Lots to celebrate
Bargain Hunt is 25 years old
Who’ll be top dog at Crufts?
What is The Salvation Army?
The Salvation Army is a Christian church and registered charity seeking to share the good news of Jesus and nurture committed followers of him. We also serve people without discrimination, care for creation and seek justice and reconciliation. We offer practical support and services in more than 700 centres throughout the UK. Go to salvationarmy.org.uk/find-a-church to find your nearest centre.
What is the War Cry?
The Salvation Army first published a newspaper called the War Cry in London in December 1879, and we have continued to appear every week since then. Our name refers to our battle for people’s hearts and souls as we promote the positive impact of the Christian faith and The Salvation Army’s fight for greater social justice.
From the editor’s desk
This year marks five years since the coronavirus pandemic reached the UK. The Covid-19 Day of Reflection on Sunday (9 March) gives people an opportunity to remember those who lost their lives to the virus and to honour the selfless dedication shown by so many key workers and volunteers at that time.
Communal events are taking place across the country, and the day’s organisers are also encouraging individuals to mark the occasion by making ‘mini memorials’ to place in their windows, signing an online book of remembrance or performing an act of kindness for a friend, family member or neighbour.
In this week’s War Cry, we speak with Helen Wilson, who shares her memories of the pandemic. The 2020 lockdown started as a great time of family togetherness, with Helen and her husband, Colin, homeschooling their daughter and enjoying quality time together.
However, by the end of that year, Colin was in hospital, critically unwell because of the virus. Tragically, he died in the early weeks of 2021.
Colin was known for his Christian faith and the kind things he would do for others, such as helping out at a Salvation Army youth club and giving lifts to older people.
In her interview, Helen describes the crushing grief she felt at Colin’s death but also the immense gratitude she felt for the unwavering support she was given by her Christian friends.
Editor: Andrew Stone, Major
Deputy Editor: Philip Halcrow
Staff Writer: Emily Bright
Staff Writer: Claire Brine
Staff Writer: Ewan Hall
Editorial Assistant: Linda McTurk
Graphic Designer: Mark Knight
Graphic Designer: Natalie Adkins
Email: warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk
The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory 1 Champion Park London SE5 8FJ
Tel: 0845 634 0101
Subscriptions: 01933 445445 (option 1, option 1) or email: subscriptions@satcol.org
Founders: William and Catherine Booth
International leaders: General Lyndon Buckingham and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham
Territorial leaders: Commissioners Jenine and Paul Main
Editor-in-Chief: Major Julian Watchorn
ISSN 0043-0226 The Salvation Army Trust is a registered charity. The charity number in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 214779, in Scotland SC009359 and in the Republic of Ireland CHY6399.
Printed by CKN Print, Northampton, on sustainably sourced paper
Your local Salvation Army centre
And Colin’s own faith has continued to bring Helen some peace.
‘I know that he believed in Heaven – and his belief that he would be going there gives me comfort,’ she says, adding: ‘He’s in perfect peace.’
Being a Christian does not make someone immune from suffering pain or sickness or having to face their own mortality. However, believing that Jesus has made a way for life to go on beyond our time here on Earth does mean that Christians can know that death is not the end.
It’s a belief that can bring peace at even the saddest of times.
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A BONANZA OF BARGAINS
Experts recall their funniest and fondest moments in a special 25th anniversary episode of the antique trading show
There’s a daytime television staple which features a red team and a blue team sweet-talking their way round an antiques shop or a fair. They’re hunting for three items to buy and then sell at auction. The question is: who will make the most profit?
On Thursday (13 March) Bargain Hunt will be celebrating its 25th anniversary with a special episode.
Bargain Hunt was first aired on 13 March 2000. The presenter in those years was David Dickinson, who charmed the viewers with his catchphrases, ‘Those have got to be cheap as chips’ and ‘This is what I call
a bobby-dazzler.’
The show won its bid to attract viewers, and it kept hold of them even after Dickinson left the show and was replaced in 2003 by Tim Wonnacott. Since 2015, the show has had a rotating cast of hosts.
The 25th anniversary episode will be different from the usual programme, with hosts and experts gathering to recall their favourite moments. Among their picks are a wedding proposal and even a celebrity scandal when the girlfriend of Happy Mondays drummer Bez was caught bidding on her partner’s items – a move that led to their disqualification.
