Time and place
David Olusoga reveals the histo r y housed in buildings
‘Faith helped me through 10 years of seizures’
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.
Editor: Andrew Stone, Major
Deputy Editor: Philip Halcrow
Assistant Editor: Sarah Olowofoyeku
Staff Writer: Emily Bright
Staff Writer: Claire Brine
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
Your local Salvation Army centre
Prisons have been in the news over the past few months. During the summer, warnings were given that institutions were almost full to capacity and struggling to cope. Even when things are running smoothly, though, prisons are challenging places.
‘There are all kinds of dramas, miseries, family relationships getting broken, drugs – you name it, we’ve got it,’ prison chaplain the Rev Jonathan Aitken tells us in this week’s War Cry. However, as a chaplain, Jonathan aims to make a positive difference behind bars, and he believes that his past life experiences can help him.
‘I have the rather unique viewpoint of being both a prisoner and now a chaplain,’ he says. ‘I, like many prisoners, was down, broken and miserable, told my life was over. But I demonstrate that there can be a happy life after prison.’
A prison sentence for Jonathan brought an end to a high-flying political career, but while he was in prison he became a Christian. His experience of God showed him that his life wasn’t over and that there was something new and worthwhile for him to do.
While serving time in prison is a reality for thousands of people, it is not an experience most have to endure. But life on the outside is not without challenges.
This week we also speak with Eric Bivens. From his early 20s he went through years of suffering seizures. It took more than a decade for doctors to realise they were caused by a cluster of abnormal blood vessels on his brain.
Life was tough for Eric as he lived with those seizures, the effects of medication and the risks of surgery. But through it all, he drew strength from his Christian faith.
‘I want to encourage people that, no matter what you’re going through, God can get you through it,’ he tells us.
And Eric is right – however much our lives feel full of problems and challenges, God can help, if we ask him to.
INFO INFO
A TALE OF TWO CITIES
David Olusoga uncovers home truths
TV preview: A House Through Time Thursdays BBC2 and iPlayer
By Claire Brine
‘Every home has a story to tell,’ says historian David Olusoga. And every story has two sides. That’s why, in the latest series of A House Through Time, viewers are invited to explore the secrets of not one, but two buildings.
In the first episode, David travels back in time to the aftermath of the First World War, inviting viewers to join him as he traces the lives of residents at two apartment blocks – one in London and the other in Berlin.
His journey starts at Montagu Mansions located in Marylebone, where he looks into the life of resident Major John Murray-Smith. A diary entry, written by John in 1915, documents his harrowing experiences of the war and the injuries he sustained. David also learns from medical reports that John suffered from ‘shock’, known today as post-traumatic stress disorder.
Although he and his wife went on to have two children after the war ended, John never fully recovered from his physical and mental injuries.
Nearly 600 miles away, in Berlin, David researches another war veteran, Albert Henninger, who lived in an
apartment block on Pfalzburger Strasse. He too suffered serious injuries as a result of the conflict and, in 1917, became a prisoner of war.
After his return to Germany, Albert tried to rebuild his life along with his wife, Lisi, but times were hard economically and politically. Many felt that the country needed a fresh start. And a man called Adolf Hitler – who, in 1921, was appointed leader of a minor political party – was making big promises.
Over the next decade, the Nazi Party grew in popularity. But, David explains, the residents of 72 Pfalzburger Strasse were not united in their support. While Lisi went on to become a party member, her neighbour Herbert Rosenfeld, a successful doctor, was wary of its racial ideologies.
As David looks back at the events of the 1920s and early 1930s, viewers at home know the atrocities that lie ahead. In future episodes, they will see the residents of Montagu Mansions and 72 Pfalzburger Strasse facing yet another devastating war. Whatever side they are on, life is about to get much worse.
If looking back at stories from the past teaches us anything, it’s that everyone – wherever they live or whatever their status – faces times of uncertainty. While not all of us have experienced the trauma of war, we all know what it’s like to have worries, pains, problems and sorrows.
History books also point out that, over the centuries, many people have found comfort and strength through tough times by turning to Jesus. In periods of change and turmoil, his teachings on God’s love have brought them security and hope – and they still can today.
