God loves an Atheist

Hello again,
                 I can't deny that life as a Christian is pretty full on, study, worship and prayer take up quite a large part of my daily and weekly life, I can't begin to explain the hours and hours I spend contemplating my faith and future life as a Priest in the Church of England. One of the many of the things I have learnt over the last few years is how people respond to my vocation. I would describe it as a calling from God, as would many faithful Christians however I am sure some people may accuse me of  just wanting to add another extreme to my adventurous trawl through life. Many people think it quite incredible that I get through the first 37 years of my life, displaying no real hunger or desire for faith, and then suddenly find the love of Jesus and become nothing short of a religious nut case to the point of following the path to wearing a long black dress and rather large crucifix. Others, namely atheists have very eloquently described it as 'A load of bollocks' and enjoyed greatly taking the mickey out of me and ridiculing my belief offering up nothing short of insults and generally being offensive.

This is not always the case, occasionally someone wants to actually get into a debate, about the existence of God, and do so in a respectful and thoughtful way. I try and engage likewise.

But this is not really a blog about criticizing atheists or debating the matter, more a blog of following the teaching of Jesus, when he said, 'Love thy neighbour as thyself, there is no other commandment greater than this'. However  it is rather difficult to love someone that is so strongly against the thing that you believe in the most.

I also very much see why Atheists are Atheists.  Matters such as, was the world  made in seven days? Noah and his Arc and all them animals, The Virgin Birth and people living to long and rather unbelievable ages, and so on. I understand all that, but through learning and understanding I realize these matters are not as simple as Atheists would like to make them. Okay some honest questions, Do I believe the world was made in seven days?  Answer No !
Does that make me an Atheist?
 Answer No !
Do I believe Jesus was the Son of God?
Answer, Yes!
Does that make me a Christian?
Answer No!

I quite like the irony of the above advertisement, but more importantly, I find the Atheist argument that it's all scientific, one of the most profound reinforcements of my Faith. So we have existed for thousands and thousands of years, And our world has developed scientifically beyond all imagination, and still the the proof of how we came to be does not exist just as Atheists would argue the proof of God also has not been proved and therefore doesn't exist.

But I build my faith on experience, understanding, reading, and watching the world.
I understand that The Bible warns of persecution, I read the the deep, dry, denseness of the Bible and I am confused, I read the stories of miracles and I believe, Do Atheists not believe in miracles?
 I understand the teaching of Jesus, and I believe it, the value of love, the importance of morality, to try and do good things, although I fail frequently, but also to understand that when I do fail, It's okay.
By observing failed relationships, infidelity, children not experiencing the love of a parent, drug abuse, racism, debt, greed, materialism, cruelness of tongue, jealousy, anger to name just a few reminds of the alternate pathway to following Christianity.

I,m not saying Atheists are all these above, and I am not saying all Christians aren't all the above, but the following Jesus as the way and the truth, helps me more than I can ever express in one of my blogs.
The most powerful conversion of  St Paul is also an event that sustains me and keeps hopeful. Paul refuted Christ he simply did not believe, and then on the road to Damascus he converted he became a follower of Jesus and went on to be the most significant of all the early Christians. And his conversion convinces me that any single person who wants to find the love of Jesus Christ can. He will forgive you for all your sins, no matter how minor or significant that may be.

I do believe God loves Atheists, I am trying to love Atheists and if Jesus is for losers, than I am a loser !

May God kindle in us the fire of love.

                                                                  Alextheanglican.

The Fat Robin....

Hello to one and all,

                               I don't really remember as a child having quite the same zest for nature as I have acquired over the last ten years or so, My first recollection of the garden really only came when I buried my cheap leather football that was probably hand woven by a dreadfully underpaid worker in somewhere like Indonesia or Thailand, through the bottom right hand corner window pane of my parents treasured  and blossoming green house, which I recall made me slump to my knees in utter despair only to quickly  rise again and to run has far away from the crime scene as physically possible. 
I recall making with an old friend potions in his garage that we planned to force feed to his sisters and teachers who offended us for the most pathetic reasons imaginable, we gathered, leaves, slugs, dog poo, yes dog poo from his garden, and somehow poked into one of those 'pop' bottles that had a returnable value to the shopkeeper down the road! We would add to the ingredients pretty much anything we could find in his Dad's garage, so white spirit, out of date paint, nails, screws,petrol, wood stain and pretty much anything else we could find that would bring a long slow and painful death to his beloved sisters. Part of of plan was to let it mature like a single malt whiskey and so somehow that was always our get out clause for never carrying through our infantile plan for homicide!