However a highlight of every episode – for experts and viewers – is discovering what each item bought will be sold for at auction.
Stephanie Connell remembers how, in her first episode as an expert, she was unsure of the wisdom of buying a crocodile statue – only to be shocked when it went on to make a profit. But it did not match the trinket box that fetched £800 in 2002 –which is still the most expensive item sold on the show.
Philip Serrell, who was in the first episode and is still an expert on the show, recalled
‘Bargain Hunt’ experts celebrate the show’s 25th birthday
being told at the beginning that antique programmes would never catch on and would never work.
‘And here we are 25 years later,’ he remarks.
As the show has reflected the changing trends of what is in vogue in antiques and collectibles, it has continued to stay popular. Perhaps part of its appeal is down to the way in which items that have previously been discarded are found to have worth after all.
On occasion we can all question not only the value of items we own, but even the worth of ourselves as people. We may have times when we feel undervalued and overlooked by others.
The good news, though, is that God sees us as priceless, whatever we or others may think.
One book from antiquity – the Bible –records a time when a group of people were worried about their imperfections and failures. Yet it also says that those same people felt God say to them: ‘To me, you are very dear, and I love you’ (Isaiah 43:4 Contemporary English Version).
We can experience that love too. If we put our trust in God, we will discover that in his eyes we are of infinite value.
TV preview: Bargain Hunt Thursday BBC1 and iPlayer
By Ewan Hall
Artificial additives should be used with caution
Sarah Olowofoyeku gives her take on a story that has caught the attention of War Cry reporters
Thanks to AI, London-based model Alexsandrah Gondora can be in two places at once, reported an article on Yahoo News.
Having made an AI replica of herself, Alexsandrah can be booked for photo shoots by fashion designers and retailers without having to travel or physically be at the location.
Others in the fashion industry, including photographers and brands, are also using AI to their advantage. It can significantly lower costs and save time. Brand owner Christian Larson says that ‘real’ photography has limitations in terms of budget, lighting and film rolls. But with AI, ‘you dive into this black hole of endless options’.
Used ethically, AI can be positive
Artem Kupriyanenko of technology company Genera says that preparing an ad campaign involving a photo shoot in the French Alps would normally take several months to complete and could cost up to £30,000. But put together virtually, the campaign could be finished in a few days for just £400.
By using generative AI, clients can customise a model to have any body shape, gender or ethnicity that they would like. The negative is that the AI is trained on banks of images that have often been retouched or which reflect certain aesthetics and result in less realistic images for consumers.
Some brands have been using AI images created from internet databases without paying the models. But used ethically, AI can be positive for models. Alexsandrah says that the technology has ‘opened certain doors’ for her, one being that her AI version is ‘timeless’.
‘Somewhere out there in the world, my AI will always be young to me, even when I’m old.’
It seems that some of the appeal of AI, in the fashion industry and beyond, is that it defies our human limitations.
While cutting costs, not ageing and being in two places at once aren’t necessarily bad things to desire, I think there is also something powerful about learning to accept our limits. Maybe there’s a reason why we can only be in one place at a time, and why we can’t be young for ever.
Perhaps this is a good time to consider why God has made us the way we are – with certain limitations – and how, in embracing them rather than trying to overcome them, we may even find a satisfaction that money can’t buy.
WAR talk talk Team talk Team talk
Churches provide social support
Churches and other faith groups can play an essential role in alleviating the strain on the NHS, according to a report by theology think tank Theos.
Creating a Neighbourhood Health Service highlights how ‘the NHS and social care services in England are stretched to breaking point, grappling with record-high demand for GP appointments’.
The report explains that one in five appointments is for nonmedical reasons, with people requesting help for loneliness, housing and debt – revealing that social support can play a crucial role in easing pressures on healthcare.
According to the report, churches and other faith groups can play an important part in social prescribing, where healthcare authorities signpost people to community-based activities for their wellbeing. It listed various kinds of support already provided by faith groups, including activities for babies, people suffering bereavement and refugees, as well as debt services, care home visits, homelessness outreach and food banks.
The report describes such groups as ‘anchors of the community’.
