January 2026 Magazine

We always have good excuses,  the latest flu bug running riot in Teesside and other events has slowed us down somewhat !!

Wishing you all a Peaceful New Year

Pauline & Bob - co-editors..   

Updated  3rd January 2026

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Church of England weddings at historic low

The Church of England conducted fewer weddings than ever in 2023, as the number of people in England and Wales getting married in religious ceremonies has slumped to a new low.

In 2023, 23,004 marriages were recorded by the Church of England and Church in Wales, according to recent data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).  It is the lowest number since the 1830s, except for 2020, when churches were closed during the pandemic.

In total, 216,901 weddings of opposite-sex couples took place in 2023. The majority (184,428) were civil ceremonies. There were 32,473 religious weddings, of which 70 per cent were held in Anglican churches.

The Bishop of Manchester, Dr David Walker, told the Daily Telegraph: “We want to reassure couples that they don’t have to be churchgoers to have a church wedding, they don’t need to be christened, and we welcome couples who already have children.”

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Bishop Mullally presses for palliative-care availability

“Every person is of immeasurable value and cannot be diminished by illness, disability, or care costs,” the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, recently told the House of Lords,

The Bishop, who is now also Archbishop-designate of Canterbury, added that: “however many amendments there are to this Bill, the Bill will never be safe. I hope that all of us would believe that, if someone wants to live, then somebody in that stage of life should have access to palliative care and the social care support they need.”

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David Pickup, a solicitor, considers January.

Going from Strength to Strength – even in January!

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka,they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. (Psalm 84: 5-7)

January can be a grim month! Back to work after Christmas, dark days and early nights. Colds, sniffles and bugs, then the bills, renewals and invoices come in. There is not much going on in church, as Candlemas is not until February.

I like the psalms, as they are written from personal experience. This one is a belter and has been called one of the sweetest psalms. I suppose January could be a type of ‘valley of Baca’ or veil of tears, meaning a difficult time to get through. The psalmist encourages us to look for wells and pools of water even in the dryest desert.

Many people have debt or other problems. Perhaps the church could set up a group to support members or look for local sources of advice, foodbanks or help.

January may be cold, costly and dark but there are things to look forward to: snowdrops, bulbs and days beginning to lengthen and at least the stress of Christmas is past!

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New research into how communities think about the Bible

Insights into how people across the world engage with and relate to the Bible have been released by Bible Society, who says that the results can be useful to local churches with intercultural congregations.

The Patmos Typology Report, created in partnership with United Bible Societies, offers exclusive data for each of the 85 countries and territories surveyed, exploring their relationship with the Bible and religion.

Bible Society says it is “excited about this new report”, as it “can inform Bible engagement approaches that lead to real lives being transformed by the Bible.”

Bible Society stresses that: “More churches than ever before have intercultural congregations or are reaching out to diaspora communities. We hope they can use this report to see how those communities might think about the Bible, and use the data to help people in their communities encounter the Bible for themselves.”

For more visit: patmos.bfbs.org/Patmos-the-report

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There is a lot of talk about ‘mindfulness’ these days, and how to find calm moments in our daily lives. Both the BBC and Classic FM have even got radio stations devoted to ‘mindful’ and ‘calm’ music. But as Christians, we have an extra, divine resource, to call on. And so this month we are launching a new series, simply offering three verses to help reassure your readers that they are not alone in their tough times.

Peaceful mind

The Bible tells the story of Jesus and His disciples in a boat. The wind blows, the waves rise, and the disciples are stressed. Like them, we also get hit by storms in life. Like them, we can’t control what comes our way. But like them, we can know that Jesus is also with us.

Why not take a moment to ponder these promises:

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8)

The Lord gives strength to His people, the Lord blesses His people with peace. (Psalm 29:11)

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace – as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people. (1 Corinthians 14:33)

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 January 2026 Diary Page

All services at the usual times 

BIBLE STUDY (via ZOOM) EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 7PM DURING TERM TIME.