My next recollection of nature was at the age of about ten. A trip to Whalley scout camp, with a large number of boys I didn't like and my first trip away from 'Mummy' and 'Daddy'. It was not a trip that holds too many happy memories. I knew a hike was planned the following morning and I was anxious about the large gaping hole in my Wellington boots that my parents had deviously chosen to do nothing about. That evening was one of sharing a tent with 5 or 6 flatulent boys, taking nonsense and occasionally flashing their genitals to our 'rival' campers in some sort of tribal war dance. It was only a matter of time before we were reprimanded for our bad behavior and I was humiliated the following evening by leading the camp in a rendition of Ging Gang Gooley Gooler Watcher! But before  the singing the hike was upon us and everybody was excited about wading through rivers, going up dale and down yonder, except for me of course. I broke down in tears as the prospect of a flooded wellie and a wet sock,  it was too much for my to contemplate and so was sent with an overweight boy, to go and do some modelling with marzipan, with a lady who we had to address as Auntie! I recall making dozens of fruit models and gorging with the 'fat kid' on marzipan until I 'oiked' all over Auntie who was surprisingly supportive.

I don't recall science or nature at all at primary school,  the best I can muster is playing marbles in the drains, playing roly poly on the hill and being convinced dandelions made me incontinent!

I recall a school trip to Malham, It rained and I didn't like it. My parents idea of exploring nature was to go for 'a run' in the car. They would find the most awful twisting country lanes, whilst my parents puffed on tobacco, with the windows up that made me feel sicker than a boy stuffing his face on marzipan, I would be absolutely at the point of spewing all over the vinyl seats in my Father's metallic blue, Austin Marina, when we we found a gap in the road where we would sit on unstable deckchairs whilst my mother deposited horse manure in the boot of the car that would 'Be wonderful for her roses'. We would stay much longer than necessary whilst my Dad had a kip, before we would eventually set off home finding the longest route possible. The only treat of the day would be to find a village store, that sold square ice creams!

Not wanting to trawl through every outdoor experience I shall move on, and slowly but surely as I go older I started to enjoy being outside more and more. It probably started with a trip to Mull on the West coast of Scotland, watching wild seals, deer, red squirrels really caught the imagination and on returning home, decided I needed to get out more and so I decided to get a dog. I named him Fletcher after Andy Fletcher from Depeche Mode!

More trips to Scotland followed and I promise you I have seen some of the most  stunning places  Britain has to offer, trust me we live on  a beautiful island!  In 2013 I took part in the three peaks challenge to raise funds for Teenage Cancer Trust, Along with some colleagues in just about 24 hours. we climbed Ben Nevis, Scarfell Pike and Mount Snowdon  It made me aware of what one could achieve with some hard work and dedication. It also made me think about the vastness of the space that we live in, how small are we in scheme of things?

Often people talk of mountains, and wide open space as being spiritual, and it is although I didn't experience it up some Britain's finest peaks. But I do love being out with my dog, Sometimes i feel like the pied piper as the crows follow me with my big bag of scraps as all food waste go straight to the hungry birds. I take great satisfaction that after me and the dog are on the return leg of our stroll, the scraps have all gone, and the Robin seems slightly fatter than the last time I saw it.
These day I go to Malham, it rains and I love it!
And among all that, I pray, I feel comfortable praying outside, alone, with the dog, the birds, with the occasional glimpse of the deer or a fox and most importantly with God. 

Doing what i,m doing, you will not be surprised that prayer has become an important part of daily life, Morning and Evening prayer is conducted in a very structured way and is lovely to know that you are praying alongside fellow Christians worshiping Jesus and giving thanks.
But individual private prayer among God's creation, alongside, the seasons, the lambs, the calves, the flowers, the rain, the wind, and the scenery is very cathartic and spiritual. Being disturbed by the occasional runner, isn't unbearable. I talk out loud, I think of the day ahead, or the day behind, I get things off my chest and pray for family and friends, colleagues and those I don't know. It is simply a space where I find time to be alone (pretty much) in thought and prayer with our savior Jesus Christ.