WAR CRYWnRLD
Habit had appeal for Hollywood star
Nicole Kidman has revealed that she considered becoming a nun when she was a child.
In an interview with American beauty magazine Allure, the star of Moulin Rouge! and The Perfect Couple, who was raised in a Catholic family, said: ‘I absolutely believe in God. I loved the idea of being a nun. Obviously, I did not choose to go that path, but I was very drawn to it.’
Picking up on the story, Premier Christian News said that, now married to singer Keith Urban, Nicole ensures that her family attends Mass and raises her children with religious values.
Homelessness centre residents raise money for others
Residents of a Salvation Army homelessness centre in Sunderland took part in a sponsored llama walk and hosted a talk with former Premier League footballer Julio Arca in fundraising efforts to help children living in poverty in Gambia.
The money raised by the Swan Lodge residents enabled support worker Gemma Stoker to volunteer abroad with the charity Project Gambia, which decorated two schools, ran first aid and water safety workshops, hosted weekend schooling and helped women at a garden focused on growing produce.
‘Our residents are struggling themselves,’ said Gemma, ‘but they are willing to help others. It just shows what kind of people they are. Those who are at a difficult time in their lives have been so selfless and have gone above and beyond to support me.’
Staff and residents on their llama walk
Donations paid out for lunch
A new ‘pay it forward’ scheme has been launched by the Salvation Army church in Barrow-in-Furness.
Members of the church and charity’s lunch club in the town have been given the opportunity to help people struggling with homelessness or the cost of living crisis. When buying their own meal, the members have the option to pay for an additional meal for someone who cannot pay for themselves.
Captain Sarah Griffiths, co-leader of The Salvation Army in Barrowin-Furness, says: ‘Our lunch club is an opportunity for people to come together, share a lunch and, if they wish, conversation. People joining us can choose to pay for someone else’s place if they can afford to do so, spreading kindness and showing commitment to supporting their neighbours.’
FIGHTING TALK
Charlie Malarkey
Salvation Army service manager
CHARLIE MALARKEY reveals how the church and charity’s boxing classes in York are changing lives
Interview
by Emily Bright
‘While women weep as they do now, I’ll fight; while little children go hungry as they do now, I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight.’ With these words quoted in a magazine in 1906, Salvation Army founder William Booth summarised the determination of the church and charity to combat social injustice. But he may not have predicted that, more than a century later, his words would take on a more literal significance – through the provision of boxing classes for vulnerable people in York.
These free sessions were initially inspired by the work of a Salvation Army drop-in centre for people experiencing homelessness. Run by the Early Intervention and Prevention team in York, the centre offered them a warm space, food, drink and clothing, as well as signposting them to support services. The team also walked the streets to check in with rough sleepers and see if there was anything they could do to help.
In 2018, when staff chatted to drop-in visitors, they realised that many of them didn’t have anything to do and longed for a purposeful and positive outlet. So Salvation Army service manager Charlie Malarkey invited the visitors along to a boxing club that he had set up.
When council funding for the Early Intervention and Prevention Team was cut in 2023, all the project’s staff –except Charlie – were let go. But he was determined to continue the work. Charlie still hosts a drop-in centre in the city and walks the streets to check in on those experiencing homelessness. He has also restarted the boxing initiative.
He recalls: ‘I started up the classes again with another organisation, Chocolate and Co – a charity which runs a café – and we run children’s sessions, women’s sessions and mixed sessions. We do six classes a week now.’
The club is open to anyone in the
The boxing classes attract people of all ages and from all walks of life
community. Students, asylum seekers and refugees are among the people who have attended.
‘We’ve got people with addictions,’ continues Charlie, ‘those in recovery, those experiencing homelessness – you name it. Some of these people who had an addiction are helping to run the sessions now.
‘We also work with Brainkind Neurological Centre in York, a place where people come with brain injuries, and there is a session for people with learning disabilities. Our boxing club is going from strength to strength.’
Charlie explains that the club creates connection, bringing together people from all kinds of backgrounds.
‘If you get people involved in something, you join them up with a community, with people from all faith groups in there, and it’s really beneficial. Sometimes people ask if there’s anyone
they can chat to about spiritual matters while they’re there.’