PRAYER MEETING FIRST MONDAY IN THE MONTH 7pm IN CHURCH

SUNDAYS

9am                Holy Communion  BCP

10am               Parish Communion

6.30pm           Evening Prayer

TUESDAYS

10am              Holy Communion

SUNDAY 4^th JANUARY

EPIPHANY

9.00am            Holy Communion

10.00am          Parish Communion

6.30pm            Evening Prayer

SATURDAY 10^th JANUARY

Churchyard tidy  9.30am onwards

SUNDAY 11^th JANUARY

BAPTISM OF CHRIST

9.00am           Holy Communion

10.00am        Parish Communion

6.30pm          Evening Prayer

WEDNESDAY 14^th JANUARY

Coffee Morning  10am -11.30am

PCC Meeting  7.00pm

SUNDAY 18^th JANUARY

SECOND SUNDAY OF EPIPHANY

9.00am           Holy Communion

10.00am        Parish Communion

6.30pm          Evening Prayer

SUNDAY  25^th JANUARY

CONVERSION OF ST PAUL

9.00am           Holy Communion

10.00am        Parish Communion

 6.30pm         Evening Prayer  

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Vox Choir North East Christmas Concert at St Mary’s

Once again, we were privileged to host the VOX choir Christmas Concert at St Mary’s Church to start our build up to the festive season, in early December 2025.

With twenty or so in the choir, conductor Jeremy Harbottle and accompanist Eleanor Gill, we were treated to a concert of famous and some not as well-known Christmas music and carols.

What came across straight away was the enjoyment the choir have for singing;  they all have a smile on their faces throughout the concert, which in turn is passed on to the audience.

The audience does not just sit back and listen, but is encouraged to join in at regular times during the concert, luckily with carols we all know and love.

I have to mention though, towards the end of the concert they do their version of the Twelve Days of Christmas with different actions for each day, which the audience are encouraged to join in. They did, however, neglect to mention that the carol would speed up as it went along. I only hope this was not caught on video, as we, the audience, did all the actions and sang the carol - to quote the phrase, with “all the right words and actions, but NOT necessarily in the right order”.

A brilliant start to Christmas thanks to you VOX choir. Please come and join us again next year.

Barry Lomas

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2nd January – Gregory of Nazianzus

Next time you think about the Holy Spirit, breath a short prayer of thanks for Gregory of Nazianzus.

This fourth century bishop of Constantinople made such an impact on the Early Church with his understanding of how the Holy Spirit relates to the Father and the Son, that he became known as the ‘Trinitarian Theologian’.

The young Gregory had never intended to be a theologian. Far from it. Born in 329 into a wealthy Greek family in southwest Cappadocia, he had excelled in rhetoric and philosophy in Caesarea, Alexandria and Athens, becoming a gifted scholar and orator.

Then disaster struck. While Gregory was on his way to Athens, a severe storm nearly engulfed his ship. Amid the terror of the wind and waves, Gregory promised God that if his life was spared, he would dedicate the rest of his life to the service of Jesus Christ.

It was not an easy promise to keep, as by nature Gregory preferred a life of study and reflection. Instead, as a priest and then Bishop of Sasima in 372, and Bishop of Constantinople in 380, he was plunged into the tumultuous church politics of the time. His crowning moment came in 381, when he presided at the opening of the Council of Constantinople.

But it was in his quiet times of study and writing that Gregory made his biggest contribution to the early Church. For he expanded the idea that our salvation is a progressive journey into the Godhead, and he stressed that the One who enables us to take this journey is the Holy Spirit. Gregory proposed the term ‘procession’, saying that the Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son, and that the Spirit should be given full worship and equal honour.

Gregory is greatly honoured in both Eastern and Western Christianity. He was one of the three ‘Cappadocian Fathers’, who along with Gregory of Nyssa and Basil of Caesarea, developed the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and the Trinity.

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 By the Revd Roy Shaw, a retired but active priest in the diocese of York, where he is a spiritual director.

Epiphany!