May I encourage you all to find time to be with God.
Be blessed, all of you.
Alextheanglican!  

alextheanglican: S.H.O.P.P.I.N.G that's Shopping

alextheanglican: S.H.O.P.P.I.N.G that's Shopping: Hello and Happy New Year. After spending a considerable length of time observing members of the human race spending their children's inhe...

S.H.O.P.P.I.N.G that's Shopping

Hello and Happy New Year.

After spending a considerable length of time observing members of the human race spending their children's inheritance on gifts and expensive luxuries  I can't really say I have noticed  an upturn in smiley faces and scenes of loving joy, but I have this year picked up on the apparent 100 mph society we now appear to live in. Take my own retail excursion through the month of December,

The Thursday before Christmas at about 7.40 am I found myself transfixed by the shelf fillers in my local Supermarket. I now accept that if one chooses to beat the rush and shop early in the morning you have to allow for the almost unbearable traffic of delivery cages, pallet trucks, gossiping staff and the in-store cleaner, guiding his Nu Nu around each isle ensuring your shopping experience is as uncomfortable as physically and mentally possible. However after all that I still  managed to find myself trapped in the grocery department between a elderly man paying great attention to the loose carrots and some burly warehouse lads unloading what appeared a life long supply of brussell sprouts. I found myself transfixed as they discussed the "vegetable industry" and built a 6ft x 6ft stack of green balls! "They will all be f***** gone by dinner", the confident greengrocer  conveyed to his less experienced colleague in a slightly less than professional manner.
Interesting, I thought to myself, all those sprouts gone by dinner!

I had been recommended by the power of advertising the local Aldi store, and so I ventured there earlier in the month to see what all the fuss was about. Well I certainly couldn't complain at the prices but once again, the early morning battle against metal and cardboard was particularly distressing and I found myself on more than one occasion considering abandoning my trolley and heading down the road to the upmarket retailer Lidl. If it wasn't for my desire not to lose my "trolley pound coin" I can assure you I would have beat a hasty retreat much sooner.
After finally completing my shopping and filling my trolley full of non branded food that looked very much like branded food, I headed for the till point and after I had let a a man in a rush through before me with a packet of bacon and an air freshener it was joyously my turn. In all my days I have never seen such precision engineering, I had barely put my fragile eggs and soft fresh loaf on the back of the conveyor and the friendly lady was up and running. In Sainsbury's I am usually allowed the time to gently pack my bags, with freezer stuff in one bag, tins in another etc  but my word, I couldn't believe the speed by which she shovelled my shopping into my basket, It looked like it had been picked up by a JCB digger and dropped from a great height, I was stunned into silence, I didn't know if I should applaud her speed of service or be appalled that my yoghurt pots had been so badly distorted there had gone from tubs to tubes!

And so I ventured into my home town of Burnley seeking inspiration for gifts for my dear wife, and after completing my fourth circuit of the precinct I realised that most of the shops had gone, I found myself walking around the 99p shop looking for absolutely nothing, I walked into WHSmith and walked to the newspaper stand, turned round and promptly walked back out only to  be marginally impressed that a stationers had now extended it's range to overpriced pix and mix! I wandered into to bargain card shop and bought my wife an expensive looking card for a price that should put the very expensive card shops to shame. I was most impressed that not only did I get a expensive looking card but I also got a very durable paper bag to put it in!
After losing the will, on my annual shopping trip to Burnley I took refuge in Boots and their extensive  3 for 2 range, where it took me probably a good forty to fifty minutes to find the best value for money package deal, I think I picked up scented coat hangers on more than one occasion only for wisdom to intervene! I spoke to a heavily perfumed woman in a Doctors outfit, who served me with my request for my wife's favourite smelly liquid. She spoke to me like I understood the value of spending over the odds on some odory water!

