A blog featuring whatever I fancy, often on the Christian faith but not exclusively
Midweek Meeting November 8 2017
Just nine of us last night as we began on that difficult but challenging chapter Leviticus 19. I think it i is easier to preach then to explain. That is to say it is easier to apply the various verses than itito explain why you are applying them in that particular way. Most of us prayed in the preyaer time. There is always plenty to pray about.
Julie Fowlis in Milton Keynes November 2017
Tuesday is my official day off and I really enjoyed this last one with a long walk with the dog in the morning (good for him and good for me) and a return to The Stables n Milton Keynes, this time to see Julie Fowlis live. I had a front row seat and really enjoyed the excellent double set, as did the 300 or so also there. With Julie the band consisted, as usual, of Eamon Dooley and Tony Byrne (on guitars) and Duncan Chisholm (on fiddle) with Patsy Reid othis time on viola. Julie not only sang but played various instruments including various whistles, a ukulele adn three different whistles.
The prgram was a masterful blend of the pretty obscure with the more immediately accessible. So we started with a Gaelic song, Oran an Roin, about seals but that soon merged with the now well known Puirt a beul track Hug air a bhonaid mhoir. Just when it got rather Gaelic we had first Anne Briggs' achingly beautiful Go your way and later Paul McCartney's Blackbird (in Gaelic). In the second half there was plenty more obscurity including a Galician/Gaelic song Camariñas but with a few more instrumentals too. SOmehow she even had us sing along to the chorus of Smeorach Chlann Domhnaill.
All too soon the time had one but we were able to get them back on for an encore. Up until that point, with no bozouki or bodhran, I thought all insturments beginning with the letter B had been banned but then at the very end doing something I had not seen on the two previous occassions of hearing them - Julie on the bagpipes. What an encore! Patsy Reid kindly let me have her playlist at the end and I collected Julie and Eamon's autographs again before heading off and being home by 11 pm.
10 Wales Rugby Managers in my Lifetime
There have been many more rugby managers compared with football managers. Here are ten, all Welshmen except the Kiwis Henry, Hansen and Gatland. Statistically the most successful was John Dawes.
1. Clive Rowlands 1968–74
2. John Dawes 1974–79
3. John Lloyd 1980–82
4. John Bevan 1982–85
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5. Kevin Bowring 1995–98
6. Graham Henry 1998–2002
7. Steve Hansen 2002–2004
8. Mike Ruddock 2004–2006
9. Gareth Jenkins 2006–2007
10. Warren Gatland 2007– present
10 Wales Football Managers in my Lifetime
 |
| Hughes, Toshack |
Excluding caretaker managers 10 men have managed or coached the Welsh national soccer team in my lifetime. All were Welshmen except Mike Smith and Bobby Gould.
1. Jimmy Murphy 1956–1964
2. Dave Bowen 1964–1974
3. Mike Smith 1974–1979/1994-1995
4. Mike England 1979–1987
5. Terry Yorath 1988–1993
6. John Toshack 1994/2004-2010
7. Bobby Gould 1995–1999
8. Mark Hughes 1999–2004
9. Gary Speed 2010–2011
10. Chris Coleman 2012–present
Luther once again
It was good to be in Westminster Baptist Church once again on Monday for the Westminster Fellowship. Dr Robert Oliver spoke on first on Luther and then on what we can do to conserve the Reformation gains - namely in the areas of Scripture, worship and confessionalism. Dr Oliver is an excellent historian and was able to retell the story with quiet skill, highlighting things that I have missed so far this year (for example that Luther was a friar not a monk as he is usually called and how although Luther was generally unimpressed with Rome the hospitals did impress him). We had a good discussion session too. An interesting question was the construction of confessions. I sought to make the point that confessions are not only a doctrinal stick to beat out heretics but a doctrinal carrot that omits certain controversial matters in order to foster unity (my example was friends in Cyprus who omit the filioque clause in their standards not because they do not believe it but becasue it is such a cause of contention in the Greek speaking world; Mostyn Roberts referenced the way Christ's active obedoence is not stated in the Westminster Confession). This point appeared to be lost on some of those present. We were about twenty all told. Richard March from Milton Keynes chaired.
Credit where credit is due
I often complain about the poor Bible knowledge displayed by the University Cheallenge teams. All credit to UCL last night though; they got all three questions bang on. The first was on the third book of the Bible, the second on Elisha and the bears and the third on Canaan, Ham and Noah (The UCL Captain reminded me of Ryan Giggs)..
Lord's Day November 5 2017
It was a case of the Monday blues again yesterday - not for any particular reason though I could list several factors that might have played their part (one is missing having a fellow elder). Anyway, I just got on with things and wated for it to lift, which it di gradually at first and then particuallry with the wings of a verse of Scripture. I have been reading through Psalm 119 recently a stanza at a time and yesterday I came to the last verse - I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands. It seemed to me that fitted my mood perfectly and I was thankful to have come to it again.
We began the Lord's Day with communion and we also welcomed in a new member. This is the lady I baptised back in the summer but she has been in Turkey a good deal since then. She was telling us how she had recently visited Ephesus and had loved seeing the site of Paul's labours and those of John whose tomb is said to be there. I hope to baptise someone else next week.