You probably know from tales of Greek mythology that gods and goddesses would often appear out of nowhere in ancient Greece to beguile or trick mortals. The word for this in everyday Greek was ‘epiphany’; – the appearance or manifestation of a divine being on earth to humans. For Christians Epiphany is the season after the 12 days of Christmas.

Our Epiphany Bible readings tell of the ‘manifestation’ of Jesus to a wider audience than those in the Christmas stories. We mark this in the first instance by placing the Wise Men in the crib scene; they have now arrived to see the consummation of their hopes and travels in the infant Jesus. And our Epiphany readings usually continue through the season with Jesus’ baptism; John the Baptist’s witness to Christ; Jesus’ family attempting to take charge of Him because of His popularity with the crowds; and the Presentation in the Temple. In all these, something of divine glory is being made manifest.

In more common parlance today, an epiphany means a sudden or blinding realisation (‘I had a sudden epiphany that John was going to marry Celia’). That modern meaning is helpful; ‘Gosh, epiphanies can be part of our Christian experience!’ Remember that occasion we were so conscious of God’s love holding us? Or the time we knew the words we used to that stranger were infused with a grace we didn’t know we had? These and similar experiences which we’ve probably all had can be seen as our epiphanies- a time when God was made manifest to us (and possibly through us) in a distinct way.

Have you ever thought of those sorts of experiences as an epiphany? Not ring-fenced to a particular time of year, but part of our everyday experience, as we seek to live out our baptism promises, and follow Jesus through the ups and downs, the humdrum and the extraordinary, the joys and sorrows of the everyday.

The promise and reality of Christmas is ‘Emmanuel-God with us’. And the reality of Epiphany is that God IS with us, in the everyday realisation of how great God is, how much God loves us, and how God pours upon us grace after grace after grace.

May we have many epiphanies in 2026, and may they all bring us closer to the God who has chosen in His love to reveal Himself to us.

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Remembering Agatha Christie

50 years ago, on 12^th Jan 1976 that Dame Agatha Christie, crime novelist, short story writer and playwright died. Best known for creating the character Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, and for the world’s longest running play, The Mousetrap.

Agatha Christie was born in Torquay in 1890, the daughter of wealthy parents. In 1914 she married Archibald Christie, and Rosalind, their only daughter, was born in 1919.

Agatha produced her first detective story in 1920, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which introduced Hercule Poirot. Her marriage failed in 1928, but not her desire to write; for in 1930 she produced Murder at the Vicarage, and Miss Marple arrived.

That same year, 1930, Agatha married again, this time to an archaeologist Max Mallowan, who was 14 years her junior. They had met when Agatha visited an archaeological dig at Ur, a major ancient Sumerian city-state located in modern-day southern Iraq.

After the war, Max became Professor of Western Asiatic Archaeology at London University and as Director of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq he excavated at Nineveh and Nimrud 1947–61.

Agartha went with him, and her travels in the Middle East inspired Murder in Mesopotamia, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. Back home, in 1934 the couple had found a peaceful and elegant home just outside of Wallingford, where they lived for many years.

In all, Agatha wrote more than 100 novels, plays, short stories.  The undisputed ‘Queen of Crime’, she is the best-selling novelist of all time. Some two billion copies of her books, translated into at least 100 languages, have been sold.  Her play the Mousetrap, has been in continuous performance in London since 1952, breaking all records. 

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Our long love affair with coffee

London’s first coffee house opened in 1652, using beans imported from modern-day Yemen. Although many in Cromwell’s Britain had doubts about this new drink, others welcomed its reviving effects – and asked for another cup.

Nearly 400 years on, coffee drinking in Britain is a vast industry. We drink 98 million cups of it every day. Even though a takeaway flat white can now cost you more than £5 in London, still coffee has become a daily necessity for millions of us.

And nearly 400 years on, we can better appreciate why this should be so.

Coffee keeps us awake. This is because when caffeine accesses the brain, it actively blocks our adenosine-producing receptors, which run our sleep-promoting system.

Coffee makes us alert. The caffeine drives our brain towards a more excited state which allows us to process information faster.

Coffee can also improve our mood, especially during the winter, when the loss of daylight acts as a depressant.