 And so to bring the curtain down on a busy month, we fought the biggest battle and went to The Trafford Centre to join the swarm of human beings spending bucket loads of cash on all the stuff the shops couldn't sell before Christmas, and after joining a queue that was only marginally shorter than the opening of a new ride at Alton Towers It didn't take long for the Trafford Centre adrenalin rush to grind to a staggering, painful, agonising  halt.
With a family all wanting to visit different shops it didn't take long for the novelty to wear off and when the kids was nagging for dinner at twenty past ten in the morning I concluded it was going to be a somewhat testing time of my life.
However a Nando's lunch did lift the spirits and after my dear wife and I gorged on a chicken combo, and unlimited spurts of fizzy ice I felt more like a lie down than taking on the next leg of the bustling thronging experience of Manchester's premium indoor shopping centre.

And amongst all this buzz and madness, all this giving and receiving, where did Jesus fit into all this?
Well he did, just about! I love my job, but retail and the Christian Christmas festivals are not a match made in heaven!
But among all the hustle and bustle, the carol concert, the school production, the Arden youth choir, the Christingle service, excited children, church on Christmas morning and a lovely day with my family I just about got it. As we settle into the new year and our resolutions fizzle out, and our credit cards creek, our thoughts turn to spring and summer holidays, I really see the importance of space and time for and each other.
As Jesus taught us, we must love one another and so we must be prepared to slow down the pace of life and  get things into perspective. If your worn out on the 1st of January 2013 where will you be on 31st December 2013? Please do all you can to find time for yourself and to enjoy the love of your friends and family.
In Christ with you all.
Alextheanglican

Christmas

 So here we are, nearly at Christmas day, As one of my favorite crooners Andy Williams once sung on his Christmas Album,  The most wonderful time of the Year and it is indeed a special time especially for those of us with young children who can’t wait for the opening present ceremony to commence.
And whilst it is a truly magical time, when we get together with those we love dearly and those who we care slightly less about but seeing as it is the season of goodwill we are prepared to extend our arm of hospitality, as long as they have left by the time of the Coronation Street christmas day special.

When you were a child can you remember the ‘Big Present’ you know the one that made all the other ones ever so slightly insignificant. it may have been a bike or Dolls House, a Computer or a snooker table. I remember one particular Christmas I would have been about 11, all I wanted more than anything else was a Tottenham Hotspur away kit, a powdery blue, le coq sportif number. I wasn’t that hopeful as in those days Spurs kits weren’t doing a roaring trade in Burnley where I was growing up.  And so Christmas morning arrived, I got the usual pyjamas, selection box, and knitted jumper off Granny, until there was just one present left. My Mum said ‘this is your special present’ And sure enough I opened it up and there it was my Tottenham Hotspur away kit. I lept with joy, I hugged my parents so hard, I was so happy and I do not lie when I tell you I wore it all Christmas both day and night.

And so here we are nearly at Christmas Day, all the work and time, all the money and care, all the effort and thoughtfulness all the sweat and toil gone into making Christmas just perfect, isn’t it wonderful? So imagine the most perfect present that you ever received. Was it a toy, clothes, gold, frankincense or even a onesey? And now do you have that perfect gift pictured in your mind? Well now think about God, and think of God’s greatest gift to mankind. Think of Jesus, born on Christmas day, think of Jesus as that extra, extra special gift that is waiting for us under the tree. Be reminded that among the tinsel, and the trimmings, the sprouts and crackers, we are here to celebrate the arrival of God on earth in all humanity. From the Bible Luke 2 tells how it happened, Mary gave us the gift of God, in a stable in Bethlehem, he came to earth to redeem us. To forgive us our sins, to show us the way. As a prophet from the Old Testament predicted he came down to earth from heaven. And that brothers and sisters is, I promise you the greatest gift we can ever receive and we must respond with great thanks and praise, and rejoice that he chose us to follow him.