In the Bible’s Gospel of Matthew – an ancient text nearly 2,000 years old – Jesus tells his followers that he will never leave them, no matter what the future holds. At a time of great uncertainty in their lives, he made the promise: ‘I will be with you always, to the end of the age’ (Matthew 28:20 Good News Bible).
That same promise applies in 2024. Whoever we are, and whatever tomorrow brings, Jesus is with us. Always has been. Always will be.
David studies historic German documents with researcher Bebero Lehmann
Prince thanks homelessness workers
The Prince of Wales met a representative of The Salvation Army at an event in Aberdeen thanking those who work in the homelessness sector.
Fi Grimmond, the church and charity’s homelessness operations manager in Scotland, was nominated to attend the event where the prince was recognising groups that support the Royal Foundation’s Homewards project in Aberdeen. The project encourages collaboration between organisations to end homelessness.
People from faith groups, charities and businesses attended the event, which gave guests a chance to network and to share best practice with each other.
After giving some brief remarks, Prince William joined some of the guests at their table to thank them for all they do to support vulnerable people.
Fi said: ‘To have someone with such a high profile show his support in this way is amazing. He spoke about the benefits of Housing First, which aims to give someone a home and then provide the support needed to maintain it.
As a provider of Housing First services across Scotland, we were pleased to hear this.’
Care home’s outfit is sew good
A Salvation Army care home in Sussex is in fashion after winning the church and charity’s competition to create the best upcycled outfit.
For the competition, residents of The Salvation Army’s 12 care homes were invited to go to a charity shop, buy items for upcycling, make them into a new outfit and then take photos of their finished piece.
Lauren Tweddle, activities leader at Villa Adastra in Hassocks – which provides dementia care –accompanied residents Ann and Amelia to a charity shop, where they selected two pairs of curtains and a duvet set.
Over the course of a few weeks, they designed templates, prepped the fabric and with the help of other residents created a reversible outfit made up of a jacket, top, shorts and a skirt front. Leftover material was used to make a handbag and purse.
Ninety-nine-year-old Phyllis – the home’s oldest resident who was once a dressmaker –spent a morning sewing the shorts for the outfit.
Lauren said: ‘Phyllis had restricted movement so she was worried she wouldn’t be able to do it, but her muscle memory took over and it was just like riding a bike. She told me how much she missed being on the sewing machine.’
Fire partnership renewed
The Salvation Army has renewed its welfare partnership with Tyne & Wear Fire and Rescue Service to provide hot food and emotional support to firefighters across the region when they attend emergencies.
Stewart Nicholson, the deputy chief fire officer of Tyne & Wear Fire and Rescue Service, said The Salvation Army ‘provides essential and flexible welfare provisions at operational incidents for our crews’.
The Salvation Army’s emergency response catering vehicle based in Tyne & Wear is 1 of 27 similar vehicles that The Salvation Army has up and down the country to support blue light services.
Do you have a story to share?
Prince William talks with people tackling homelessness in Aberdeen
Resident Joan models the winning outfit
Walking into the men’s prison HMP Pentonville, with its towering off-white walls and barbed wire, is a daunting experience. The door to the prison compound clangs shut behind the group of assorted journalists I’m with.
Thankfully, my crimes are limited to spelling and grammar errors. We’re here to cover the official opening of an XO bikes workshop, which aims to train up to 60 prisoners a year for future employment as bike mechanics. The workshop was partially funded by Friends of Pentonville, a charity co-founded by MP turned prisoner turned volunteer chaplain the Rev Jonathan Aitken.
The event also features presentations on the charity’s other initiatives to encourage rehabilitation, and we’re taken into the chaplaincy unit to hear more.
On the front wall is a giant cross lit up in white. Christian literature lines the bookshelves. But the bars on the windows are a sobering reminder of
Jonathan Aitken
where we are. It’s here that I introduce myself to Jonathan. He tells me how the chaplaincy is home to both secular events and Sunday services – which he, as an ordained Church of England minister, leads.
The presentations highlight the work of a neurodiverse wing at the prison, the Time4Change programme – which offers Pentonville inmates education courses, counselling and life skills training – and testimonies of former prisoners who have turned their lives around. We then venture over to the XO bikes workshop. While there, we have the opportunity to tour the room and chat to staff and beneficiaries.