I carrie don in Acts in the morning looking at the healing of Aeneas and then in the evening we were in Matthew 15 again and talking about the Canaanite woman who Jesus was so stern with, not an easy passage in many ways. Several were away for several reasons. Some I wonder f we willever seeagain. Where are they? I felt both sermons lacked something. Prayer is so important.
10 glands in the human body
A gland can be defined as an organ that produces and releases substances that perform a specific function in the body. There are many of these in the human body. Here are ten.
1. The Adrenal glands are a pair of glands located (as the word itself would suggest) atop each kidney that produce adrenaline, etc.
2. The hypothalamus gland is found in the brain and links the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland.
3. The pineal gland (so called because it is apparently pine shaped) is also in the brain, in the mid-cranium behind the forehead. It produces melatonin, a serotonin derived hormone which modulates sleep patterns in both circadian and seasonal cycles.
4. The pituitary is at the base of the brain and secretes hormones that help control growth, blood pressure, certain functions of the sex organs, thyroid glands and metabolism as well as some aspects of pregnancy, childbirth, nursing, water/salt concentration at the kidneys, temperature regulation and pain relief.
5. The thyroid is a two-part gland on the front of the windpipe shaped like a butterfly. It secretes thyroid hormones, which primarily influence the metabolic rate and protein synthesis. The hormones also have many other effects including those on development.
6. The thymus gland is under the breast bone in the upper chest. Within the thymus, T cells mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts specifically to foreign invaders.
7. The pancreas is found below the stomach and it produces insulin and other important hormones.
8. The prostate gland surrounds the urethra just below the urinary bladder and secretes secrete a slightly alkaline fluid, milky or white in appearance, that in humans usually constitutes roughly 30% of the volume of the semen.
9. Olfactory glands or Bowman's glands are found in the nose, in the olfactory region. They secrete the gel-forming mucin MUC5AC(UniProtKB: P98088). They may also secrete proteins and other matter.
10. Henle glands or crypts of Henle (a 19th century German scientist) are microscopic pockets found in scattered sections of the conjunctiva around the eyeball. They are responsible for secreting mucin, a proteinous substance that makes up the inner layer of tears. It coats the cornea to provide a hydrophilic layer that allows for even distribution of the tear film.
4. The pituitary is at the base of the brain and secretes hormones that help control growth, blood pressure, certain functions of the sex organs, thyroid glands and metabolism as well as some aspects of pregnancy, childbirth, nursing, water/salt concentration at the kidneys, temperature regulation and pain relief.
5. The thyroid is a two-part gland on the front of the windpipe shaped like a butterfly. It secretes thyroid hormones, which primarily influence the metabolic rate and protein synthesis. The hormones also have many other effects including those on development.
6. The thymus gland is under the breast bone in the upper chest. Within the thymus, T cells mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts specifically to foreign invaders.
7. The pancreas is found below the stomach and it produces insulin and other important hormones.
8. The prostate gland surrounds the urethra just below the urinary bladder and secretes secrete a slightly alkaline fluid, milky or white in appearance, that in humans usually constitutes roughly 30% of the volume of the semen.
9. Olfactory glands or Bowman's glands are found in the nose, in the olfactory region. They secrete the gel-forming mucin MUC5AC(UniProtKB: P98088). They may also secrete proteins and other matter.
10. Henle glands or crypts of Henle (a 19th century German scientist) are microscopic pockets found in scattered sections of the conjunctiva around the eyeball. They are responsible for secreting mucin, a proteinous substance that makes up the inner layer of tears. It coats the cornea to provide a hydrophilic layer that allows for even distribution of the tear film.
Midweek Meeting November 1 2017
Somehow there were 12 there on Wednesday, which was very encouraging. We were in Leviticus 18, highly topical this week with all the media attention on politicians and sexual harassment. I tackled the passage in a rather pedestrian way I suppose, which is the way in which it is set down but perhaps a bit more flare could have been employed on my part. Our chief problems do not lie in the are of incest but elsewhere, I would guess and I should have reflected that. Anyway, we had a good prayer time to follow. I had to allow an extra five or ten minutes to fit everything in.
Trini Lopez - If I Had A Hammer (1963)
I've always liked this jolly song. Trinidad Lopez is from Texas.
Celebrity Spotting
I can't help myself but celebrity spot, especially living where we do. I saw two on Hampstead Heath yesterday - Bill Oddie and Nick Robinson. It was David Baddiel the other week. All locals I guess.
10 British Dicky Birds and their nicknames
1. Robin Redbreast
2. Jenny Wren
3. Tom Tit
4. Jackdaw
5. Kittiwake
6. Maggie pied Magpie (originally just a Pie, Mag is permanently attached)
7. Philip Sparrow
8. Mavis Song Thrush
9. Ralph Raven
10. Jacob Starling
Two Books by Tim Marshall
A little while aggo I came aross a book by a man called Tim Marshall called Prisoners of Geography. A very helpful book, it explained the geographical element in geo-politics - why China takes the atttiude to North Korea it does, some of the attitudes Russia shows over Ukraine, etc. It was very helpful and well written. I then noticed that he also has a book on flags - Worth dying for. I waited until the paperback came out and this again proved to be fascinating as it explained flag by flag the various flags of the nations and a few more too. Some of it read like a detective novel as he painstakingly traced the origins of some of these. I am not really a fan of politics but I like to keep up to some extent and I enjoy obscure knowlede and so this unusual little book was right up my street. (You may have noticed some lists about flags on this blog while I was readuing the volume).
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