And although too much coffee can make us jittery and even prone to heart palpitations, there is even growing evidence among neuroscientists that coffee can even help to lower our risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

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 Holocaust Memorial Day

Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD), held each year on 27^th January, marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp.

Under the Nazis, six million Jewish men, women and children were murdered, as well as millions of Gentiles. Holocaust Memorial Day also commemorates the more recent persecutions and slaughter in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

A spokesman explains: “HMD is for everyone. Each year across the UK, we bring people together to learn more about the past, empathise more with people today, and work to build a better future. Together we bear witness for communities who suffered attempted annihilation, and we honour the survivors and all those whose lives were changed beyond recognition.”

This year’s theme is ‘Bridging Generations’. HMD says: “The responsibility of remembrance doesn’t end with the survivors – it lives on through their children, their grandchildren and through all of us.” 

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January 2026 Crossword

CLUES

Across

8  How the Abyss (NIV) is described (Revelation 9) (10,3)

9  Frozen water (Ezekiel 1) (3)

10 The Ten Commandments (9)

11 In Roman Catholic theology, neither heaven nor hell (5)

13 Des cons (anag.) (7)

16 ‘Though [your sins] are red as — , they shall be like wool’ (Isaiah 1) (7)

19 Keen (Romans 1) (5)

22 Repugnant, loathsome (Jeremiah 24) (9)

24 Drink like an animal (Judges 7) (3)

25 First and last (Revelation 22) (5,3,5)

Down

1  Father of Ahi, a Gadite (1 Chronicles 5) (6)

2  Where David found the stone  (1 Samuel 17) (6)

3  ‘Hour by hour fresh lips are making thy — doings heard on high’ (8)

4  ‘Keeping watch over their — at night’ (Luke 2) (6)

5  United Society for Christian Literature (1,1,1,1)

6  ‘Treat him as you would — — or a tax collector’ (Matthew 18) (1,5)

7  Where Paul was taken  (Acts 17) (6)

12 Istituto per le Opere di Religione (Vatican Bank) (1,1,1)

14 ‘He is a new — ; the old has gone!’ (2 Corinthians 5) (8)

15 Used to colour ram skins red  (Exodus 25) (3)

16 Vat car (anag.) (6)

17 ‘Be joyful — — ,’ (Romans 12) (6)

18 ‘While our presentable parts — — special treatment’ (1 Corinthians 12) (4,2)

20 Ancient rowing boat (Isaiah 33) (6)

21 Say again (2 Corinthians 11) (6)

23 What Jesus did in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4) (4)

Answers to December Crossword

ACROSS: 1, Tabernacle. 7, Absalom. 8, Incas. 10, Roes. 11,

Captured. 13, Fright. 15, Cavell. 17, Cyclonic. 18, Herb. 21, Sonar.

22, Amazing. 23, Settlement.

DOWN: 1, Taste. 2, Bold. 3, Ramiah. 4, Abiathar. 5, Lucerne. 6,

Sacrifices. 9, Saddlebags. 12, Theocrat. 14, Incense. 16, Pilate. 19,

Exist. 20, Save.

Winner   Peter Warren

Crosswords reproduced by kind permission of BRF and John Capon, originally published in Three Down, Nine Across, by John Capon (£6.99 BRF)

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 January 2026 Anagrams

Compiled by Peter Warren

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December Anagram Answers  

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JANUARY 2026 Soduko Puzzle

December Sodoku Solution

Winners   

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Canon Paul Hardingham begins a seven-part series. This will run until the July issue.

The Seven Deadly Sins: Pride

Our new series looks at the 7 Deadly Sins, a list compiled by Pope Gregory 1 in AD 590 to describe the nature of sin. This month we consider pride, ‘the beginning of all sin’ (Augustine).

Pride is preoccupied with self and denies the need for others or God. We see it present in the first sin, when Adam and Eve wanted to become like God (Genesis 3:5).

