REPOST: Winning Gold

Just met an amazing friend for coffee. He's recently lost his wife and continues to care for two wonderful daughters, one of whom is severely challenged with learning difficulties. It reminded me of a blog from 2012, which I re-post in his honour:

Her name is Rebecca and I saw her on Saturday. She is maybe 9 or 10 years old, but I guess with a mental age of an infant. Her chair was amazing. It kept her body from twisting and held her head upright. There was a big smile on her face as her father teased her and tickled her and cheered her on as she ate.

Her name is Jessica and I saw her on Saturday. I guess she’s in her 20’s. Her race was amazing. She pulled away from the opposition to win the heptathlon gold. There was a big smile on her face as the crowd cheered her achievement.

Jessica has her gold medal. One day so will Rebecca.

Tony Benn: He Dared to be a Daniel

Tony Benn (1925-2014) died this week.

An amazing man. Someone who stuck by his beliefs throughout his life. Even if you disagreed with him, you had to admire his courage, persistence and lack of compromise.

In 2002 he came to Peterborough for his ‘An Audience With’ tour. A packed theatre sat for two hours with him chatting and answering questions, accompanied only by his beloved flask of tea. (Earlier tours also included his pipe, but health and safety regulations put paid to that!) It was one of my political highlights. I was glad to be there. As Benn put it, the tour ‘reignites the public meeting, uninterrupted by Jeremy Paxman or John Humphrys’!

His autobiography is called ‘Dare to be a Daniel’. It’s a reference to a Salvation Army hymn of the same name, sung to him by his father. His parents appeared to have had a stronger Christian faith than he, but in amongst the ‘honest doubts’ of his first chapter in the book, there is a clear belief too.  Not a traditional Christian one, but as you read the pages, you see the passion:

Dare to be a Daniel

Dare to stand alone

Dare to have a purpose firm

Dare to make it known.

 

He surely did that. He dared to make his views and purpose known. An honest politician- a phrase that is not always a juxtaposition of opposites!

 

In the end, he left parliament after fifty years ‘to devote more time to politics’! He considered politicians as either signposts or weathercocks. The first, clear in their views. The second awaiting the prevailing political winds before deciding. Tony Benn was a great example of the former. I wish there were more. A rare breed.

 

History will show he was not always right. But he dared to have a purpose. And he dared to stand alone.

The Bible in Fifty Words

God made. Adam bit.

Noah arked. Abraham split.

Joseph ruled. Jacob fooled.

Bush talked. Moses balked.

Pharaoh plagued, people walked.

Sea divided, tablets guided.

Promise landed.

Saul freaked, David peaked.

Prophets warned. Jesus born.

God walked. Love talked.

Anger crucified. Hope died.

Love rose. Spirit flamed.

Word spread. God remained.