Two weeks later, I find myself interviewing Jonathan in a completely different setting: from the comfort of his home in southwest London. The contrasting locations are a reminder of how Jonathan’s life has been one of highs and lows.
Once a cabinet minister in John Major’s government, in Jonathan he was given an 18-month sentence after he pleaded guilty to perjury and perverting the course of justice. While in prison, he became a Christian. After serving seven months of his sentence, he was released
and began studying theology at Oxford University, setting him on a completely different trajectory towards church ministry.
Chaplains work under crushing burdens
Heseems, therefore, the perfect person to speak with to mark Prisons Week, the annual campaign run by churches in England and Wales. Starting on Sunday (13 October), it aims to encourage prayer for and raise awareness of the needs of crime victims, prison staff, prisoners and their families.
‘I have the rather unique viewpoint of being both a prisoner and now a chaplain,’ Jonathan remarks. ‘I thought very well of the chaplains while I was in prison. In Belmarsh, the chaplain was a good man. I used to go to morning prayers every day.
‘Both those days and now, chaplains work under crushing burdens. They are hard-working, dedicated people.’
Jonathan tells me that a chaplain has many different duties.
‘The law says a chaplain has to make
visits every day to the new arrivals, to those in prison healthcare and to the segregation unit for those who’ve started fights or set fire to their cells.
‘Chaplains also make pastoral visits to any prisoner who wants one – and quite a few prisoners do. And respond to things such as self-harming or suicide attempts or actual suicides. We haven’t had a suicide in Pentonville – praise the Lord – for some time.
‘We’re also a bridge between prisoners and their families. Often you find an anguished prisoner who – for one reason or another – can’t telephone his family, but he has a number, so I call and tell them: “Your son John is all right, and he wants you to know how much he loves you and that he’s no longer in danger.”’
As a multifaith chaplaincy, the team are able to reach out to inmates of all faiths and none and offer to pray for the prisoners, with mixed results.
Jonathan explains: ‘I almost always say to prisoners: “Would you like me to pray for you?” And they say: “Oh no, I don’t need prayer.”
‘I’ll say: “Would you like me to pray for you and your family?” They reply: “Oh well, I wouldn’t mind a prayer for
my aunt, who’s in hospital.” There’s a lot of praying on the wings. Then, most excitingly of all, every so often someone comes to Christ in prison.’
As I chat to Jonathan, it’s clear that he believes his chaplaincy role is a vocation.
‘I keep in mind the parable in the Bible of the sheep and the goats, when Jesus questions why people didn’t feed the hungry, give a drink to thirsty people or visit people in prison. I feel it’s God’s work,’ he says.
He remembers how his ministry first came about.
‘When I was wondering if God was calling me to be a prison chaplain, I initially said no, for all kinds of reasons –I’m not worthy, I’m too old,’ he says.
‘Then a priest said to me: “Have you seen what an English cricket captain has said about this?” He remembered a 19th-century high-class cricketer, called CT Studd, who decided that he wanted to be ordained. The Church of England was thrilled. They said: “Oh, you’ll be a bishop in no time.” He said: “No, I don’t want to do that. I want to be a prison chaplain.”’
After growing weary of opposition to
his chosen field, CT Studd wrote a verse of poetry. On reading it, Jonathan felt a clear calling to become a prison chaplain too.
‘It had a great impact on me,’ he enthuses, ‘and I think of it almost every day.
‘It goes as follows: “Some like to live within the sound of church and chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop, within a yard of hell.” As soon as I heard that, I said: “That’s what I would like to do.”
‘A lot of prison life is within a yard of hell. There are all kinds of dramas, miseries, family relationships getting broken, drugs – you name it, we’ve got it. Being a chaplain is anguishing and testing in all sorts of ways. But I love trying to help people cope with their problems.’
It’s wonderful to see lives changed
It strikes me that Jonathan’s story has come full circle. Having found lifetransforming faith in prison through
chaplaincy support, he is now the one imparting the good news of Jesus to prisoners. As an author, broadcaster and campaigner for prison reform, he symbolises hope of a new life beyond the prison gates.
