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Minister: Reverend Pauline Crispin (Tel: 01202 883461)

Pastoral Support:

Joyce Wild: (Tel: 01258 454091)

Week beginning Sunday 5th July

BLANDFORD METHODIST CHURCH

THE LINK Linking us all together by keeping us in touch

Something to sing about

Count Your Blessings (Author: Johnson Oatman Jr)

This hymn ranks as one of the most familiar and is probably one of the songs that many of us sang during our ear-ly Sunday School days. Rev J Oatman Jr was one of the most important and prolific American gospel writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born in New Jersey in 1856 and as a youngster he got used to singing hymns through the inspira-tion of his father. At the age of 19, he joined the Methodist Church and some years later became a local preacher. Though he wrote over 5,000 hymn texts, Oatman was busily engaged throughout his life in commercial business with his fa-ther and later as an administrator for a large insurance company. “Count Your Blessings” is generally considered to be Oatman’s finest hymn. It first appeared in press in 1897 and has been sung all over the world. One writer has stated, “Like a beam of sunlight it has brightened up the dark places of the earth.” This hymn was one of the most popular in Britain. The London Daily reported that’ in South London, the men sing it, the boys whistle it, and the women rock their babies to sleep with it.’ During the great Welsh revival, it was one of the hymns sung at every service along with the other favourite “Guide Me, Oh Thou Great Jehovah”. “Count Your Blessings” is a very memorable hymn, with each verse beginning with a challenge and ending with the fact that no matter what happens, if we count our blessings, we’ll be “surprised,” “singing,” “rewarded,” and “comforted.” The chorus also repeats the same phrase twice with a different melody and adds the word “many” before the word “blessings” the second time. The repetition of counting our “many” blessings is a great reminder to “always give thanks to God for whatever things we receive”.

Count your blessings – name them one by one; Count your blessings – see what God has done; Count your blessings – name them one by one; Count your many blessings – see what God has done;

David Wild

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For the next few weeks I thought you might be interested to read about different high profile Christians. Some will be more modern than others. As we are Methodists, I thought it would be good to start off with John Wesley. (Note: this information was taken from Wikipedia). Joyce Wild

The Reverend John Wesley (28th June 1703 – 2nd March 1791) John Wesley was an English cleric, theologian and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within

the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Methodist movement that continues to this day. Educated at Charterhouse and Christ Church, Oxford, Wesley was elected a fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford in 1726 and ordained as an Anglican priest two years later. He led the "Holy Club", a society formed for the purpose of the study and the pursuit of a devout Christian life; it had been founded by his brother, Charles, and counted George Whitefield among its members. After an unsuccessful ministry of two years at Savannah, serving at Christ Church, in the Georgia Colony, Wesley returned to London and joined a religious society led by Moravian Christians. On 24th May 1738, he experienced what has come to be called his evangelical conversion, when he felt his

"heart strangely warmed". He subsequently left the Moravians, beginning his own ministry. A key step in the development of Wesley's ministry was, like Whitefield, to travel and preach outdoors. In contrast to Whitefield's Calvinism, Wesley embraced Arminian doctrines. Moving across Great Britain and Ireland, he helped form and organize small Christian groups that developed intensive and personal accountability, discipleship and religious instruction. He appointed itinerant, unordained evangelists to care for these groups of people. Under Wesley's direction, Methodists became leaders in many social issues of the day, including prison reform and the abolition of slavery. Although he was not a systematic theologian, Wesley argued for the notion of Christian perfection and against Calvinism—and, in particular, against its doctrine of predestination. His evangelicalism, firmly grounded in sacramental theology, maintained that means of grace sometimes had a role in sanctification of the believer; however, he taught that it was by faith a believer was transformed into the likeness of Christ. He held that, in this life, Christians could achieve a state where the love of God "reigned supreme in their hearts", giving them not only outward but inward holiness. Wesley's teachings, collectively known as Wesleyan theology, continue to inform the doctrine of the Methodist churches. Throughout his life, Wesley remained within the established Church of England, insisting that the Methodist movement lay well within its tradition. In his early ministry, Wesley was barred from preaching in many parish churches and the Methodists were persecuted; he later became widely respected and, by the end of his life, had been described as "the best-loved man in England".

Please remember those who are ill and

suffering in any way. Also, those who

may be having to go in hospital for

operations.