What does pride look like? Jesus told the story of two men, a Pharisee and a tax collector, who went to pray in the Temple (Luke 18: 9-14). The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ (11,12). He illustrates how pride is essentially putting ourselves in God’s place and believing we can run our own lives. It’s subtle and self-deceptive and eats away our lives: ‘Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.’ (Proverbs 16:18).

So how do we deal with pride? The answer is humility. The tax collector stood at a distance ‘he would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” (13). This man was right with God, because he acknowledged his sin and his need for forgiveness. Humility is being realistic about ourselves, and acknowledging our total dependence on God. We develop it by giving ourselves wholeheartedly to God and repenting of our desire to do things our way: ‘Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up.’ (1 Peter 5:6)

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‘Humility is not in thinking less of yourself, but in thinking of yourself less’ (Rick Warren).

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 Michael Bond, creator of Paddington Bear

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Menai Suspension Bridge celebrates 200 years

Canon Paul Hardingham continues his series on the books of the Bible, which will run until the end of 2025.

What’s the Big Idea? – An Introduction to the

books of the Old Testament: Song of Songs.

The title of this book, ‘Solomon’s Song of Song’ (1:1), claims to be written by Solomon, and while his name is mentioned seven times and several verses speak of the ‘king’, the book may be more about Solomon rather than written by him. However, it is reasonable to assume that Song of Songs was written in the tenth century BC, during Solomon’s reign (971-931 BC).

The focus of the Song is God’s choicest gifts of love and the voice of this love belongs to a woman, the beloved. It is her experience of love, both as the one who loves and as the one who is loved, that is most clearly expressed. The Song begins with her wish for her lover’s kiss and ends with an invitation for intimate love. It describes the intimacies of married love as God intends it to be. She speaks profoundly of love; of its beauty and delight; its exclusiveness (2:16); its spontaneity (2:7) and its overwhelming power: ‘Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away.’ (8:6,7)

God created man and woman, and established marriage as His purpose for society (Genesis 1:27; 2:20-24). This Song is part of the wisdom literature and shows us how to receive and live the gift of God’s love with thanksgiving and celebration. However, the Song also speaks symbolically of the experience of intimacy to be found in our relationship with Christ: ‘My lover is mine and I am his…and his banner over me is love.’ (2:16,4).

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What, oh what, is that person’s name?!

Do your New Year Resolutions include the forlorn hope that you will be better at remembering people’s names in 2026?

Many of us – and not only those of the older generation – have difficulty remembering names. It’s not just TV personalities and so on, but people we meet in the street. We know exactly who they are, we see them every week in church or the supermarket, we know what job they do and which school their children go to. But as for their name – it’s a blank.

Help is at hand, however. Not to solve the problem, but at least to name it. ‘Anomic aphasia’ is the clinical name for the inability to remember a name, even when we can remember everything else about someone.

There is also the strange truth that the cure for anomic aphasia comes spontaneously, often in the middle of the night, when that elusive identity pops unbidden into our memory. We must be sure, of course, to put the light on and write it down, because for sure it will be gone again with the morning light!

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Australia celebrates a milestone

This is an important month for Australia.

As of 1^st January, it has been 125 years (1901) since the Commonwealth of Australia was established, when the six British colonies of New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia were federated.

But a British presence in Australia began long before 1901. It was way back in 1788 that the First Fleet first landed in Australia, and the Union Flag of Great Britain was raised by Captain Arthur Phillip.

The 11 ships had left England seven months before. Their passengers were mostly convicts, and Captain Phillips had been charged with the job of establishing penal colonies to house them.

The First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay, but decided to explore further. A few days later, on 26^th January 1788 the fleet finally landed at Sydney Cove, a small bay on the southern shore of Sydney harbour.

That was the day that British settlers arrived on Australian shores for the first time. They formally established the Colony of New South Wales on 7^th February, and 20 years later, in 1808, the convicts who had been pardoned were now emancipated convicts, and heartily celebrating the anniversary of their arrival with dinners, drinking and toasts.

The first official celebration took place in 1818 on the 30th anniversary of their arrival, with Governor Lachlan Macquarie naming the day a national holiday, called Foundation Day.

