me think of him. The movie in question was Phenomenon starring John Travolta; it had all the necessary ingredients – handsome, likeable hero, homilies that beat the Walton's hands down, love interest and the deathbed scene to end all such scenes, plus a positive ending. We could learn much from this type of film I thought.

Then I discovered the principle actor is a Scientologist, which kind of took the gloss off it.

Yesterday was a very quiet day as for most of the time we were without electricity. Several times it flicked o­n and then off again. When it eventually came back at around 7-00pm it was hard to trust it. We rely so much o­n power – food for thought when o­ne considers all the places in the world where the reliability we come to take for granted is o­nly a dream.

Thanks to all the engineers who climbed up poles in the gales. It is nice to be warm again.

For your information – the piles of work in the trays are getting higher.

The gale is getting worse. Years ago o­n Lewis, I used to complain about the strength of the wind and the constant battering we took. Well we did live out o­n a headland overlooking hundreds of square miles of ocean. It has seemed to me that the weather o­n this gentler shore is becoming as extreme as it o­nce was in the Outer Hebrides. Leaves me with the question as to what the extremes are like out there today. It is bound to be even worse than here.

Actually, it is so bad it is majestic. I just wish the house felt warmer. This is when I would really love to have a coal fire. Still, it might just disapper up the lumb. I'm off for an extra cardie

Note: lum is a wet squall, lumb is a chimney. A Scots dictionary comes in handy o­n occasion.

I am still off sick, so it is galling to look at my work trays and realise they are full. Ah well….today's job has to be some gentle filing. At least I can legitimately ignore anything too difficult. Somebody o­nce said that when we come to then end of our lives the In-tray will still be full, and that this is OK because it means we are leading a full life.

Or was it a call to adopt the wastepaper bin as a filing basket? I like the Three Month Rule, preferred by a senior colleague. If no-one has asked for information or chased you up for it in three months then it can safely be dumped. Mind you, government departments cannot adhere to this – they have had my income tax return since September and I still don't know the damage.

I was in the fortunate position of not having read a review of Mr Golightly's Holiday and so the content of the book came as a series of revelations which made me feel amazingly clever. However, I am left with more questions than ever. A comment was recently left o­n this blog affirming that all we need as believers is to assert our faith in God. This book poses all sorts of questions about what God we believe in. Well worth reading.

Life is not so much what
each individual makes of it,
but what we make of it
for each other.

Helen Keller