What draws the crowds to the Lake District? If you’ve ever been there you’ll know. But leave the car and the tourists and start climbing into the fells. You’ll soon find yourself alone walking where Wordsworth walked and sharing his thoughts so beautifully expressed in his poetry.
‘And that will be England gone, the shadows, the meadows, the lanes….. all that remains for us will be concrete and tyres‘
On holiday recently, passing mile upon mile of road-side verges sprayed with weedkiller, I couldn’t help thinking of these ringing words from Philip Larkin’s disturbing poem ’Going,Going’. Even back in 1972 he was warning of the way we are trashing our environment. Those sprayed verges are understandable as part of essential high-way maintenance yet, in a way, deeply disturbing. With the road-sides looking like a ‘scorched earth’ policy it raises the question ‘Where have all the wild flowers gone?‘
Continue reading “Our Lost Wildflower Meadows”
Hearing the first cuckoo in spring is a special moment that has captured the imagination of writers, poets and musicians over the centuries. But for how much longer? Is it ‘last call’ for these spring visitors?
Continue reading “Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring”
The grand setting of Durham Cathedral brings us a reminder of three great, yet humble men of faith, learning and prayer. The saintly lives of The Venerable Bede, Saint Cuthbert and George Herbert have inspired Christians for centuries.
Continue reading “Great men have been among us”
A Listening Heart 