He elaborates on what happens at his boxing sessions.
People get to the stage where they think differently
‘In the morning, we just do the circuit training and people will do whatever they can do. I’ll say: “I’m setting up a circuit or I’m going to do this training regime. If you don’t feel like doing it, sit in the corner and have a coffee and biscuits.” But everybody gets involved.
‘The age group can be between 15 and 85. We’ll just do some Boxercise and then the people that want to progress and go further will go to an evening class, and we’ll pay their membership fees.’
Since they began, the boxing classes have had a huge impact on people within
the community. Charlie gives a couple of examples of lives changed by the initiative.
‘One lad came from experiencing homelessness, addiction and prison. He has now got a job. He has passed a load of exams. He is working for a company where they absolutely love him and he has got his family back together.
‘We had one woman who tried to take her own life, but she’s now coming regularly to boxing and she’s loving it.’
Charlie explains that the boxing classes are a rigorous workout, but that the sense of camaraderie always helps.
‘It’s fairly demanding physically. You’ve got to be on top of your game when you’re doing boxing fitness. But we’re all in it together.’
And, most importantly, boxing not only shapes people’s attitudes towards exercise, but also encourages healthier behaviours and lifestyles.
‘With boxing, you’ve got to be respectful of each other,’ says Charlie. ‘Eventually, people get to the stage where they think differently about their diet, drinking, drugs, smoking and their attitude towards others.’
That’s surely something that Salvation Army founder William Booth would have fought for.
Never forgotten
There was no escaping it. Five years ago, a deadly virus that had been ravaging the world hit the UK. What happened next was terrifying and traumatic. Loved ones were lost. Individuals were isolated. The streets were empty – and the hospitals full. Though lockdowns, face masks and social distancing may well trigger memories that we would rather forget, Sunday (9 March) has been designated by the UK government as a Covid-19 Day of Reflection – an opportunity for the public to remember their experiences of the pandemic and how the world was changed by it.
For Helen Wilson, reflecting on Covid-19 brings back memories of
HELEN WILSON reflects on the pain of losing her husband to Covid and explains how grief has affected her faith in God
Interview by Claire Brine
the worst time of her life. Her husband, Colin, contracted the virus shortly before Christmas 2020, and died in hospital two months later.
‘I can remember the first time I heard about Covid on the news, and never in a million years did I imagine that it would hit us in the way that it did,’ she says. ‘I don’t think anyone could have predicted what was coming. But just a few weeks later, we were in lockdown.’
Before reflecting on Colin’s last days and the all-consuming grief that followed, Helen thinks back to the beginning of their story together, describing the kind of man her husband was.
‘Colin was just brilliant – kind, loving, gentle and supportive,’ she says. ‘He liked
watching football, taking our daughter out for bike rides and playing in the band at Chelmsford Salvation Army. As a family, we just loved being out and about together.’
Then came the day when everything changed. As the UK entered lockdown, households were urged to stay at home to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Helen recalls: ‘I remember the day in March 2020 when Colin came home from work and said: “I can’t go in tomorrow. I’m furloughed.” Like everyone else, we worried about the financial impact of that, but we hoped we would be OK. Colin got on with homeschooling our daughter, and I started working from home.’
By the end of April, Helen was also
Helen Wilson
furloughed from her job as the centre manager at Chelmsford Salvation Army. Suddenly, she and her family had bags of uninterrupted time together – and they loved it.
‘It was glorious,’ she says. ‘We did painting, crafts, played on the Wii, spent time in the garden – complete bliss. And those wonderful moments are what I try to remember most about the pandemic.’
By December 2020, Colin had returned to work as a lorry driver, as many employers found ways to adapt to life under the Covid restrictions imposed by the government. Then, one day, after an outdoor Christmas carolling session with the Salvation Army band, Colin told Helen that he felt unwell.
‘We thought he’d just had a bad reaction to his flu jab,’ she remembers. ‘But a few days later, he came home from work, and I thought he was having a heart attack. His face was grey. His temperature was 40 degrees. The next day, he and I tested for Covid and the results came back positive.’
