Day Off Week 45 2025

Days off are a little different these days as my wife Eleri is not on work on Tuesdays. We headed over to Brent Cross before lunch to do a little shopping. Eleri was busy much of the rest of the day and so I did my usual thing and read. I read most of the signed history book by Julia Jones that I picked up at the GBM meetings. It is arattlung read and I have now finished it. More anon. In the evening we watched some episodes from the ITV drama Coldwater. Also spent some time dabbling wioth AI music to no great purpose.

Day Off Week 4 2025

As last week, this was a slightly truncated day off. This time I had to be at a zppm meeting wth regard to a trust I serve. I managed to get some walking done later. I also went shopping - for cheese (see my cheese blog), reading glasses and a copy of David Copperfield, bought with some Christmas money. I have now started to read the Dickens and am enjoying. I also did some drawing in a 642 London book (also a Christmas present) and later watched an episode of an ITV drama.

Day Off Week 40 2020

Really threw myself into this one, wearing jeans and a T-shirt and making a to do list (yes, mindset and order I've found is important even on a day off - it is also not a good thought to think I've got all day, I'll do my devotions later - which I managed to avoid thinking this tine). I got a number of little jobs done and did some tidying and sorting which is always important to keep up with. I also had a coffee, did a little blogging, watched some TV, read a bit more Moby Dick and completed a church history item for a journal. Remembered to out the bins out - unusual! In the evening Eleri and I watched the second part of a disturbing fact based drama Honour.

Day off Week 16 2020

I did have a sort of day off again this week. The main thing was reading more of Mantel (nearing the 700s now) and enjoying and some of Defoe on the plague, which is remarkably like our own times in many ways. I also worked on an art project I have in mind. We watched the first two episodes of Quiz. We ended up watching the live one on my computer which had buffering issues so not ideal. I saw the third and final one later and can say that it was interesting but sitting on the fence as it did, it was a little frustrating. A funny day really.

Two interesting biographical documentaries

I have watched two interesting biographical documentaries recently. First, on ITV there was one on Cliff Richard - Sir Cliff Richard: 60 Years in Public and in Private. There was not much about Cliff's faith but there was one section suggesting he is a man who still prays and professes Christ. It is very easy to criticise such a person but he does seem to be seeking to live up to the light he has.

The other one was on the BBC more recently and was intended to be overtly religious as it is part of a series called My faith and me. No mention of Gavin's few months at London Seminary understandably but sadly. It was interesting nevertheless as he went from place to place capturing memories and telling his story so far. the move to Canada makes a great deal of sense and highlights how difficult celebrity can be.

Both are still available on iplayer or whatever at the moment.

Sir Cliff Exclusive

This screenshot shows a link to the recent itv documentary on Sir Cliff Richard. The picture shows Trevor MacDonald on deathrow next to a bed where men are executed. This is where Sir Cliff's opponents would had him placed had they had their way. Allegedly.

"Day off" Week 39

The luxury of a day off is not always possible and so it has proved this week. What I did was to stagger it across Monday Tuesday - not ideal but better than nothing. I had hospital visits (just tests) on both days and those took up a chunk of time as did a visit to Kensington to pick up a visa for a forthcoming trip. One good thing was that the fitbit 1000 steps were easily achieved and more on both days. Otherwise, I did some reading (Nobel winner J M Coetzee's 1999 Booker prize winning novel Disgraced is a bit tawdry in its subject matter but well written and thought provoking with regards to South Africa and the wider world) and put together a Billy bookcase over in my study and watched the latest episodes of Vanity Fair (excellent) and Strangers (not so hot) as well as doing some blogging. Interleaved with all this was the beginnings of sermon preparation and a basic Bible study on the Tuesday night (only one person extra made it). Coffee and crossword puzzles also had their place as ever.

Historic, Historical

I wrote this letter to ITN tonight

Dear Sir

I have just been watching the ITN News on ITV+1. I notice that in one package journalist Rohit Kachroo refers to "historic claims of sexual abuse" and "historic rape allegations". I wonder if he is aware that there is a difference between the words historic and historical. He is not the only one I have heard making this mistake.

If you google the two words you will see the difference:

historic hɪˈstɒrɪk/ adjective adjective: historic 1. 1.famous or important in history, or potentially so. "the area's numerous historic sites"

historical hɪˈstɒrɪk(ə)l/ adjective adjective: historical 1.of or concerning history or past events. "historical evidence" ◦belonging to the past. "famous historical figures"

See also here http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/historic-or-historical

Yours faithfully

Gary Brady

How it is these days 2 (funding projects)

A very nice local lady phoned me yesterday to ask if I would help spread the word about a project that seeks to turn a rather water logged part of the local park into a marsh garden for the kids. When she mentioned it would be a national lottery funded thing I said that as a church we would probably find it difficult to be involved. When I looked into it further I discovered that it is part of a thing called The People's Millions whereby since 2005 projects have been nominated and then compete against each other for (what is in this case) the £50,000 prize (prizes vary in value).

On a certain day (this one will be next Wednesday) people are encouraged to phone a certain number and the side that manages to organise the most calls (705 of calls are usually organised rather than spontaneous reactions to the TV reports) the £50, 000 (or whatever) for their cause. Calls cost 15p a time and you can make as many as 10 per person. I have tried to discover where this money goes but there is no mention of this. Presumably after BT, the provider, the lottery people and ITV go back to their den and share it out.

I discovered that on average it takes 5,400 votes to win which = £810 (plus however much you get from the losers). So it is only a thousand or so a day that is being raked off but a lot of that will be with no reward for the good hearted people who pay up. Of course, the money has already taken gained from people foolish enough to put money in the national lottery. There must be a better way.