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Who’s Who in the Christchurch and Wimborne Methodist Circuit? This week we continue our ’Who’s Who’ with the Reverend Nigel Deller, Reverend David Ellis, Philip Seager and Liz Ward. Joyce Wild

Continued on next page

Reverend David Ellis

Hello, I'm David Ellis. After 40 years in Ministry, and on retirement from full time ministry, Ceri and I have moved to Barton-on-Sea to be closer to our family. We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful place and have had days out in the campervan, reacquainting

ourselves with some of our favourite places. I have also been able to spend more time on gardening, the model railway and chasing steam trains. I have been appointed part time to Mudeford Lane Methodist Church, and I am looking forward to working with them.

The Christchurch and Wimborne Circuit own seven manses, located across the circuit from Blandford in the west to Barton-on-Sea in the east. Of these, five are occupied by ministers and their families and two are let through a local letting agency to private tenants. The duties of the manse property steward are many and varied and each property has its own particular ‘quirks’ and is subject to inspection by representatives of the District Manse Committee as an expression of pastoral responsibility towards the minister/deacon and their families occupying the premises and the Circuit. Manses are inspected by this committee usually every five years and the inspection invariably follows completion of the quinquennial inspection which is undertaken on instruction by the Circuit by appointed professional building surveyors. It is important therefore that I ensure the buildings are kept in good condition on a regular basis throughout to avoid any unbudgeted expensive repairs. This year’s inspections

have obviously been disrupted or postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown regulations, with only emergency or urgent repairs being undertaken. In addition to regular general maintenance works and emergency repairs, I am responsible for the annual inspection of each property and arranging the statutory safety inspections including the quinquennial inspections of the property fabric and structure and electrical lighting and power installations. Each property has to have an annual gas safety certificate issued and boiler test and service carried out to comply with landlords’ (the ‘Circuit’) statutory responsibilities. I ensure that each property has an asbestos survey undertaken and an asbestos register compiled to identify if any of this hazardous to health material is present and, if it is detected, to ensure appropriate measures are put in place to identify its location and control it, or to have it removed under licence to a registered disposal site. Fire safety is also important in

Philip Seager: Circuit Manse and Property Steward

Liz Ward: Circuit Steward

In my role as a Circuit Steward I attend Church Council for Highcliffe, Bransgore and Mudeford Lane in order to support and encourage those churches. I am a Line Manager for one of the Lay Employees and currently on the District Policy Committee. When I am preaching at different churches I try to find out how they are, their joys and challenges, in order to help me make decisions at CLT.

Nigel Deller: Minister

I've been a Minister now for almost 30 years and until this appointment have served in either Devon or Cornwall. Before that I trained and worked as a Chartered Accountant for about 10 years and continued working for an accountant in the holidays during my three years at theological

college in Bristol. I have been married to Rhoda for nearly 42 years and we have two married sons - living in Torquay and Belfast - and four grandchildren. When I retire next summer we will be moving to Torquay to be nearer part of our family. I'm from London originally but have lived in various parts of the west country since I went to Exeter University in 1974. I enjoy a less formal style of worship and like working with young families and children so normally I go into a number of First Schools monthly to lead worship as well as leading Messy Churches in various locations. The Big Breakfast 9.30 am service in Verwood is particularly aimed at young families. I try to help people of all ages discover their God-given gifts and then encourage them to use them in church and the community. Running small groups or courses such as ‘Disciple’ and ‘Alpha’ has often helped me do this. I also think it is important to help Ministers in their early years to develop a sustainable and healthy pattern of ministry and have been the Probationers' Secretary for the Southampton District for about five years and I also held the same role in Cornwall for a number of years.

