PJBelfast

Walt Disney said " All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." Like the biblical character Joseph, I know someone who is a dream-maker. She is the same vintage as myself, older by only a month.1956 was a great year. She has formed a united and diverse community of over 160 singers. She is none other than the inimitable and charismatic Marie Lacey, pioneer and director of BCGC - Belfast Community Gospel Choir, and yes it does what it says in the name. We sing Gospel! I know Marie from back in the 70's when she sang in a group called the Branches, when I sang in the Lightbringers. I so remember their Hawaiian guitar player giving them a rather unique sound. We on the other hand also had a USP, a guy, now a pastor who was a counter-tenor. We would often cross paths singing at a variety of gigs across Northern Ireland. But this lady could not be contained to a  group. God had put in her heart a dream, a dream which she calls

Allegedly I snore! My darling wife is such a saint. Just before she lies down to sleep she pops in her ear plugs. Now it's not the most romantic of ways of saying goodnight, but it's something that has helped us through our 38 years of marriage. She does seem to have an aversion to gathering support though, by letting friends listen to my noisy yet automatic tilt switch disposition, exposing recordings of my loud buzz-saw sounding snores. My son's have actually heard me rattle the walls while trying to sleep in another room. I don't think it's that bad. So I spoke to the Doc who has referred me the Regional Respiratory Centre, Sleep diagnostic Unit of Belfast City hospital. My appointment is in half an hour. My wife is concerned that between snores I stop breathing. Well, all will be revealed, as tonight I will have an overnight oximetry test to be carried out at home. This will record my oxygen levels and heart rate while I am sleeping. The thing

645pm. "I'm sitting in a railway station got a ticket for my destination..." which happens to be, Cosmo, an all you can eat buffet in Victoria's Square, Belfast. It's chucking it down, as we know "the rain in Spain" falls mainly in Northern Ireland - hence the forty shades of green in our beautiful wee country. Thankfully I'm prepared tonight with a golf umbrella so I've stayed relatively dry. I haven't been to this recreational type of eating since being in the States. It's an all guys night - 15 mighty men of valour, fellow-tenors from *BCGC, are getting the new season off to a fine start at the Cosmo buffet. I'm on the train now. I'll keep you posted on how the night rolls. 701pm I've arrived at Belfast Central (now Lanyon place) and picked up some cash from the ATM - it's payday tomorrow so I'm feeling flush. Now for a 10 minute walk and I'll enter the pigout joint ...Oh Yeh! Interesti

Consumers are being urged to check if they are owed money, with just two weeks to go until the deadline for Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) compensation claims can be made. The cut-off date for making a PPI claim is 29 August 2019. After this date, consumers will not be able to receive compensation. Many people were mis-sold PPI in the past with credit cards, mortgages, personal loans and overdrafts, causing the financial institutions to hold back millions of pounds to cover the compensations. Although you can claim directly with many of the banks, people are giving the job to third party companies, who do the work and claim upwards of 20% of the payout for the effort. This is a bit like life. People have been mis-sold the pup of "being a good person" is enough. Did you know the 'enemy of our souls' wants us to think that just being good gives us a get out of jail card and gets us into heaven. I've got great news fo

My d ad’ s Mini Clubman was a car ‘ well stricken in years ’! Her former classy chassis was starting to rust; nonetheless I was ever so appreciative of being able to borrow it. This was my first set of wheels to tide me over between college days and work in real world. Dad had kindly added me to his insurance policy, allowing me to frequent the home of my then fiancée and now wife of thirty-eight years. Dad’s generosity had spared me the inconvenience of public transport or by using what he used to call “ shank ’s mare” – a colloquialism for saving me using my legs to walk, as my mode of transport. However, the orange coloured beat-up car was starting to show her age. One evening the accelerator cable snapped and she came to an abrupt stop. When the accelerator cable was opened, the car released the petrol to the engine, giving it the power necessary to move the car forward. What on earth were we to do? How could my fiancée and I get the old mini moving ? Stuck on th

Life is more meaningful when shared with true friends. For at least three decades we have had the joy and privilege of connecting with several mutual friends. Life is busy so it was great to plan a catch up tonight with these trusted companions. Like the characters on the yellow brick road, we have journeyed life together. Sharing together tonight made me realise that not one of us is immune from the challenges and obstacles that life throws into the mix of our everyday relationships. At some point, at some time, we have all been in need. Whether sharing the challenges of children and grandkids, or caring for aging parents, we all felt in a safe place to share both our joys and our woes. Even debilitating issues like sleep apnea were addressed (aledgedly I snore)! Sharing vulnerabilities amongst these trusted friends was better than many a therapy session. The words of Lord Baron ring true "Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine." In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy h

Losing weíght ain't easy, particularly when you are on medication and you just love your grub. It is hard work actually. So rather than redouble efforts at adjusting my dietary intake, at 62 years old, I have decided to do more exercise. My wife reckons I need to be signed off first by a GP! I also walked past my adult son jogging on the towpath this week en route to his work. Seeing his example is another catalyst for changing my old sedentary limited-walking habit. I put a few pounds on this week at Slimming World, so I have a newfound resolve, proposing to the group that I would lose 3lbs for next Wednesday. Mark my words, starting tonight after work, Thursday 8th August, I start my Body Magic 'walk & run' regime. I've been making Slimming World meals, but the problem is that I'm munching on too many treats between meals! So this is my intentional effort to stop yo-yoing. Stephen Nolan, our local chat show host, was doing so well until he we

There is a rich vein of symbolic imagery which has been given to us within the scriptures. "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter" Like mining for gold sometimes you have to dig deep. There is straightforward imagery such as that found in the famous Psalm 23. Here the Lord is likened to a shepherd and we become the sheep of his pasture, those that he feeds and cares for. For those of you interested in delving a little deeper, outlined in this blog I unpack one facet of biblical imagery that helps us understand the work of the Holy Spirit today (continuing our theme from 'Wild Geese'). There are at least seven key symbolic images in the New Testament that denote the work of the Spirit: 1) water 2) wind 3) oil 4) wine 5) fire 6) a dove 7) a seal A seal You may remember watching a TV series or a movie set "in days of old when knights were bold&

Drumcliffe Parish church, near Sligo, has two metal door handles, shaped as wild geese, Irish symbolism for the work and movement of the Holy Spirit. The wild goose is one of the most communal of creatures, drawing its life from the flock.  God’s Spirit is not a spirit of individualism, but of community.  In an age when the spirit of individualism is a supreme ideology both outside and inside the church, it is worth reminding ourselves that the testimony of the earliest Christians, and of Christians down the ages, is that the Spirit brings community.  This was a primary message of the Pentecost narrative (Acts 2).  The Spirit, when it is holy Spirit, brings people together in unity, to support and journey in life with others.  5 Lessons from Wild Geese Here are five lessons, by observing the behaviours of wild geese, which help us understand the essence of what makes a great community. The synergy of partnership 1) The first is that flying in the V formation