Povey Prattle

Years ago the only brand of crisps we knew in Bristol was sold by the name of "Smith's":.  They were plain and ordinary unsalted crisps. Each bag contained a little blue coloured twist-tie packet of salt - to be added at will. ("Smith's" is a brand name which survives in Australia) Later on we could buy "flavoured" crisps, made by "Walker's" or "Golden Wonder",. My dear Aunt Irene recalls  that I once went to our local corner store - long before the days of self service.- and , being very formal, I asked the shop assistant for a bag of "potato crisps". The shop assistant allegedly replied "sorry we don't have that flavour". True or false,  the demise of "Smith's Crisps" and the ascent of "Walkers" and "Golden Wonder"  led to the abomination  of variously flavored crisps. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Way ...

My good pal Jeff Davies (Bristol U.K.) has been rooting through his old photo’s and has come up with these “classics”. There is one of me (taken at his parents’ home?), complete with a jacket  and a pullover, pens in my outside jacket pocket (early nerd), and weird hair cut.  I suppose that I was about 15 years old. jmp (1959?) Then there is the “Bristol Gospel Quartette” (yes we used that spelling) – four young and earnest Plymouth Brethren boys who sang a-cappella gospel music in various Gospel Halls, Baptist Chapels, Independent congregations, Methodist Churches and C of E parishes for a period of four to five years beginning in late 1959 or early 1960, We'd been inspired by a “Youth For Christ” international convention in our home city .  Bristol Gospel Quartette L- R  Eric Pavey, Richard Woodey, jmp (with acne!), Jeff Davies   Circa 1960 (I am fairly sure that that the convention took place in 1959....

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HAPPINESS: is spending some time with a new friend.  She is 89 years old ex-marine named Betty.  Her late husband Joe (whom I never knew) was also a marine in WWII and in the Korean conflict. Betty is legally blind. She is a hot ticket.  I enjoy every moment in her presence. She was at my home last week (with other friends) for cocktails and nibbles. She regaled us with wonderful stories of her life with Joe and with their four children. The four often wondered (with gratitude and pleasure) how the heck their ex-Marine Mom and Dad turned out to be such political liberals! WETNESS: When Betty was at my home I asked her if she liked chocolate. Her eyes lit up and she affirmed that she truly enjoyed dark chocolate. I promised to get her some super dark German chocolate from Trader Joe’s. This I did today. That being done I ‘phoned at about 7:15 p.m. to ask if I might deliver it to her. She affirmed that the time was convenient, and then asked...

My friend Derrick Jackson - ace columnist for the Boston Globe, talented amateur photographer, and dedicated naturalist took these photo's from the B.U. Bridge between Cambridge and Boston last Monday, 17th June 2013

Preliminary notes: 1.     The word “Allah” simply means God. Christians in predominately Muslim lands naturally and easily refer to God as Allah, as did Jews who, for instance, grew up in lands such as Syria. 2.    There are many expressions of Islam. Some of them are mutually incompatible e.g. the deep seated arguments and fights between Shia and Sunni Islam. 3.    There are many expressions of Christianity. Some of them are mutually incompatible, e.g. the deep seated differences between Evangelical and Roman Catholic Christians. Evangelicals have been known to say that Catholics are not Christians, and Catholic dogma says that Evangelicals are not part of the “true Church”. However I have come to the conclusion that despite their theological and historical differences, there is little to choose in practise between Fundamentalist Islam and Fundamentalist Christianity. 1.    Both insist that their sacred books (the Quran ...