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protecting the occupants and I have to ensure that all manse properties, including those occupied by private tenants, have smoke and heat detectors installed throughout and fire extinguishers and fire blankets installed in the kitchens. All of our manses have been built within the last 40 years which eases the burden of maintenance with the exception of one which is of early 1900s construction which does prove a challenge in sourcing matching materials of that era. Although none of our manses are Listed Buildings, some are within conservation zones so compliance with Local Authority by-laws is essential Garden upkeep is generally the responsibility of the manse occupant but on three of our properties where very high boundary hedges are planted, a gardening contractor with specialist access equipment has to be engaged in order to comply with Health 7 Safety Legislation. I arrange for these hedges and any trees/shrubs to be given a cut and prune in spring and autumn each year. Rodents are a current problem. With restaurants and cafés being closed during lockdown rats have moved into residential areas to seek food and this has necessitated engaging specialist exterminators to eradicate the problems. Generally pets are not allowed to be kept by private tenants but a few exceptions are made to ensure the well-being of the family. Recent works undertaken include major structural repairs to ensure the stability and integrity of a large pitched roof, specialist drainage installation to alleviate persistent flooding problems caused by rainwater run-off, structural repairs to damaged brickwork caused by subsidence along with interior decorating and refurbishment works, complete renovation of one property including a new bathroom and kitchen, and resolution of two boundary disputes regarding fence alignment and ownership of trees and arboricultural works to trees on manse properties within conservation areas. I therefore need to have a general knowledge of just about every aspect of building design and construction as well as landscaping, legal matters and people management. Dealing with belligerent contractors can be challenging at times but having been a manse and church property steward for many years now I have managed to assemble a team of local and specialist contractors who all get along and work well together and whom I can trust and have total confidence in and this makes for a happy and rewarding working relationship and atmosphere. I have compiled a list of approved contractors and specialists for use throughout the Circuit, not only for work on manse properties, but also church and other properties and frequently advise property stewards regarding work and suitable contractors. So my duties are not just limited to manses. Much of the work is of a serious nature and requires concentration, but lighter and humorous moments do sometimes occur. One minister was eating in his kitchen when he realised his foot felt rather warm. Looking down he saw a large rat curled up fast asleep on his foot! Another property, where I had to inspect the roof, smelt rather musty, when I was suddenly dive-bombed by what I thought was a bird, but when I shone my torch saw it was in fact a bat from a rather large colony so, as they are a protected species, I left them alone and beat a hasty retreat. One former minister asked me one day why the manse was called a “building” when it was already built! And on another occasion a minister asked for a room to be decorated in a very bright colour. When the decorating was complete he said it was brighter than he had imagined it would be. I told him it was a ‘pigment’ of his imagination but think the joke was somewhat lost on him. Next year I have two manse refurbishments to arrange, one deferred from this year due to lockdown, as well as catching up with reactive maintenance and repairs which have built up, again due to lockdown. Looking back on my career as an architect and surveyor specialising in structures, foundations and building conservation and construction law and working in London all my professional career, the guiding hand of God is so apparent throughout. I had ambitions to become a commercial airline pilot but a life-threatening injury incurred whilst playing rugby for my school meant I lost 18 months of valuable schooling and thus had to leave school without any academic qualifications. After much hard work attending evening school to catch up and attain academic qualifications a series of events guided and inspired by God led me into my lifelong career which, in hindsight, was to eventually lead me where the Lord wanted me to be and where He could use my God-given skills and expertise for His purpose and to His honour and glory and that turned out to be as a manse property steward for the Methodist Church in this lovely and wonderful location. God does indeed work in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform.

Philip Seager: continued

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Dr Chris Slade Reflection for Sunday 28th June Dr Christopher Slade invites you to watch his video reflections on the set reading for Sunday 5th July, Matthew 11:16-19 and 25-30 . It can be found at https://youtu.be/GLgpHRQZo7c Alternatively it can be found on the Circuit website (https://www.candwmc.org.uk/ ) under “All Worship for the 5th July 2020”

Why Should The Devil Have All The Best Tunes?

Who asked this question?

I have always understood it to be a saying of William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, but a quick look at various web pages and we find that the saying is variously attributed to Martin Luther, George Whitefield, Charles Wesley, John Wesley and Rowland Hill (an evangelical preacher loosely connected with the Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion) as well as to William Booth. Further searching may have named more! The first performance of the five Act semi-opera “King Arthur” (libretto: John Dryden, music: Henry Purcell) was given in London in 1691. In the final act, a soprano in the role of Venus sings the aria “Fairest Isle”. This aria became famous and remained extremely popular in the next Century.

Fairest isle, all isles excelling, Seat of pleasure and of love Venus here will choose her dwelling, And forsake her Cyprian grove. Cupid from his fav'rite nation Care and envy will remove; Jealousy, that poisons passion, And despair, that dies for love.

The aria is still popular today – go to YouTube and you will find it recorded by many, many artists! Look at the first line of Dryden’s libretto – “Fairest Isle, all isles excelling” – does it remind you of another familiar first line? “Love divine, all loves excelling” was written by Charles Wesley in the same style as the Dryden text. When first published, John Wesley used the original Purcell melody for the hymn – a melody that was apparently called “Westminster”. (Unfortunately I have been unable to trace any current existence of this tune). Compare the opening texts:

Fairest isle, all isles excelling, Love divine, all loves excelling, Seat of pleasure and of love Joy of heaven, to earth come down, Venus here will choose her dwelling, Fix in us Thy humble dwelling, And forsake her Cyprian grove. All Thy faithful mercies crown:

We can see that Wesley was writing a “Christian Parody” of the popular song. “Love divine” has become one of the most favourite hymns of all time and three stanzas appear, unaltered, in all our hymn books. There was a fourth stanza – the original second verse – but it was not included as early as the publication of Wesley’s hymns in 1779.