Colin was one of the ward’s sickest patients
Though Helen went on to recover from her bout of Covid, Colin began to feel worse. He said that he felt freezing cold. He became breathless when moving. He could barely talk. Helen phoned for an ambulance, and Colin was rushed to hospital. It was 22 December, the day before his 51st birthday.
‘Colin’s lungs were completely jammed up with Covid,’ Helen says. ‘On Christmas Eve, the consultant told me that she had no idea whether he would live or die, and that I needed to be prepared for the worst. Colin was one of the ward’s sickest patients.
‘On Christmas Day, Colin was moved into intensive care. We had a conversation over the phone, where he said: “I’ve been told to say goodbye to you.” I tried to encourage him not to think like that. We said that we loved each other and how we hated being apart. Obviously, I wasn’t allowed to see him.’
The morning after Boxing Day, Colin phoned Helen again. It was the last time he was able to speak to her, before medics put him on a ventilator.
‘We were so upset,’ says Helen. ‘Over the video call, we sobbed that we loved each other. I’d actually just got out of the shower, so I was wrapped in a towel, and I can remember that Colin’s last words to
me were: “Go and get some clothes on!” I smile when I think of it now.
‘Then, at midday, he was ventilated.’
While Colin’s body battled against Covid, Helen had no option but to wait at home for news from the hospital. It was agonising. She couldn’t eat and struggled to sleep. She felt guilty for not being with him. Every day, she received a phone call from medical staff, telling her how Colin was doing.
‘While he was alive and receiving treatment, I clung on to hope,’ she says. ‘People were praying for Colin all over
the world. I could feel their support. Then, he was transferred from Chelmsford’s Broomfield Hospital to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. I knew it had a brilliant reputation, so I thought: “Perhaps this is right for him.” And when the doctors talked about reducing his ventilation, I started to relax just the tiniest bit.’
But Colin’s condition didn’t improve in the way Helen had so desperately hoped for. Once again, staff at the hospital
Colin was ‘kind, loving, gentle and supportive’
From page 9
advised her to say goodbye.
‘I was called to go in and see Colin on three separate occasions,’ she says. ‘His doctor didn’t know how he was managing to stay alive. But every time I visited, Colin stabilised a bit. Going back and forth like that left me feeling completely drained. Looking back, I don’t know how I did it.
‘Then, on Friday 5 February, the doctor phoned me again, saying: “You need to come in tomorrow, as we are going to withdraw Colin’s life support.” By this point, I hadn’t seen Colin for three weeks, except for Skype calls that had been fully co-ordinated by the nursing staff, as Colin was unable to speak or move. I begged the doctor to continue finding ways to treat him. I said: “Our daughter is nine years old. I can’t do this on my own. I’m not strong enough.” But the decision was made. Life support for Colin would be withdrawn at 4pm.’
On Saturday 6 February 2021, Helen and Colin’s mum were joined by a hospital
chaplain as they said goodbye to Colin for the last time. As Helen held her husband in her arms, she played him one of his favourite pieces of music, a Salvation Army brass band piece entitled ‘Guardian of My Soul’. Its accompanying lyrics describe being met by God’s ‘open arms’ on entering Heaven.
When Colin died, God felt cut off from me
‘Nothing can ever prepare you for holding the person you love and hearing their heart slow down and stop,’ says Helen. ‘I told Colin how much he was loved – by everyone – and that he had to go on this next journey without me. The overwhelming guilt that I felt at not being able to help him was horrendous. I still feel it today.’
After Colin died, Helen had the
heartbreaking task of telling their daughter that Daddy wouldn’t be coming home. The couple had adopted her in 2012, when she was just 11 months old.
‘She has additional learning needs, which made Colin’s death very hard for her to process,’ Helen says. ‘One of the first things she said to me was: “I can’t get married now – because there is no one to walk me down the aisle.” I find it really hard to think of what she has been through. She was so young when Colin died.’
As Helen felt her spirit sinking under a deeply crushing grief, she knew that Christian friends were praying for God’s peace to be revealed. But all Helen felt for a long time was God’s absence.
‘When Colin had been ill, I felt the comfort of people praying for him,’ she says. ‘But when he died, it was as though that phone line had been pulled out. God felt cut off from me. And I became so angry with him.