While Australians have celebrated the 26^th of January as Australia Day ever since, the story is not all a happy one. For indigenous Australians, who have been there for thousands of years, faced persecution and even dozens of massacres during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

As one website puts it, nowadays Australia Day is a day when: “We reflect on our nation’s past, which began more than 65,000 years ago, and the impact of European settlement on the First Nations Australians. Our national day is a time, above all, for inclusion and respect, as we work towards reconciliation.

(https://www.australiaday.com.au/about/) 

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 Burns Night – 25th January

Each year, Burns Night takes place on 25^th January to celebrate the life and legacy of Scotland’s National Bard, Robert Burns. (1759 to 1796)

Burns Night is usually a combination of haggis, neeps, tatties, and warming ‘drams’, accompanied by recitals of some of Robert Burns’ famous work.

Robert Burns was born in 1759 and died only 37 years later, in 1796.  But his life and writing certainly left a rich inheritance behind. Here are some interesting facts:

1. After Queen Victoria and Christopher Columbus, Robert Burns has more statues dedicated to him around the world than any other non-religious figure.

1. American music legend Bob Dylan said that his greatest-ever source of inspiration was Burns’ A Red, Red Rose

1. D. Salinger’s 1951 novel ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ based its title on the Robert Burns poem, ‘Comin’ Thro’ the Rye’.

1. Auld Lang Syne is a song of friendship in China. Known as You Yi Di Jiu Tian Chang – or Friendship Forever and Ever – the song is played at graduations and other formal gatherings.

1. ‘Is There For Honest Poverty’ (also known as ‘A Man’s a Man for a’ That’) was chosen to open the new Scottish Parliament in 1999 due to its themes of equality and universal brotherhood.

1. ‘Auld Lang Syne’ is recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as one of the top three most popular songs in the entire English language

1. American fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger claims to be a direct descendant of Robert Burns.

1. In 2009, Robert Burns became the first-ever person to appear on a commemorative bottle of Coca-Cola.

1. A book of Burns’ poetry was carried into space by astronaut Nick Patrick during a two-week space mission in 2010. The book completed a 5.7-million-mile trip, managing 217 orbits of the Earth.

1. Burns fathered at least 12 children during his short lifetime. His youngest son, Maxwell, was born on the day of Burns’ funeral.

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Crufts welcomes mongrels

The Royal Kennel Club, which runs Crufts, is going to admit mongrels for the first time in its 150-year history.

Crufts will become a ‘year-round community’, available to all dog owners, whatever kind of dog they have. Its new online platform will launch in February 2026.

Jannine Edgar, chief executive of the RKC explains: “While our initiatives in areas such as health, research and breeding have historically been focused on pedigree dogs, we recognise that dog ownership has evolved and therefore we must too.

“So now our remit extends to all dogs, and we will be investing our efforts to do more for every dog and their owners through the Crufts brand, which will be much more than an annual show.

”

This year Crufts Dog Show takes place 5^th to 8^th March at the NEC in Birmingham. Crufts has also held events aimed at non-pedigree dogs since 2000, after launching the crossbreed competition ‘Scruffts’.

The late Queen, who was devoted to her corgis, was patron of The Kennel Club for 70 years. Following her death, the King granted the organisation a royal prefix in 2023.

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David Pickup, a solicitor, gives some guidance on…

Complaints and refunds – what about consumer protection?

‘Use honest scales and honest weights’ Leviticus 19:36

‘The Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favour with him.’ Proverbs 11:1

These verses are not about the scales you use to weigh yourself, to see how much weight you have put on over Christmas! It is a biblical warning for businesspeople to act fairly and not cheat the buyer. As such it is one of the earliest pieces of consumer protection.

The law has been updated to reflect changes in buying. Many of us do our shopping online and much of what is bought are not goods in the old-fashioned sense, but electronic items such as downloaded music or games. Whether you do your Christmas shopping in the January sales or on Christmas Eve, what legal rights do you have? This is a complex area, and the following is a guide only.