The words of that additional stanza:

Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit, Into every troubled breast, Let us all in Thee inherit, Let us find that second rest: Take away our power of sinning, Alpha and Omega be, End of faith as its beginning, Set our hearts at liberty.

Eric Brown

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Some thoughts on the Lectionary Readings for Year A – Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (2nd Service) Lectionary Readings: 2 Samuel 2: 1-11. 3: 1, Psalm 56 and Luke 18: 31 – 19: 10 Samuel in his old age has passed away; Saul and Jonathan, as predicted, have been killed in battle with the Philistines and at last David is made king, but not King of Israel, as Saul had been, but King of Judah alone. At the beginning of chapter 2 David and his men are in the ‘Philistine’ town of Ziglag. It is there he hears of the death of Saul and Jonathan and in the preceding chapter we read the well known lamentation of David:

“Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on the heights. How the mighty have fallen! ………………….” “Saul and Jonathan – in life they were loved and gracious, and in death they were not parted. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions ……………………”

Ziglag was a town, somewhere in Southern Judah – actual location unknown - that had been part of the allotment to the tribe of Simeon (Joshua 19). At some point in time it had been lost to the Philistines. David, fleeing from Saul, seeks refuge with Achish, King of Gath. David asks Achish to assign him a place of his own – Ziglag is given to him and we read in 1 Sam. 27 that it then belonged to the Kings of Judah from that time on. David enquires of the Lord – “Shall I go up to the towns of Judah?” The Lord instructs him to go to the region of Hebron and it is there that he is established as King of Judah. He goes up to Hebron accompanied by his two wives Ahinoam and Abigail. Don’t I have a vague memory that Saul gave one of his daughters to David to be his wife (A very Old Testament practice – the giving of wives!). At the end of 1 Samuel 25 (a passage that gives the account of Abigail becoming David’s wife) we read:

“But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Paltiel son of Laish, who was from Gallim”.

Michal had earlier helped David escape when Saul sent men to watch his house overnight and kill him in the morning – she let him down through a window and placed an idol in bed in his place, earning her father’s extreme displeasure. David’s lament for Saul has been mentioned and once again in this reading we note the place Saul held in David’s heart – the message he sent to the men of Jabesh Gilead for burying Saul. (In 1 Samuel 11 is an account of the first campaign by the newly anointed King Saul – the relief of besieged Jabesh Gilead – maybe that was why they showed the “kindness” mentioned by David in his message.)

“May the Lord now show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favour because you have done this.”

The commander of Saul’s army, who had clearly survived the battle, takes Ish-Boseth – a surviving son of Saul, and makes him king over the greater number of territories including Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel. This means the war between the houses of Saul and David has not come to an end and we are told it lasted for a long time. The first verse of Chapter 3 tells us, however, that in this period David grew stronger and stronger while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker. David, as we have previously seen, was not perfect in his life – like Saul he was not perfect in the eyes of the Lord. There is however one great difference between these two kings – David never lost his ultimate trust in the Lord, his reliance on the Lord for guidance in all that he did in leading the people of Judah and later the whole of Israel. The Psalm is one written by David, a miktam. There are six psalms described in this way but their Biblical meaning is not clear as the word seems to be equivalent to the Babylonian word for “a metal pot cover”! The remainder of the heading is worth noting –

“When the Philistines had seized him (David) in Gath”

The Old Testament reading on June 14th (11th Sunday in Ordinary Time) described the incident when David, alone and fleeing from Saul, goes to Nob, ‘deceives’ the High Priest into giving him the Shew Bread (for his non-existent men, on a secret mission for Saul), takes Goliath’s sword and flees to Gath – to seek refuge among the Philistines. He is recognised by them and becomes virtually a prisoner. Brought before King Achish he feigns madness and successfully saves his life. It is only after the second time David has the opportunity to kill Saul but spares his life (previous week’s readings) that he decides to seek refuge among the Philistines and settles in Gath with King Achish. If we read some of the intervening chapters in 1 Samuel we learn that David and his men made frequent raids, bringing back much captured bounty to Gath – the story being that it had come from raids on Israeli settlements, another deception, he was actually attacking allies of Gath. By this means David becomes trusted and Ziglag was given to David and his men. The Psalm fits David’s situation perfectly. Verses 1-2, 5-9 describe the situation he is in – a fugitive from Saul, dwelling among a people that is naturally his enemy. Verses 3-4 and 10-13 express his confidence in the Lord.