He says: ‘I, like many prisoners, was down, broken and miserable, told my life was over but I demonstrate that there can be a happy life after prison.
‘A lot of lives don’t change in prison – the rate of repeat offending rates is really high – but a lot of lives do, and a chaplain’s life has lots of encouragement as well as discouragement.’
And telling prisoners about Jesus, whether through preaching, Bible studies or one-to-one conversations is ‘the biggest prize of all’ for Jonathan.
He believes that the example of Jesus can powerfully resonate with prisoners.
‘Jesus was a revolutionary figure. He spent his time, often not with the rich and the powerful, but with those at the bottom of the heap. Prisoners who get this message are so surprised but also pleased. I think that’s why getting the gospel across to them is exciting. It’s wonderful to see lives changed by it.’
‘I lived with seizures for 10 years, but kept my faith’
In his early 20s, ERIC BIVENS had the first of hundreds of seizures. It would be more than a decade before the cause of them – a cavernoma in his brain –was discovered. Eric describes what life was like in the meantime, and tells
Eric Bivens
Eric uses his music to share positive messages
From page 9
to West Virginia? Anyway, we got to the church and we ended up loving it.’
Now that they had moved to a new area, Eric prioritised getting medication. He ended up finding a doctor who gave him much more.
‘I told the doctor about my seizures, and that I just needed medication for epilepsy. He said that, before he gave it to me, he wanted to give me another MRI – a lot could change in 10 years, and he didn’t want to make a decision based on what another doctor had said that long ago.
‘So I went to have another MRI, and my doctor contacted the neurologist who took my first MRI and the scans were identical. The new doctor said he didn’t know exactly what it was, but the MRI scans showed that there was a growth in my brain. I’d lived with seizures for 10 years, because the first neurologist didn’t see something.’
Eric was referred to a neurologist in a neighbouring state, who became committed to his cause. He put Eric on a much higher dosage of epileptic medication, and on another form of medication to treat his symptoms. But he also wanted to see if there was a way
A MRI scan (above) showing Eric’s cavernoma, and a 3D amplified MRI (below) showing Eric’s head, with half his skull removed to undergo testing before surgery
the growth – a cluster of abnormal blood vessels known as a cavernoma – could be removed.
All three hospitals said no to surgery
‘Over the course of three years, I went through eight different types of testing to make sure that it was the growth that was causing the seizures,’ Eric explains. ‘At the same time, we were seeking a surgeon who would be willing to take on the surgery. We went to Johns Hopkins; we went to the University of Virginia, well known for neurological surgery – and we went to the National Institute of Health, which takes on surgeries that most hospitals won’t, because they’re trying to innovate how they operate. All three hospitals said no. The cavernoma was in my front temporal lobe, and it was so close to my memory and speech. It was too much of a risk.’
Meanwhile Eric’s medication was proving effective. Instead of having 5 to 10 seizures a week, he was having
only 1 to 2 a month. But there were sideeffects.
‘I became weary after taking the medication,’ he recalls. ‘I lost my creativity. I didn’t have the drive or momentum to do things. I was worn out, even though I was grateful that I didn’t have seizures as much. I remember one day I was in my car by myself and I yelled at God: “Why are you not healing me?”
‘As soon as I let out all my emotions, I felt at peace. It was as if God was saying to me that he’d been waiting for me. From that point on, something changed in me. It set my mind on a different path. I apologised to God, and told him that he deserved the praise and the glory, despite my condition.’
Approximately four months after that moment in Eric’s car, his doctor had good news for him. A newly hired surgeon had agreed to conduct the required surgery. All the while, Eric believes, God was working through him and his family in the church they were at.
‘When we started there were about 100 people attending,’ he says. ‘By the time we were getting close to the surgery, there were about 1,200 people, and God was doing great things. People
were getting saved and baptised. God knew the plan, that he was calling us to the church and also calling me to my healing.’
At the final hurdle, however, something went wrong.