Colin and Helen on their wedding day
‘I couldn’t understand how people saw God as a loving, heavenly Father. What loving father would take a daddy away from their child? Why were prayers answered for some Covid patients but not others? If God is powerful and good and can do all things, then why didn’t he?
‘Nothing made sense to me any more. I tried to pray. But I just felt nothing.’
Though Helen struggled to connect to God in prayer, she felt immense gratitude for the unwavering support she was given by her Christian friends. Those closest to her allowed her to express her disillusionment with faith rather than trying to placate her with neatly tied-up answers.
‘I was so mixed up – but I didn’t often want to talk about how I felt,’ she says. ‘I couldn’t get past the questions. And my friends understood that. Even now, four years later, I’d say that my faith in God is still faltering. It can be hard to walk through the church doors, especially when I see Colin’s empty chair in the band.
‘But sometimes I’ll go to Chelmsford Cathedral, just to sit quietly with my thoughts. I’ll think of Colin and light a candle for him, choosing the smallest candle that’s burning to light my own. Every time I do that, I think: “The light is continuing. It carries on.”
‘Lighting a candle is such a simple thing to do, but it’s very symbolic to me. I’m reminded of my candle holder at home which says: “There are those who continue to light up the world long after they have gone.” And that is certainly true of Colin.’
A lifelong member of The Salvation Army, Colin had what Helen calls a ‘strong but quiet faith’, best expressed through serving others.
‘He used to help out at the youth club. He’d give lifts to old people, bringing them to church on Sunday. If visitors came to one of our services, he’d make sure he welcomed them by saying hello. Colin’s faith in God was much stronger than mine.
I know that he believed in Heaven – and his belief that he would be going there gives me comfort.’
Though Helen has suffered a painful and life-changing loss, the shred of hope that she clung on to during Colin’s illness remains. Today, she is able to speak openly about her grief in a way that she never thought possible. She has taken their daughter away from home on a couple of short holidays, showing a courage she didn’t know she had. When she thinks about the future, she believes that there’s a chance it could be good.
‘I feel more positive and stronger than I used to,’ she says. ‘And I think those feelings have come with the passing of time. I can see now that there are things in life to look forward to – and looking forwards is what I need to do.
‘Yes, I’m devastated that Colin’s not here. But he’s not in pain any more. And I know that wherever he is, he’s in perfect peace.’
Colin spending time with his daughter
The War Cry invites readers to send in requests for prayer, including the first names of individuals and details of their circumstances, for publication. Send your Prayerlink requests to warcry@ salvationarmy.org.uk or to War Cry, 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ. Mark your correspondence ‘Confidential’.
jBecoming a Christian
There is no set formula to becoming a Christian, but many people have found saying this prayer to be a helpful first step to a relationship with God
Browsing the Bible Nigel Bovey gives
chapter and
verse on each book of the Scriptures
1 Samuel
The First Book of Samuel describes a sea change in the governance of the people of Israel. Since establishing themselves in the Promised Land, the Israelites had been ruled by judges. But Samuel would be the last.
From birth, Samuel is dedicated into the service of God and is raised by the priest and judge Eli (chapters 1 to 3). Because of the sin of Eli’s sons, Israel loses in battle against the Philistines, who capture the sacred Ark of the Covenant. On hearing the news, Eli dies (4:18) and Samuel succeeds him.
Although the ark is returned and the Philistines defeated, the leaders of Israel demand that Samuel appoint a king (chapters 6 to 8). Samuel selects and anoints Saul (chapters 9 to 11).
Saul gains military victories over neighbouring tribes, including the Philistines, but when he fails to complete a scorched earth campaign against the Amalekites, he is deemed unworthy of kingship and Samuel looks for a successor (chapters 13 to 15).
Samuel anoints David, the youngest son of Jesse, and finds him a position as a musician in Saul’s court (chapter 16).
Lord Jesus Christ,
I am truly sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life. Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong.
Thank you that you died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free.
Thank you that you offer me forgiveness and the gift of your Holy Spirit. Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit to be with me for ever.
Thank you, Lord Jesus.
Amen
David defeats the Philistine champion Goliath in battle (chapter 17), and Saul welcomes him into his family. But not for long. Saul becomes jealous of the hero worship that David attracts and tries, unsuccessfully, to kill him.
