Clearly, I am a reunion fanatic! Today, no fewer than two. First, a reunion lunch for those who attended St Nicholas’ CofE Primary School and then, by sheer coincidence, our annual dinner at the Royal Hotel for those in my form at Waterloo Grammar School, 1960–1967. But that’s just the beginning. Next month there’s a reunion for those of us who studied Economics at my Cambridge college, Catz, from 1967 to 1970. All five of us, meeting in some distinguished location in London.

It’s remarkable how God can work through those times in our lives when we feel stuck, hemmed in by life. So here we are in central London to attend the launch of our daughter’s book. Actually, books—there are no fewer than five in Sharon’s Sowing Seeds series, published by SPCK. As her American publisher puts it: “Sowing Seeds aims to encourage participation, discipleship and leadership from children’s earliest years, using storytelling, singing, color, repetition, art and lo

My first truly terrifying encounter with AI took place yesterday. It came in the form of an innocent email. For confidentiality, I have replaced names with initials. Hi J and L, Following J’s suggestion, I’d be pleased to meet G and L at St J before W’s baptism on 22 November, during one of my services. Could you let me know a date and time that would be mutually convenient? Best wishes, Ross That sounds innocuous enough, but I didn’t write it – nor did I send it. ChatG

If you can, start with a Ladybird. Currently I’ve been ploughing through Tom Holland’s excellent book, Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic. Excellent, except that I didn’t quite follow the plot, for the simple reason that my prior knowledge of the Roman Republic — even that it existed as a republic — was zilch. At no time in my education had I ever learned about this period of world history, essentially the century or so before Jesus was born. In fact, all

. I served as a vicar for a total of 34 years – but my most challenging time was the very first four months! This was when I learned to pray: “Lord, this is your church, your responsibility. What do you want me to do – if anything?” With the 50th anniversary of my ordination looming later this month, this gives me the excuse to indulge in a little autobiography. The bonus is that I don’t have to wrack my brain for a subject for this blog. It was February 1984, and I was prepa

A significant event in John’s life – but no one noticed. Each day for almost 20 years he had commuted by train from Bedford, where he lived, into central London. But this particular day was different. It was his last day before retirement. He told me some years later that, as he stepped off the train at Bedford station that evening, he realised this was a major milestone in his life: his final journey home after a lifetime of various commutes. For him, it was a moment of real

Yet another eccentricity from the Church of England. Yesterday I was privileged to conduct the wedding of Mark and Becky at St Mary’s Church, Whitewell, a lovely whitewashed church outside Whitchurch in the Diocese of Chester. What makes St Mary’s unusual – if not unique – is that this Church of England church is actually situated in Wales, in the county borough of Wrecsam no less. Clearly, there must be some history here. Rather like the northern boundary of Christ Church, A

This week I have been doing battle with bureaucracy, on three fronts no less. If I simply say, Ryanair customer service, your heart immediately goes out to me. That was the first front. Jacqui and I were due to have a few days away in Riga but, sadly, the daughter travelling out with us suddenly contracted shingles — an eventuality covered by our travel insurance. Some interesting info for you. You cannot cancel your flights on Ryanair, which seems strange. Instead, if you

“Your grades don’t define your ability; and what people say about you doesn’t define who you are.” So concludes Nicky Gumbel, of Alpha fame. This is especially apt for my family. Wonderfully, after two months of anxious waiting, all four of our granddaughters sitting A-levels this year made the university of their choice. So congratulations to (in chronological order) Rose, Kate, Ana and Joy! I well recall my own anxious wait, some 59 years ago. At the time it seemed as thoug

We live in dangerous times. Over the last few days—and even again this morning—I’ve been receiving warning emails from a whole variety of Christian agencies. It seems that their third-party database provider, Beacon, has suffered a data breach. As one email warned: “This breach does put you at greater risk of being targeted for fraud and phishing attempts.” So who is Beacon, and why is it so important? Well, it seems that Beacon is a London-based software company which suppli