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise – in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

That final sentence remind me of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in April 1945, at the time of his execution:

“This is the end, but for me it is the beginning of life…..”

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We live in very uncertain times – times where they may even be fear. Unlike David we do not fear a human enemy but one that is far more insidious. We pray that like David we may place our confidence in the Lord, assured of our life with and in Him. We have this confidence through Jesus – through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Gospel reading opens with Jesus telling his disciples, for the third time, what is going to happen to Him. We read that the disciples still didn’t understand any of this – the meaning was hidden, they didn’t understand the writings of the prophets. (Contrast this with the Day of Pentecost – Peter is spontaneously quoting the prophet Joel to explain what is happening!) I can imagine some of the disciples’ reaction – killed; but why? What does He mean by rising again? The remaining two sections illustrate different approaches to Jesus. There is the curiosity of Zacchaeus. Maybe he was not prepared to meet Jesus directly because of his profession – hated by the Jews for serving a foreign power and more than likely corrupt, raking in money for himself on the side. He did want to see Jesus so he climbed the tree to ensure a good view. Jesus confronts him and is welcomed into his home. The orthodox Jews mutter among themselves; you can imagine the comments! The reply that Jesus gave:

“Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

“The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost” – so central to the teaching of Jesus - think of parables such as the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost (prodigal) son. As a worldwide Church the 1990s we declared a decade of evangelism. Was it successful for the Church, for us as individuals, did we seek and save the lost? How much ‘noise’ did we, do we make as Christian? The blind beggar, in our Gospel reading, certainly made a noise. He had to ask the crowd what was happening – when he understood that Jesus was passing he knew that healing was at hand. He cried out to Jesus. The crowd told him to “shut up” but that only had the effect of making him shout even louder until Jesus did hear him. There is confidence in his answer to Jesus –

“Lord, I want to see”. The reply that Jesus gave –

“Receive your sight; your faith has healed you”. There are a number of occasions in the Gospels where Jesus did not have to ‘do’ anything - the centurion’s servant, the woman who touched his garments etc. Their faith was sufficient. Jesus told the centurion that He had not found such faith in all Israel. David had confidence in the Lord being with him and guiding him; the blind beggar had complete confidence that Jesus could restore his sight; Zacchaeus displayed his confidence in a transformed life from the time when he actually encountered Jesus personally. Our confidence is also in that personal relationship with Jesus, may we never lose sight of it.

Eric Brown

A service for Sunday at home (from the Methodist Church): Live-streamed services Worship services: We hope the four options below will offer some breadth from our tradition. We are working in collaboration with:

Methodist Central Hall Westminster: Sundays 11.00 www.youtube.com/mchwevents

Wesley's Chapel London who will live-stream from the chapel (the Minister lives on the premises): Sundays 11am www.youtube.com/channel/UCUAUqhmhevz5sqhh72LIMxA

Swan Bank Methodist Church in Burslem, this worship will be studio based – with strict distancing rules being fol-lowed: Sundays 10:30 www.youtube.com/user/SwanBank and www.facebook.com/swanbank/

Sthie ('At home'): To join in a very different worship experience, try Sthie ('At home') from the Isle of Man. Join in live on Sundays by joining a Facebook group. For details see www.andyfishburne.com/2020/03/15/sthie-at-home-online-worship/ You can watch previous live-streamed videos at www.youtube.com/andyfishburne

Morning Prayers 08:30 Monday-Friday - from Wesley House Cambridge: www.facebook.com/wesleycambridge. Resources for following the prayers and readings are available at: www.wesley.cam.ac.uk/prayer-space/ (No live-stream from 29 June to 10 July . The live-stream will resume from Monday 13 July with a new pattern of Morning Prayer on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8.30am. ) 10:00 Monday-Friday - from Wesley’s Chapel London: www.youtube.com/channelUCUAUqhmhevz5sqhh72LIMxA

Lectionary thoughts continued

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What have you been reading in lockdown?

FPZ Photo Competition

The Trustees want to give a huge thank you to all of our fabulous supporters for everything they have done over the three years since the Charity came into being. Despite a few predictable technical difficulties we managed to hold a very successful celebration party on Zoom on Monday 22nd June. The seven UK Trustees were joined by over 50 guests including some of our Zambian friends and colleagues. Peter McAughey presented the category winners of the recent photo competition. There were 58 entries across 15 categories and with a very high standard, the Judges (Peter, Karen, Phyllis and Moses) had some tough choices to make.

