I was presented with a couple of presents the other day, and all I can say is a big thank you, they came at a time when I needed them most of all.

My Father's Book of Common Prayer, presented to him when he was 7 years old.

My Grandfather's Bible presented to him when he was 17.

I used the BCP the other morning at Communion, but unfortunately instead of saying Elizabeth our Queen, I read as printed and it came out as George our King. Woops

Paul

At our July meeting of the PCC, I took a very brave step and gave the opening reading and thoughts. Weeks of practicing and breathing (for those of you who don't know, I have problems with my speech)and I hope I did not make too many errors. This is how it went....

The lectionary tell me that one of the readings for today is from Luke and tells of the Parable of the Tenants, but if I may I wanted to select the next story, which is about Paying Taxes to Caesar (Luke 20 vv20 to 26)

Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be honest. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the government. So the spies questioned him; “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” He saw through their duplicity and said to them “show me a denarius. Whose portrait and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. He said to them, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesars, and give to God what is God’s” They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent

It seems to me that Jesus was a bit of a comedian, or certainly one who could play with words. To me English humour is all about mixing up our fine language, making the words have double meanings. You don’t have to insult anybody by referring to their race, religion, gender, age etc., in humour the English language gives us it all, and for those regular readers of my Patio Doors letter, no I have not got a joke for this evening.

This evening, for a few minutes, I wanted to talk about words. As many of you will know, words mean a lot to me, from the words I write in my email letter to some of you, to the entries on my Blog site. I’ve selected three examples of written work, that for each of us will mean something different and read in a different way will have their meaning change.

This section of text is from the proceedings at the Old Bailey in February 1786, 220 years ago. And I’m sure this will not mean anything to any of us….

192. JOSEPH RICKARDS was indicted for that he, not having the fear of God before his eyes, but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the devil, on the 11th day of February, at the parish of St. Pancras, in and upon Walter Horseman , in the peace of God and our Lord the King then and there being, feloniously, wilfully, and of his malice aforethought, did make an assault, and that he the said Joseph Rickards , with a certain iron bar of the value of 12 d. which he in both his hands then and there had and held, the said Walter, in and upon the body of the said Walter, did strike and beat ……….. And it goes on.

I really like that first line “not having the fear of God before his eyes, but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the devil” it really says something about our ancestors in the 1700’s, good God fearing people!

Here are some more words, which might be familiar to us all, they too, take on a new meaning when said and not sung, please feel free to join in if you know them, but beware, I‘m only doing the chorus at the end;

He possessed no riches, no home to lay his head
He saw the needs of others and cared for them instead

He still comes to people, his life moves through the lands;
He uses us for speaking, he touches with our hands
Go, tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus is his name

I would now like to end, with what I hope is a familiar prayer to us all:-

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
Where there is injury, let there be pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy;
For your mercy and for your truth’s sake.
O Divine Master, grant that we may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console
To be understood, as to understand
To be loved, as to love
For it is in giving that we receive;
In pardoning that we are pardoned; and
In dying that we are born to eternal life;
Through our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen

I thought you might like to see my copy for the August edition of our local Parish Magazine, just to prove that I have been writing, just keeping it to a smaller amount.

New Television Station

I just have to tell you about a new television station I’ve found, it’s terrestrial, so everyone should be able to find it, and even better you don’t need special cable connections, freeview boxes, satellite dish or even an aerial to pick it up.!

I’ve also found that it’s got some unique features; it seems to have an in built device which blocks out the sound of the telephone and it will prevent double glazing salesmen knocking at the door, it has a fantastic surround sound and the HD (high definition) quality is just out of this world and guess what ….. There are no adverts!

It was whilst I was trying to find something other than the World Cup coverage or for that matter, Wimbledon’s grunts and groans, or numerous tearfully chocolaty Soap Operas moments and dare I even say Big Brother, with all the repeat coverage’s, that I stumbled, quite by accident upon this station as I tripped out of the Patio Doors one July evening.

I sat down to catch my breath on one of the patio chairs and after the intense heat of the day, decided that, with a refreshing summer evening breeze on my back, I would go back inside and get a drink, and go back outside to enjoy a quiet 20 minutes or so.

The evening was filled with the sound of Sparrows chirping as they fort for the last few scraps of bread I’d left on the lawn. In the distance I could hear the sound of Monday evening bell practice, and along with the birds, made beautiful music.

The sky started to change into a Turner skyscape with all the myriad of colours and depths, that I sat mesmerised by the beauty of it, turn your back for a moment or even close your eyes and you would have missed some small part important part of the plot.

Oh, I forgot to tell you, the best thing about this station is, you don’t even need a television set, or a license, it’s got it’s own broadcast station it’s called GCV; God’s Creation Vision, you can view it from anywhere, anytime, anyplace, you just need a little time to set aside and treat yourself to the best free entertainment.

Paul Akerman

Hiya all

I am still here, well nearly. It's funny how long you can go without even thinking about blogging, is it writers block I'm not sure.

But the summer holidays are nearly a week old, and number three sun is bored every day, eating me out of house and home. Number one sun is waiting for the all important GCSE results and sitting his Pool Lifeguard examination today (3 hours long)

emily is wicked cool super nice =] (well so she thinks) is off yet again to town to do some more window shopping. I really hope she finds a nice young man (in a few years time) who can keep her in the expensive life style, to which she has become used to.

I still have not told them what my summer holiday name is, which ever name I went for, I still seem to be responding to Dddddad.

So, apart from pandering to two suns (reference to the heatwave) and one daughter (just as sunny) I find that some days I get near to blogging and others nothing seems to come to mind at all.

Paul