As we consider what lies ahead at Christmas like, did I wrap Uncle Harrys slippers? Will the Turkey be defrosted? Will my husband get me that item of high expense i've been dropping  into conversation for the last 3 months, Why did God not make Christmas day 36 hours long so we can fit it all in?  Well he didn’t and I am sorry if that disappoints you, but now, just for a few moments I ask you to empty your mind of those kind of thoughts and I ask you to open your mind to the love of Jesus Christ. Find a window in your busy schedule and in the peace and stillness of that moment turn your thoughts to the Lord of all Lords entering our world and accept this is his Christmas. This is the true Christmas, no television, no card games, no indigestion, no sherry. This is the Christmas where we rejoice and give thanks that because God so loved the world he sent his only son into his world so that we might live.
And so we are here not for tradition, not for conscience, not for our parents, but for the love of God. We are here to rejoice, to praise the Lord, and give thanks for the greatest Christmas gift of all.
Our savior Jesus Christ.

I truly hope Christmas is magical for you, and for those who are feeling pain, or carrying burden or frightened what the future holds, be reminded there is a friend who is waiting to walk alongside you anytime you need him, he wont let you down.

And so I wish you all a lovely Christmas, and I conclude with a prayer.

Father in heaven,

I pray for my friends,

for fun, and joy and hapiness

but also for friends

with their fears and worries 

stresses and strains

For our loved ones,

For those we dislike

For our futures,

And our past

For forgiveness,

For tolerance

For peace.

And for love

In the name of our savior

Jesus Christ

Amen 

 

Supermarket Wind Swept !

Hi,
   In my 43 years on this beautiful planet, I have only had the pleasure of being asked for my autograph on one occasion. I was in Bulgaria with my dear wife, and I was waxing lyrical to a Scandinavian women about my budding refereeing career. In broken English she misinterpreted what I was saying and duly asked for my signature on a napkin, so in some respects I had tasted celebrity status before and I obliged so I knew what lied ahead.

                                                               
                                                                      Bulgaria


I have have appeared on television three times, well four if you include Football league Highlights from 1986 I spotted my Parker jacket behind the goal against Port Vale in the days when Burnley were in the lower echelons of English Football. Anyway My first 'major' TV appearance was in the Question Time audience when it visited Burnley some years ago, I don't remember much except putting my arm up a lot trying to get David Dimblebys' attention. When it was my turn I burbled some nonsense about 'keeping the pound' (see my earlier blog about my political career) and took some satisfaction that my comment raised a ripple of applause from the people of Burnley.

My next time for the telly would be with my old work mate and fellow Christian, Janine as we headed for auditions at Granada studios to apply for the high brow television show Supermarket Sweep !

Janine Bradley

So off we went and were welcomed into a Hotel foyer with a large group of high intellectuals like ourselves to be road tested for this cutting edge piece of television. I had no idea what Supermarket Sweep was and Janine's brief description left me little the wiser. Well off we went and I vaguely remember sitting at the back as a number of television people asked us to do silly things and generally be a bit stupid. Surprisingly Janine and myself found this quite easy and acted like two misbehaving teenagers, being daft and taking nothing too seriously.

A few weeks later the call came through at work that me and Janine had been selected to star on the apparently legendary TV show Supermarket Sweep! Janine bounced up and down and I, well bounced up and down with her. We were only going on the telly!

A Television

Being 'hired' for television was not without the trimmings of luxury and we were allowed to drive the 250 miles the night before recording and we were treated to 2 single rooms in a upmarket hotel emporium known as Premier Inn. We left  for Kent at around mid day and I recall it being the trickiest journey of my entire life, Janine didn't shut up once! No seriously it was awful, the worse wind conditions had hit the UK and the M6 in the North West was shut as  was the M1, so we constantly had to find an alternative route!  On our way we passed a famous fast food establishment where the M had been blown off one of its hinges turned upside down and had humorously turned in Wcdonolds! After much singing and laughing to get through the trip, we arrived at Premier Inn, Maidstone, sometime after midnight a mere 12 hours after leaving Lancashire.

 

Premier Inn Maidstone

In the morning we pushed the celebrity lifestyle to the max and had a Little Chef Olympic breakfast. We had two or three hours to kill so we walked around a garden center, and had beverage from a vending machine!

 

  

                              Little Chef                                                   Olympic Breakfast

 Eventually it was time to go and make television. We were so excited, and were taken through to the Green room where we met other contestants, ate curled up sandwiches and watched re runs of previous Shows. As dull as it sounds me and Janine were loving every minute of it.
Next up was a visit  to the set, and excitingly enroute we passed the sets of Art Attack and Trisha, the girl who sold her soul to channel 5 and was never to be seen again!