The overall winner was Gilly Snaith for her interpretation of Changing States.

Second place was Lifecycles by Angela Scott.

And in third we had a great photo of a UK truck needing a bit of assistance in Zambia earlier this year. The category here was Gravity, and yes it appeared a grave situation captured by David Quastel.

Each of the 15 winning photos will now be included on a collage to be presented to our friends and to be on permanent display at our School in Kabwe. Who'd have thought a few years ago when the only options to get in touch with our friends in Zambia were expensive phone calls and unreliable email communication, that now we can successfully cross the 8,000 km divide, seeing and hearing from our partners in Zambia. Reverend Moses Kopa, Headteacher of Family Futures Community School, spoke very eloquently and passionately about what has been achieved over the three years despite many challenges. In her closing address as FPZ Trustee, Reverend Gwyneth Owen highlighted the shared love for the vulnerable children we support and empower. The other Trustees (Rosemary, Peter, Kathryn, Nick, Emma and Barry) also spoke about why they are involved and what it means to them personally. Chair Barry Gransden brought the evening to a finale with a 'virtual' blowing out of the candles on a (very real) cake. The air came all the way from Patrick Sichilima in Kabwe to Barry and Becky's house in the UK. A lovely evening. Thank you everyone for your support and kind messages.

Winner: Gilly Snaith

Second: Angela Scott

Third: David Quastel

Following on from Joyce’s article last week about books she has read during lockdown, I thought I would let you know about one of the many books I have read recently. Most of the books I read are thrillers, but as I was stuck for a book and found this on my bookshelf, I thought I would give it a go. The books is called ‘The Island’ written by Victoria Hislop. It’s a fictional love story and set on an island, Spinalonga, just off the coast of Crete. It’s the story of a daughter, Alexis, trying to find out about the past of her mother, Sofia. All Sofia will admit to is that she grew up in a small Cretan village before moving to London. Alexis decides to visit Crete and Sofia gives her daughter a letter to take to an old friend and promises that through the friend Alexis will learn more. When Alexis arrives in Plaka, she is astonished to see that it lies a stone’s throw from the tiny, deserted island of Spinalonga – Greece’s former main leper colony. Alexis finds her mother’s friend and hears the story that Sofia has buried all her life. It’s a moving story of how families were torn apart when a person found they had leprosy, which meant they were taken from their families and moved onto Spinalonga (and this included children as well). However, despite being taken from their loved ones, those who were taken to the island continued with their lives, made friends, found love, formed an economy and life-style and lived out the remainder of their lives as best they could. In 1957, with a cure being recognised by the Greek government, all the residents of the island were moved back to the mainland and to their families and the island was deserted. It was a lovely story – not the sort of book I would usually read – and I really enjoyed it. It makes us realise that despite extraordinary circumstances, life, and love, can continue. (Note: the island of Spinalonga, off the north coast of Crete, was Greece’s main leper colony from 1903 until 1957).

Margaret Cornish

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David Wild

Just for fun

I love jokes that involve words which have double meanings. I think the English language is amazing and sometimes

wonder how our foreign neighbours cope with it all. Have a look at the following and hopefully have a laugh.

I went to the cemetery yesterday to lay some flowers on a grave. As I was standing there, I noticed 4 grave

diggers walking about with a coffin, 3 hours later and they're still walking about with it. I thought to myself,

they've lost the plot!!

I was driving this morning when I saw an RAC van parked up. The driver was sobbing uncontrollably and looked very miserable. I thought to myself that guy's heading for a breakdown.

The wife was counting all the 5ps and 10ps out on the kitchen table when she suddenly got incredibly angry and started shouting and crying for no reason. I thought to myself, "She's going through the change."

The Grim Reaper came for me last night, and I beat him off with a vacuum cleaner. Talk about Dyson with death.

My daughter asked for a pet spider for her birthday, so I went to our local pet shop and they were £70!!! Blow this, I thought, I can get one cheaper off the web.

I start a new job in Seoul next week. I thought it was a good Korea move.

Just got back from my mate's funeral. He died after being hit on the head with a tennis ball. It was a lovely service.

Local Police hunting the 'knitting needle nutter', who has stabbed six people in the behind in the last 48 hours, believe the attacker could be following some kind of pattern.

David Wild