The law gives us some basic rights about the quality and standard of things we buy from a business. They must be of ‘satisfactory quality’ which means what a reasonable person would consider satisfactory. They must be ‘fit for purpose’ and ‘as described’. So, if you bought a Bible, it must be in good condition; and it must be the whole Bible if it says Bible; and it should not fall apart when you start to read it. If it is a leather-bound church Bible, you would expect it to last longer than a cheap paperback.

So, what if there is a problem?

Normally within the first 30 days, if it is faulty, you can get a refund.

Up to 6 months, if it cannot be repaired or replaced, you are entitled to a refund – in most cases

Up to 6 years, if goods do not last a reasonable time, you may be entitled to some money back.

Some shops give you more rights. They offer money back guarantees if you change your mind. Always keep the receipt. Check that what you buy works, and that it is ok when you get it. No point buying something in November and then find out on Christmas Eve that it is broken. Watch out for those scales!

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Why you should aim to eat the rainbow

The supermarket chain Tesco has reported a surge in demand for brightly coloured vegetables, from rainbow carrots to pink onions.

The trend follows calls from nutritionists for people to ‘eat the rainbow’ of fruits and vegetables, so that they get the whole range of vitamins and minerals.

Demand for rainbow carrots and pink onions is up by 100 per cent this autumn versus last, the demand for rainbow chard is up 70 per cent and that for Cavolo Nero – also known as ‘black cabbage’ – is up around 30 per cent on last year.

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What makes snow stick?

Depending on whether you are a child with a sleigh or an adult trying to drive home, snow is either your friend or your foe. And sometimes snow can be hard to understand….

Matt Taylot of the BBC Weather, recently named a couple of reasons as to why snow behaves in the way that it does. For instance:

Ground temperature plays a massive part when it comes to whether snow sticks or not. When the weather has been relatively warm, the ground will store some of that warmth and melt the snow more quickly. This happens faster on roads and pavements than on grass, which transfers the heat from the ground more slowly. 

Sunshine helps melt snow, and any snow covered in dirt and debris will melt even quicker, as the darker surface absorbs the warmth from the sun more readily.

The Rectory

St James the Least of All

My dear Nephew Darren

I do hope you have now settled down in your first parish – although it is such a pity that you did not choose a more distinguished one. I know you feel your vocation lies in inner city work – whereas mine, fortunately, has always been to the better sort of rural village. I have always felt that the Almighty understands me well in that regard.

We had a little flurry of activity in church on Sunday. At the signal “let us pray”, as the congregation dutifully flopped to their knees, sounding like a flock of geese settling in for the night, Major Hastings lost his glass eye. Yes, again!  That man is so careless at times. Anyway, released from captivity, the eye rolled under the pews like a fugitive marble, ricocheting from hassock to handbag over the stone flags.

My sonorous entreaties to the Almighty were completely lost as the entire congregation scuttled under pews, trying to retrieve it. It finally appeared on the collection plate – along with £4.17, 100 pesetas and Miss Simpson’s front door key. I was unsure whether the last item represented a fit of absent-mindedness or an improper suggestion. I returned it to her very firmly at the end of the Service.

The eye stared at me mournfully as I blessed it, along with the money. But it left a small social dilemma. What is the etiquette of returning a lost glass eye to its owner?

To have processed down the aisle with it, accompanied by crucifer and verger seemed a little too public. To sneak it to him as we shook hands at the door seemed a little too furtive. I finally decided to send a server to deliver it during the last hymn. I still wonder if it was the right decision. Perhaps you could look through that new Common Worship book and see if they have included an appropriate rite for returning lost glass eyes.  We here at St James-the-Least-of-All haven’t yet got round to Common Worship. The days are evil enough as it is.

Your loving uncle, Eustace

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BOOK REVIEW

Meeting God in John – A Companion for Lent, Holy Week, Easter and Beyond

By David F. Ford, SPCK, £8.79

Whether you are completely new to John’s Gospel or have read it many times before, Meeting God in John will help you see the Fourth Gospel with fresh eyes and gain a deeper understanding of its essential meaning and purpose. Ford’s straightforward approach also makes it helpful for new Christians just starting out on their faith journey. With its focus on the Passion narrative, it also serves beautifully as a Lent devotional

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 All in the month of January.