                                                                      Art Attack            


 So there we were me and Janine, stood in a TV Studio that had been converted into a Supermarket. It was very, very surreal. Then all of a sudden the star of the show Dale Winton appeared. We were kept at a secure distance, whilst he dribbled some nonsense about having fun and being camp as possible.

Dale Winton

Back to The Green Room and it was time for makeup, That was nice I'd never had a professional put lady products on my face before, and to be honest there is not a lot you can do with a face that looks this good.
So it was time to record, and boy did me and Janine camp it up, we skipped around the set, giggled in all the right places and generally got into the spirit of being quiz show contestants.
We didn't win I  smashed a jar of pickles and didn't find the bonus banana or whatever it was I was supposed to be doing! We were sent on our way with a souvenir Supermarket sweep sweatshirt, and got in the car to enjoy the rush hour traffic and the long trip back to Lancashire! Janine and myself had the time of our lives and I know it holds happy memories for both us.

My final appearance to date, (Songs of Praise haven't approached me. Yet !) was on the BBC, this time is was with the Queen of the Battle axes, Anne Robinson on the legendary, The Weakest Link. Not wanting to delay those of you reading this blog, I shall try and cut the tale short. So I did all the make up, and Green Room stuff, never met Anne beforehand, and was basically taken to the set, had a quick rehearsal and then Ms Robinson appeared, She was rude, and didn't make light conversation! So we were off, and slowly but surely I was making it through each round and I was not to be defeated until the final and took great pride that is was only a post graduate from Cambridge University that would take the winners cheque away from my grasp.

The Host of Watchdog

As the weeks went by after recording TWL people started recognizing me at work, "Your that chap off the Weakest Link" was the most common phrase, but it was only a few months later, when I was frequently being seen on Outake TV for pretty much humiliating a lady who was rather large. I can't remember the exact words I used but as someone who was in the Comedy game I didn't need much encouragement from Anne Robinson, to take the bait, and add some Frost humor to proceedings. Anne asked me if I thought a fellow contestant was overweight and my response was along the lines of 'Well I'm not saying she's a bloater, but should could probably do with losing a few pounds'. Much laughter and banter followed and at the end Anne gave me a kiss and whispered in my ear, "Your a funny man". This episode resulted in the scene taking it's place in subsequent outtake shows, which left me feeling rather uncomfortable.

For a considerable time, months and months to be precise, I was frequently recognized at work as the Out takes hit Challenge TV and other Freeview channels.  You see I never got a chance to see the lady after the recording, she left whilst I was still filming. I wanted to say sorry, I didn't mean to be so personal.
I have always had a bit of 'showbiz' in my personality, and I can't lie the recognition was flattering, but as I reflect now the taste is bittersweet.
To end this blog I just want to say a few words about words. Words can do so much good but yet can do so much harm, If the lady in question enjoyed the recognition as well then I feel slightly better. If she was offended I deeply regret it, I suppose I will never know, but now as a Christian I choose my words much more carefully and try to be considerate in how I express them. I have not become righteous or boring (I have always been boring) but what you say is easily forgotten once the words have come from your mouth, but what is heard can last forever. When I was 15 years old I was told I was too stupid to take a maths exam, and sent to draw pictures with the year sevens. Funny now ? but never forgotten!

Just saying.

Peace be with you all
Alextheanglican.

SIMON

Hello once  more,
                                     Music  was my first love and it shall be my last, so the song goes, but in my case Simon was my first love, Music would come much later. Simon died when he was 24 years old, he had no teeth and couldn't walk in a straight line, I used to call him down from the neighbors patio which was a bit pointless because he was deaf as well, but although rather infirm, fortunately in his latter years he did have sight in one of his two eyes but I,m not sure which one! And as he hobbled down Marjory's garden he would let out the most awful meow to let me know he was on his way. After much waiting around he arrived and I had to haul him over the fence because the fifteen yard hike had left him utterly exhausted. I remember Simon had the most awful crusty fur on his rear where he had basically dried up to excessive sleeping  by the hot radiator. In truthfulness maybe we should have helped Simon on his way to heaven, he was not in good shape but we all really loved him, but eventually the time came for Simon to depart this world and it was one cold and frosty morning that I found Simon, deceased and very stiff under our patio park bench. I was very very upset, Simon was gone and funeral arrangements needed to be made!