‘The plan was to do six days of tests in the hospital, and on the seventh day, to operate,’ says Eric, taking off his hat to show me a large scar. ‘To do the tests, they took out half my skull and a portion of my head, and put in 340 electrodes, little bitty wires, so that they knew 100 per cent that the reason I was having the seizures was because of the cavernoma. But on day six, I started getting really sick. I’d developed a haematoma on my head, a swelling of the brain. I started vomiting and I wasn’t myself.
‘The doctor had gone home for the night, but he called my wife to check on me and she said that something wasn’t right. He came back, stopped everything, took all the wires out, put my skull back together and said we can’t do the surgery. He said that if he hadn’t come back that night, I might have been dead the next morning.
‘In my mind I said it was okay,
I trusted in God. If this surgery wasn’t meant to be, I’d just deal with this condition for the rest of my life. But the surgeon said we could try again in three months. Three months came, and he opened me back up and removed the cavernoma.’
Eric says that since that day, eight years ago, he has not had another seizure. He weaned himself off the medication, and found that his creativity and his motivation to create music returned. This year, now back in Kentucky and working in a design agency, he has released songs with titles such as ‘Forgiven’ and ‘Pentecost’.
‘One thing I wanted to do,’ he says, ‘was to share positivity, in the world of rock music especially. For a lot of rock ’n’ roll musicians, their escape mechanism is drugs. I wanted to show people you can still have that same type of music without that.
‘When I was thinking of a band name I decided to call it My Cavernoma, because that’s my story. I write music because I want to encourage people that, no matter what you’re going through, God can get you through it. You’ve just got to trust him.’
A 3D scan showing where Eric’s skull was broken and stapled back together
Your prayers are requested for Leroy, who needs accommodation.
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
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
Eating fruit and vegetables is good
for
us – and, according to the Bible, a healthy inner life also includes fruit. In this series Peter Mylechreest takes his pick of nine life-enhancing qualities called ‘the fruit of the Spirit’
Enid had four children and a husband whose employment meant he was away from home for days on end. To help the family’s finances, she fitted in a part-time job while her children were in school. After school, the children went to other activities and on a Sunday the family went to church.
When asked how she managed to juggle everything yet remain so calm, Enid replied: ‘Well, I have peace in my heart knowing that God loves me even more than I love Ray and the kids. And I have peace of mind knowing that, although I’d like to do more at the church, God accepts what I can do as my 100 per cent.’
Paul, an early Christian teacher, described this sort of peace as ‘the fruit of the Spirit’. The peace that God’s Spirit gives and grows in a Christian’s heart is a tranquillity that is unexplainable – apart from God’s involvement in their life.
This peace is not free from disturbing news or blind to injustice, but it is marked by a calmness and a lack of inner stress in the midst of a world full of upset, chaos and war.
Christians may engage in seeking solutions to dissent and turmoil but, whatever the outcome, their source of peace is God. Sadly, people frequently lack peace with God because of the wrong things they do.
Thankfully, God has not left humanity hopelessly fragmented. He has created a way of reconciliation that leads to peace with him, and others, through the sacrificial death of Jesus and his subsequent resurrection. This peace is available to all who decide to follow Jesus and allow God’s Spirit to plant in their hearts the seeds of peace.
Peace is good to grow.
To receive basic reading about Christianity and information about The Salvation Army, complete this coupon and send it to
War Cry 1 Champion Park London SE5 8FJ
Or email your name and postal address to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk
Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International
QUICK QUIZ
1 2 3 4 5 6
Where is the longest pleasure pier in the UK located?
In which year did Adele have a No 1 hit with her single ‘Hello’?
Who plays Detective Superintendent Roy Grace in the TV crime series Grace?
Who is the author of the bestselling historical thriller Precipice?
Sarah Storey won two gold medals at this year’s Paralympics in which sport?
Which musical instruments traditionally make up a string quartet?
EXTENDED FAMILY
Silver screen shows how real-life community banded together to adopt children
Film feature: Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot in cinemas from 11 October
By Emily Bright
Achurch pastor, Bishop WC Martin (Demetrius Grosse), captivates his Texas congregation with stirring songs and reminders of God’s goodness. His wife, Donna (Nika King), murmurs approvingly. For the family at the centre of Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot, based on a true story, life is good.
