Blogs

Youth is wasted on the young (George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950)

10th June 2019

Virtue is its own reward (16th Century)

10th June 2019

Why should we be good? Perhaps when you were little you were offered a carrot (staying up a bit later), or a stick (confined to your bedroom), in order to make you do what your parents considered good behaviour. And if you asked ‘why?’ it is likely that they invoked their innate authority and said, ‘because I say so’, which when my father said it was quite enough for me!

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink (12th Century)

20th May 2019

I may disagree with what you have to say but I shall defend your right to say it  (Attributed to Voltaire but written by Evelyn Beatrice Hall)

10th May 2019

To know all is to forgive all’ (French, mid 20th century)

1st April 2019

On the altar of the ruins of the old cathedral in Coventry are carved the words ‘Father forgive’. During their recent visit the Inters were told how originally some people had wanted it to read ‘Father forgive them’. However, in recognition of the need for forgiveness for all in times of conflict and that none of us is without fault or ‘sin’, the words carved were simply ’Father forgive’.

‘To the pessimist the cup is half-empty. To the optimist it is half-full.’ (20th Century)

25th March 2019

In the stories of Winnie the Pooh, two characters exemplify optimism and pessimism. Tigger is the ultimate optimist, happy, bouncy, not to mention fun, fun, fun, fun, fun! In contrast Eeyore, who always has a dark raincloud hovering over his head, talks about how miserable he is, and proclaims ‘I never get my hopes up, so I never get let down’. I wonder if you would say that your default setting is more Tigger (glass half-full) or Eeyore (glass half-empty)?...