Word in the Hand

Not all sacred spaces are contained; not all are typically holy. Not all are holy to those that visit - one of the reasons I love Lindisfarne is the mix of people who visit the same space for many reasons.  Crosby beach is not so far - 40 minutes as opposed to 4 hours drive away; on the opposite bank of the Mersey river. This side of the river mirrors the commercial sea trade that has sustained Liverpool for hundreds of years. The docks stretch north to the Bar where the river meets the sea in a turbulent exchange of fresh and salty waters; blue and orange cranes stand on tip-toes, spiderly graceful above the squat corridors of metal containers waiting for their boat to come in. Out to sea the air currents are harvested by 200ft tall wind turbines; their size only realised by the passing of a Mersey ferry.  In the shadow of all this marine industrialisation a few acres of tidal land has been declared of Special Scientific Interest and is a nature reserve attr...

I don't often stray from my Gospel but I thought I would make an exception for a recent addition to the family. Last week was my birthday, and my children decided that I did not have enough to look after at the moment (?!) and, after all,  that this was something I would really, really want - having gone through every pet imaginable from cats to rats to snakes, chickens and tarantulas I now have - a dragon. A baby bearded dragon but nevertheless - he has the right 'dragon' attitude already. Philomena over at Blue eyed Ennis  http://blueeyedennis-siempre.blogspot.com/2011/07/ignatian-cat.html noticed the contemplative nature of cats - well, Henry - my birthday is St Henry's day so it seems appropriate - despite being only a few months old can already show cats a thing or two. He is something of a desert brother, by nature; wishing, needing,  to live alone. He has a tai chi attitude to hunting his food (crickets) and a calm and measured demeanour to all these new e...