Uncategorized – Green Olive Tree

Rain

Splattering and spluttering, Shoes stammering and stuttering, A delicate drip on the window pane, A deluge for the runner on the muddy lane. Dirt sucks like a monster, Wakened from its slumber, Pulling at each pink stride Plastering its print on purple hide. Both warm and cold, Feeling young and old, Both watered and thirsty,Continue reading “Rain”

A Cyclist’s View In Greater London

Richmond Park on a wintry morning. For Debbie’s Six Word Saturday

What brings me joy in life?

When I was very young one of the few American sitcoms that made it into sanctioned South Africa was Cheers. I would watch it with my dad. Almost all of the dialogue went over my head, but like most people I knew the opening lines of the song by heart, and I still do. SometimesContinue reading “What brings me joy in life?”

These young people…

Yesterday I helped invigilate an exam for around 80 people. They are young up-and-coming accountants, mostly from South Africa with some from Namibia and Zimbabwe. The exam is 8 hours long. It is very hard. It was held in central London. It was icy cold outside and there is a train strike. These are kidsContinue reading “These young people…”

I Met The King

Well he wasn’t the king at the time. He was HRH the Prince of Wales. I am not extremely well-connected. I’m not in any way an übermensch, but I was invited to meet him because I was part of a team that had done work that had impressed him – forecasting the UK’s greenhouse gasContinue reading “I Met The King”

Flip-flops and blisters

A few days ago we got back from our summer holiday. The blisters from my flip-flops are still healing. My young son’s hair still smells of sand. The mild tan that I got despite religiously applying sunscreen, is still there. I didn’t always love the beach. Growing up every vacation was spent in a caravanContinue reading “Flip-flops and blisters”

A Letter To My Daughters

This is a letter I wrote for my lovely young daughters who have been home educated. I got to keep you a little closer for a little longer. I got to look into a mind like no other. I learnt things no-one could teach me, just by teaching you. You learnt things no-one taught you,Continue reading “A Letter To My Daughters”

Can you hear it?

I woke up dismal and dark and empty for a few days last week. And then I heard it. Can you hear the hush? It’s the quiet anticipation of an aching planet. It’s a steady, tender conviction. Can you hear it? It’s there despite its bleak fragility. It hums the assurance that while shadows andContinue reading “Can you hear it?”

Mercy on the Radio

God is on the radio. Classic FM is one of the stations that are pre-programmed into cars and radios in this country. It regularly plays what I think is one of the most beautiful pieces ever written. It is a choral setting called Miserere Mei, Deus, originally composed in the 17th century by Gregorio Allegri.Continue reading “Mercy on the Radio”

The Hidden Visitation

A week ago the church celebrated the feast of Pentecost: when we remember that first spectacular, fiery pouring out of the Holy Spirit. About 6 days before, however, there was another feast that felt somewhat neglected: the feast of the Visitation, where the church remembers Mary, pregnant with Jesus, visiting Elizabeth, who was pregnant withContinue reading “The Hidden Visitation”