Mustard Seed Shavings

Some years ago I went on a Proclamation Trust preaching conference. My theology has moved on since then but I carry with me a couple of tips...

I had a hair cut in Stratford yesterday (thanks Indi, fine work as usual). This alerted TCMT that I would be in the vicinity of Lakeland, a ...

I have sorted out the sidebar mess that included links to all sorts of places I could no longer be found. I have now summarised the four mai...

I should have known that. People who are genuinely honest with themselves will say this more often than they put up a fight to defend their ...

What started me thinking was this. An anonymous blogger and Twitter/X poster known as The Church Mouse (@thechurchmouse ) posted a thread ab...

Faith After Doubt Brian McLaren A longer book review on the way. This book has been really important for me. It may be equally helpful for o...

We have a Google home-hub. You activate it by saying 'Hey Google'. Walking into the kitchen first thing, if you say 'Hey Google,...

Writing in the i last Monday Isabel Hardman reflected 'This time next week, Keir Starmer ... agenda under way and the first cabinet meet...

It is nice to see how many people come round to the idea of a better voting system once the old one delivers a massive result they do not li...

Remember, even if you are currently popping the champagne, that the new government will disappoint you. No government ever does all the thin...

Crazy left field idea warning. People are easily influenced in a crowd. If you ask a question of 20 people such as ‘What is 9 x 7’ and rig t...

Statistics about economic growth and GDP are banded around a lot. Most of us find it hard to instantly identify truth and lies. I was helped...

I wonder who is writing the Tory’s attack ads. Just in the last couple of days I’ve noticed two which, it seems to me, have completely bombe...

There is occasionally a time, not as often as all that, when I vote based on the record of the government rather than the manifesto promises...

I’ve been a couple of years in my current home. I’m living in a village for the first time in my life. Here in East Worcestershire, part of ...

Yesterday I commented on the question the man, we now know as Robert Blackstock, asked the UK Prime Ministerial candidates ‘Are you two the ...

I don’t know if you watched last night’s leader debate or if you got details from extracts, clips or the main news programmes. You will have...

People have made their mind up. The wisdom of crowds is a strange thing. If the crowd get to talk to each other, influence each other, they ...

In 1981, with England in an almost impossible position in a Test Match, some astute Aussie cricketers noticed that the odds against England ...

Many people think politics to be really easy. More wish it was. In a recent debate candidates were asked a series of yes/no questions. But s...

Two things I have spoken about at length over the years and mentioned in these daily articles: Statistics are more important than individual...

People who read my stuff regularly will know I love numbers. I am not a mathematician but I am a bit of a statto. Generally people are not t...

I have returned from holiday to many pieces of election material. I used to live in Nigel Huddleston MP’s Wychavon constituency, which is pr...

Yesterday was a crazy day for the pollsters. Some outliers had the Tories down to 53 seats and Lib Dems only three off becoming the official...

A book that would be hilarious if it wasn’t so important is Andy Borowitz’s ‘Profiles in Ignorance - How America’s Politicians Got Dumb and ...

Thanks to Rishi and Mrs S for today’s image - trying to understand sheep. Insert your own punchline. Do the Tories want any votes? Someone o...

In a liberal democracy the purpose of taxation is to pool the resources of the many to pay for essential things which no one person could, o...

Step back with me. No, further. Stand with me on the moon and look over. It is one planet we see. Boats and planes criss-crossing. People ar...

The longest 45 minutes of my life was in 2015, interviewing a UKIP candidate to be MP for North Somerset, in front of an audience. Her very ...

There are several botanical gardens in Funchal. The best one is Monte Palace Tropical Garden and is most fun if accessed by the cable car. T...

It felt a bit out of place but Radiohead’s ‘No Surprises’ was playing in the hotel restaurant at lunchtime. Perhaps it was in homage to the ...