All dressed up

I'm often the only one wearing a tie in church these days (although this morning one other person was). So it was comforting to see the weatherman, Matt Taylor on BBC1 this evening.

First of all, he did the Countryfile forecast in a casual open-necked shirt. But when he did the later forecast after the News, he was wearing suit, shirt and tie! It's good to know there are still some standards at the BBC.

So come on Nicholas Owen, put on that DJ ...

In the News ...

So the government have backed down on their proposal to sell of loads of publicly owned forests. The idea was that charities and businesses could buy bits and so through the "Big Society" people would have a say in what happened to them.

But there was such an outcry against it that the Minister got up in Parliament and apologised, admitting they got it wrong.

Perhaps the "Big Society" is working after all ...


And then, apparently (according to BBC Radio 2 News), a small Australian town called Speed is being renamed for a month Speed Kills as a road safety initiative. Also, one of its residents is changing his name from Phil Down to Phil Slow Down.

Just think, if he was proprietor of the local petrol station, he could change his name to Phil Up Slow Down. Just a thought.

Valentine's Day

According to the poster in their window, Argos suggested you buy a laptop for the one you love as a Valentine's Day present. WHAT??

I thought we showed our love by sending an unsigned card; not by shelling out 100's of £'s!

In fact, the card I sent my wife said,

Bunches of flowers could never convey
my total devotion on Valentine's Day

- and I added, "So I bought this card instead!"

But I DID buy some red roses today at Sainsbury's, as a result of their advert in the paper. And they were Fairtrade red roses (it seems awful that supermarkets and their buying power can so ruin things in a third world country, that we even have to consider whether or not flowers have been fairly traded - but I digress ...).

Back to the traditional card - according to legend, the first card Valentine card was sent by the saint himself, signed "From your Valentine". Hear the story on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show "Pause for thought" from Fr. Brian D'Arcy at

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00yj1gb/The_Chris_Evans_Breakfast_Show_Monday_Effort_Equals_Reward

about 2 hours 44 minutes into the show (but it will only be up there for a week).

Oh, and if you didn't buy that laptop for your beloved, I'm sure a son or daughter could do it for Mother's Day, when the aforementioned shop will no doubt have more great offers.

A better place?

We have watched the first two episodes of Outcasts, BBC's new scifi drama. A group of people are trying to set up home on planet Carpathia, as things have got so bad on earth. Mind you, setting up a new society isn't easy, as the programme explores.

A good manifesto for them could well be the "sermon on the mount" - words of Jesus as recorded in Matthew chapters 5 to 7 in the Bible. In it he tells us to pray:

Our Father in heaven,
may your name be hallowed
may your kingdom come
may your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.

I think the "on earth as it is in heaven" applies to all of the three statements above it. Not a bad prayer for the inhabitants of Forthaven, their settlement on the new planet. Although, of course they would have to change the prayer to "on Carpathia ..."

But it's an important prayer for us, each day, here on planet earth. We are praying that our society may be modelled more and more on God's heavenly order. In other words, the coming of God's kingdom here on earth.

If you pray the Lord's Prayer, keep praying!