It was:

250 years ago, on 1^st Jan 1776 that, according to tradition, George Washington raised the first American flag, the Grand Union Flag, at Prospect Hill in Charleston, Somerville, Massachusetts.

200 years ago, on 30^th Jan 1826 that the Menai Suspension Bridge was first opened. It links the island of Anglesey to mainland Wales, and was the world’s first major suspension bridge.

125 years ago, on 1^st Jan 1901 that the Commonwealth of Australia was established when the six British colonies of New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia were federated.

Also 125 years ago, on 22^nd Jan 1901 that Queen Victoria died, and was succeeded by her son, Edward VII.

Also 125 years ago, on 27^th Jan 1901 that Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer died. Best known for his operas Aida, Requiem, Otello and Falstaff

100 years ago, on 13^th Jan 1926 that Michael Bond, children’s writer, was born.  He created the characters Paddington Bear and Monsieur Pamplemousse.

Also 100 years ago, on 14^th Jan 1926 that Warren Mitchell, radio TV stage and film actor was born. Best known for his role as Alf Garnett in the TV sitcoms Till Death Us Do Part and In Sickness and in Health.

Also 100 years ago, on 26^th Jan 1926 that Scottish engineer and inventor John Logie Baird gave the first demonstration of his TV system to members of the Royal Institution.

90 years ago, on 18^th Jan 1936 that Rudyard Kipling, writer and poet, died. Best known for The Jungle Book, Kim, If, and many more. Winner of the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Also 90 years ago, on 20^th Jan 1936 that King Geoge V died and was succeeded by his son Edward VIII, who abdicated that December.

80 years ago, on 3^rd Jan 1946 that Willam Joyce, Lord Haw-Haw, British fascist politician died. He had broadcasted Nazi propaganda from Germany during WW2. (Hanged for treason)

80 years ago, on 8^th Jan 1946 that Elvis Presley received his first guitar on his 11^th birthday.  (Apparently, he would have preferred a bicycle.)

Also 80 years ago, on 10^th Jan 1946 that the United Nations General Assembly convened for the first time, in Westminster Central Hall, London.

75 years ago, on 9^th Jan 1951 that the UN headquarters in New York City was officially opened.

Also 75 years ago, on 30^th Jan 1951 that Ferdinand Porsche, Austrian automotive engineer died. He designed the Volkswagen Beetle, the Tiger tank and founded the Porsche sport car company.

Also 70 years ago, on 31^st Jan 1956 that AA Milne, writer, poet, humourist and playwright died. Best known for his stories about Winnie the Pooh.

65 years ago, on 20^th Jan 1961 that John F Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35^th President of the USA.

50 years ago, on 12^th Jan 1976 that Dame Agatha Christie, crime novelist, short story writer and playwright died.  Best known for creating the character Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, and for the world’s longest running play, The Mousetrap.

40 years ago, on 28^th Jan 1986 that the US space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after lift-off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. All seven astronauts were killed, including the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe.

30 years ago, on 20^th Jan 1996 that the first Palestinian general election chose Yasser Arafat to be President of the Palestinian National Council in a landslide victory.

Also 30 years ago, on 27^th Jan 1996 that the first Holocaust Remembrance Day was observed in Germany.  It became International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2005 when it was adopted by the United Nations. It marks the day (27^th Jan 1945) that the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration/death camp was liberated during WW2.

25 years ago, on 12^th Jan 2001 that Swedish football manager Sven Goran Eriksson became the first non-Briton to coach the England national football team.

20 years ago, on 12^th Jan 2006 that at least 346 people were killed in a stampede during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mina, Saudi Arabia.

10 years ago, on 31^st Jan 2016 that Terry Wogan, Irish radio and TV broadcaster, died. Known for his long-running BBC Radio 2 show, and for presenting TV’s Wogan, Blankety Blank, Come Dancing, the Children in Need, and for his commentaries on the Eurovision Song Contest.

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