“Football’s staying home,” proclaims this morning’s Sun. Like most newspapers, it leads on UEFA’s challenge to FIFA’s proposal to allow private investors to buy a stake in a company responsible for running and marketing competitions including the World Cup. As I write, the Asian Football Confederation has joined the opposition. So, by the time you read this, Gianni Infantino’s proposal may already have been kicked into touch—rather like the ill-fated European Super League fiv

Where is that niche only you can fill? I came across a fascinating article in this morning’s business section of The Times about the success of Toby Carvery. This is not an establishment I would normally frequent—except that one of our daughters, for some unaccountable reason, is a regular patron, and from time to time she takes us in tow. The attraction is that you can pile your plate as high as you like with sprouts, carrots, mash and roast potatoes—everything, in fact, exc

Quite often I glance at my Garmin watch simply to check the time, only for it to insist on telling me something else. And so it was on Wednesday evening as I watched the England v Argentina semi-final. How long could we hold out? What was the time? But Garmin had other ideas:“Try to relax!” Then came: “8.30 pm — 1 hr 48 mins.” My digital adviser was informing me that, since 8.30 pm, I had been showing elevated stress for about one hour and 48 minutes. Then: “–13.” This was th

“Tired of the heat?” Well, yes. “Then buy our amazing cooling device, designed by NASA engineers. It can cool a room in 90 seconds!” Over the last few weeks, this advert has kept appearing, invariably on YouTube. And, of course, it is a fake. The reference to “NASA engineers” is something of a giveaway. And if this device really is so effective, why isn’t it on sale in our supermarkets and electrical stores? The problem for the unwary is that the Advertising Standards Authori

So what will we be apologising for in 50 years' time, even 100 years? I’m hugely proud of my grandmother, Edith Vaughan, who died of hyperthyroidism 20 years before I was born; she was just 39 years old. During the Great War she worked as a munitions worker and, although a staunch Wesleyan Methodist, she became pregnant at just 19 years of age. We have little information as to the father – except that he was probably a married man. For the birth she was sent 40 miles away to

“When the Chapter heard that he had been made a bishop, everyone groaned.” I’m not saying which Chapter—that is, the group of Anglican clergy serving a particular area of parishes—except that it was nowhere near here and not one I have ever attended. Nor am I saying which bishop. I occasionally chatted with him at various conferences, but he belonged to another diocese and was someone with whom I have never worked. So there is no way you can work out whom I am talking about.

Keir Starmer's biggest problem is not the 24,927 votes cast for his rival Andy Burnham in yesterday's by-election at Makerfield, but the number 174—Labour's majority in the House of Commons, the second largest of the past fifty years. Large majorities create their own dangers, and not just in politics. As the former Conservative politician Michael Heseltine warned many years ago, overwhelming parliamentary majorities can breed arrogance, poor decision-making and a growing sen

What quality does Jesus most desire in his servants? Well, Bill had it in abundance. This Monday, my good friend and co-worker Bill Evans—in the words of the apostle Paul—fell asleep in the Lord. We will miss him deeply: his humour and loyalty, his kindness and friendship. Over the last few years he showed remarkable resilience in facing significant health challenges. Bill was extraordinarily fit. An avid cyclist, he played football well into his late seventies and even ran a

What does it mean to pray for someone? Clearly this was a key priority for the apostle Paul, who seems to be praying for lots of people all the time. For example, he writes to Timothy: “I am grateful to God ... when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.” (2 Timothy 1:3) But he also expected others to pray for him. So he asks the Christians in Thessalonica: “Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be

I thought it was about time I did some serious culture, so on the recommendation of a glowing review in the New York Times, I bought Daniel Kraus’s novel Angel Down, winner of this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The subject matter appealed to me: a novel set on the bloody battlefields of the First World War. I thought it would tie in rather neatly with the current series of The Rest Is History podcast. However, as soon as I started reading, I realised that this was no ord