My mother was in hospital at the time with 'lady problems' and someone had to break the news about Simon's death. She too was upset and as a family we arranged to bury him in the garden next to the Greenhouse. My Dad went off to run his Piano shop and gave us instructions to dig a big hole that would accommodate Simon comfortably. So my brother and myself took to the task but as young boys do we got tired and bored very quickly. So in truth the hole wasn't very deep at all but would just about do.

For the purpose of anonimity this person shall be known as Brenda, her real name is Brenda. Brenda was a feisty old lady who frequently fell out with my feisty old Mother, usually about the over hanging trees and out of control bushes, At the best of times, relations were rather 'Frosty' to say the least. Well not long after Simons grave had been prepared, 'Big Brenda' as we affectionately called her, came  bounding down the garden to investigate what the brothers Frost were up. 'What are you doing'? she asked. 'Were burying Simon' I responded. I don't recall exactly what she said but it went along the lines of 'you can't', vermin, vermin, vermin, rats, vermin, rats vermin, vermin, etc, I think she was slightly concerned that Simon would attract vermin! She insisted the grave was at least 4 foot deep, To cut a long story short I was still grieving and as a confident child, I politely told her that wouldn't be possible which didn't go down to well with Brenda and resulted in threats counter threats and involvement by the police and environmental health department if the hole wasn't made considerably bigger.
I rang my Father at his Piano shop and told me to go ahead and bury Simon and he would call on his way home to defuse the tension and find an acceptable solution.

To this day I have no idea what my Father said to Brenda, but the following morning I awoke, looked out of my bedroom window to find and 7 foot crucifix at the foot of Simon's grave. He insisted it remained in place for  some time and forbid us from venturing to Simon's resting place as he didn't want to light the torch paper.

A short while later the cross had been removed and although I don't know, I suspect Simon went as well, but I really can't be sure, but as an animal lover it makes one consider if our pets go to heaven.
As we have lived at our present residence for some time I rather feel I have lost count of the number of animals that have been laid to rest in my tiny back garden, in fact it's a bit of a dilemma when it come to planting bulbs in case we disturb the resting place of one of our many deceased cats, fish, gerbils, rabbits, etc etc.
The last of our cats to die was a dreadful little moggy called Sparky, we got her from a cat sanctuary, she had the softest feet, because she had been harmed and stood in acid She didn't wash and she was very unsociable and scruffy, she was the feline equivalent to Waynetta Slob. In her latter years, she was incontinent and rather unpleasant, I felt little affinity to this fleabag, and when the time came to have her put to sleep, I took her because, I pretended not to care, and thought I would be masculine and handle it like a 'proper man' should.

In the Vets, I placed her on the table and the expert did what was required. I cried whilst Sparky just went to sleep, she was wrapped in a Blanket and passed to me, she was lovely and warm and I put her in her pet box, took her home and buried her in the Garden.

A family favorite in the Frost household is Rolf Harris and his budget busting series, Animal Hospital. How we loved to weep along as Rolf choked back the tears as a dearly love guinea pig was put to sleep as' there was nothing else that could be done' for the little blighter, and oh how we smiled when a recovered hedgehog had been released back to the wild after a near miss with a tractor.

So do animals go to heaven? I think they do, but others may disagree. We can leave that for another time, but don't be surprised to be reading yet another blog about Love. Simon, which incidentally I do know is a silly name for a cat, was absolutely my best friend, I loved him with all my heart, Sparky was not but maybe the show of emotion at her death was because we gave her a good loving life, she was cared for, well fed, and could roam at her leisure, we did right by her.

And now Fletcher my current Dog, I,m sure he loves me as much as I love him, he follows me everywhere, he shows far much more pleasure to see me return home than my dear wife does, he is my companion, he is a good dog and I think when he pops off it is a nice to think he might be in heaven alongside, Simon, Sparky, and my long distinguished list of pets that have fertilized my garden over many many years..

For now, let love be your guide and let Jesus be your inspiration.
till next time
love and peace
Alextheanglican.