But when tragedy strikes, Donna is consumed by grief. As she wonders where God is in her pain, she sees children running across the fields in front of her. In that moment, she feels that her calling is to adopt children, in addition to her biological son and daughter.
Her husband isn’t convinced, until gradually he too senses that this is an idea from God. The couple invite kids from the care system into their lives and encourage their congregation at Bennett Chapel in Possum Trot to do the same.
However, it isn’t long until the realities of the trauma that the adoptees have experienced emerge and the full scale of the challenge facing the families becomes clear.
The pastor and his wife work tirelessly to support the adoptive families in their community, alongside the children in their care.
Regardless of the cost, the couple remain determined to love their adoptees through their recovery from past trauma – and take inspiration from their Christian faith. The film reveals how a foundation of faith and love sustained the 22 families in raising 77 adopted children.
In the film, Donna is shown explaining to her adopted daughter, Terri (Diaana Babnicova): ‘Love is kind, love protects, and love never gives up.’ She takes her words directly from the Bible, which says: ‘Love is patient, love is kind… It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres’ (1 Corinthians 13:4 and 7 New International Version).
This kind of love is what our Father God models to us all. He longs to welcome everyone into his family and show us the depth of his unconditional love. The only thing we need to do is invite him into our lives.
Bishop WC Martin (Demetrius Grosse) and his wife, Donna (Nika King)
PUZZLES
Quick
ACROSS
1. Throng (5) 5. Timepiece (5) 8. Surpass (5)
Criminal (5)
Oarsman (5)
Dense (5) 12. Type of bag (4) 15. Gibberish (6) 17. Conductor’s stick (5)
18. Symbol (6)
20. City on River Avon (4)
25. Revolve rapidly (5)
Oval fruit (5)
Elude (5)
Fifty-fifty (5)
Bowl (5) 30. Vegetable pulp (5)
Most secure (6)
Sloping (6)
Lunar cycle (5)
Tarnish (5)
Labourer (7)
Pulling (6)
Solidify (6)
Electrical unit (3)
CROSSWORD
Conserve (3)
Trot (3)
Not in (3)
Amid (7)
Inter (6)
19. Infants (6)
21. Passion (6)
22. Cope with (6)
23. Defamation (5)
24. Grip (5)
AGATHA CHRISTIE
BERNARD CORNWELL
CHARLES DICKENS
COLSON WHITEHEAD
CS LEWIS
EM FORSTER
GEORGE ORWELL
HARPER LEE
HILARY MANTEL
JANE AUSTEN
JRR TOLKIEN
LEO TOLSTOY
MARGARET ATWOOD
STEPHEN KING
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
ZADIE SMITH
Speedy biryani
INGREDIENTS
200g basmati rice
METHOD
2 chicken breast fillets
3tsp vegetable oil
4tbsp balti curry paste
Small bunch fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
100g French beans, topped and tailed, halved
4 tomatoes, quartered 130ml water
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered, to garnish
Cook the rice according to the packet instructions.
INGREDIENTS
90g unsaturated fat spread, plus extra for greasing 6tsp honey
2 ripe bananas, peeled 60g raisins (or
Cut the chicken into 2-3cm pieces and place in a bowl.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan, then add the chicken, curry paste and half the coriander. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring all the time. Add the onion and French beans and cook for a further 3 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and gradually pour in the water. Cook for a further 3 minutes, continuing to stir. Add the cooked rice. Mix well, then cover and simmer for 2 minutes. Pour in a little extra water if needed.
Spoon the biryani into a large serving dish. Garnish with the egg quarters and sprinkle the remaining coriander on top, before serving.
Banana and raisin flapjacks
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4 and lightly grease a square baking tin.
Gently melt the spread and honey in a small saucepan, stirring to prevent burning.
Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl with a fork. Add the raisins, oats and cinnamon and gently combine. Add the melted spread and honey, then mix well.
Spoon the mixture into the baking tin holes and press down with the back of a spoon. Bake the flapjack in the oven for 25 minutes, until golden
Remove from the oven and leave the flapjacks to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes or until the tin is cool enough to handle. Carefully remove the flapjacks from the tin with a knife and transfer to a rack to cool completely before serving.
Henri Nouwen