Further battlefield successes against the Philistines enamour David to the nation but further enrage Saul. David marries Saul’s daughter, but Saul still orders his servants to kill him.
David goes on the run, but Jonathan, Saul’s son and David’s close friend, helps him escape (chapters 18 to 20). A troubled and determined Saul pursues David throughout the region, killing anyone he suspects of aiding the fugitive. In desperation, David heads for somewhere he reckons Saul will not want to go looking – among the old enemy, the Philistines (chapter 27). David calculates correctly. Saul gives up his pursuit.
David becomes the Philistine king’s bodyguard, but when the Philistines are about to go into battle against Saul’s army, the king releases him (chapter 29). The Philistines win the battle, during which the critically wounded Saul falls on his own sword (chapter 31). Israel’s first king is dead.
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QUICK QUIZ
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Who is the author of the bestselling memoir Raising Hare?
In which country is the city Rio de Janeiro?
Who plays the title role in the BBC1 comedy Amandaland?
Who played the title role in the 1998 film The Truman Show?
What name is given to the numerical value of the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter?
What does the abbreviation QI stand for in the title of the TV panel show?
Dogs take the lea D
A tail-wagging week is expected at Crufts
Feature by Ewan Hall
The owners of the 24,000 dogs expected to have attended the NEC Birmingham by the end of the weekend must surely feel they’d have been barking to miss it. After all, Crufts is billed as the largest dog show in the world – and, as if to underline its wide appeal, this year there have been a record 3,952 overseas entries.
But, whether the owners come from near or far, they are all eager to showcase their four-legged friends’ qualities and abilities.
Crufts celebrates the canine world with a variety of demonstrations, including agility competitions and flyball – a fast relay with two teams of four dogs racing over hurdles to catch and return a ball.
The four-day event offers many prizes, but the most prestigious is the award for being the best in show, given to the top dog out of all the breeds. And since the honour was first bestowed in 1928, 46 different breeds have won.
Dogs are often considered ‘man’s best friend’ and some owners feel closer to their dog than even their human friends. So it is not surprising that Crufts presents a hero dog award, which highlights how a canine companion may sniff out danger, provide support to someone with a health problem or simply offer unconditional love and acceptance.
Acceptance and love are qualities that we all want in our lives – but we may not always experience them. There can be times when we feel isolated, leaving us sad and hopeless. But, at these and all other times, we can know the love of God.
In the Bible, there are many examples of people turning to God and finding him to be a constant source of kindness. One person who had taken that step felt God say to him: ‘I’ve never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love and more love’ (Jeremiah 31:3 The Message).
We may not always feel like the top dog. But if we put our trust in God, we can see his life-changing love unleashed in our lives.
Quick CROSSWORD
(7)
Fragment (7)
Appraise (4)
Annually (6)
Assembled (8)
Male relative (5)
Refill (9)
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Consistent (7)
18. Permit (5)
Mocking remark (4)
HONEYCOMB
Tuscan bean soup
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
1tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 carrot, diced
500ml gluten-free, lowsalt vegetable stock
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 cabbage leaves, chopped
1tsp oregano
½ tsp thyme
400g can borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
2-4 garlic cloves, crushed
2tsp pesto
Black pepper
Fresh basil and cheese shavings, to garnish
Heat the oil in a pan, then add the onion, pepper and carrot. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until they start to brown.
Add the stock, tomatoes, cabbage, oregano, thyme, beans and garlic. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Pour into bowls, then add a dash of pesto to each and sprinkle with plenty of black pepper. Serve garnished with the fresh basil and cheese shavings.
Tomato, olive, asparagus and bean salad
INGREDIENTS
10 asparagus stems, trimmed and halved
400g can haricot beans, drained and rinsed
4 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
40g green olives in brine, drained and sliced
40g fresh basil
1tsp lemon zest, finely grated
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
2tsp lemon juice
METHOD
Preheat the grill to high, then cook the asparagus stems for 1-2 minutes on each side, until tender.
Place the asparagus, haricot beans, tomatoes, green olives, fresh basil and lemon zest in a large bowl. Mix well.
Make a dressing by whisking the oil, vinegar and lemon juice in a small jug. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, then toss to combine before serving.
Joy Carroll Wallis