Our Loose Canon...
with Canon Eric Woods DL
Keep faith and keep searching for truth By the time you read this, we will know for sure whether July 19 was indeed Freedom Day, with the lifting of all covid restrictions in England. What we will not know is whether it will bring freedom for people to live their lives as they used to do, or freedom for the virus in its various mutations to spread more rapidly. The only thing of which we can be sure is that for the half a million or so of our population who have weakened immunity to infection – and for whom vaccines offer correspondingly weakened defence – it ushers in a new period of fear, of feeling that freedoms have been taken away. What intrigues me is what governs our reactions to our
new ‘freedoms’. I know people who are determined to party and to travel with a minimum of precaution. I know people who will stick to the old restrictions come what may. But do they – we – base these reactions on careful consideration of the science and the advice of the medical experts? Or are they determined by our predisposition to behave in one way or another, by our personalities which make us either ‘glass half empty’ or ‘glass half full’ people? You see, we all look out on our world from the place and time where nature has set us. I am a white, English, not-quite elderly, middle class, heterosexual male – and there is nothing I can do about it.
From birth I have absorbed the values and standards of those around me. This gives me my world view. As W S Gilbert wrote in his and Arthur Sullivan’s opera Iolanthe [1882] I often think it’s comical How Nature always does contrive That every boy and every gal That’s born into the world alive Is either a little Liberal Or else a little Conservative! So, was my decision whether to be conservative or liberal about the lifting of restrictions – or to be a Brexiteer or a Remainer for that matter – simply determined by my innate prejudices and predispositions? Was yours? Are we (to paraphrase
Kingsley Martin) ‘civilisers who think with our minds’ or ‘blimps who think with our bowels’? Of course there is one other factor in my consideration of any issue: my Christian faith and beliefs. And here’s the rub: once again I have a choice, between letting my faith, in the shape of the Church, do my thinking for me, or see its challenge to be a searcher for truth. Religion can indeed be, as Karl Marx asserted, ‘the opium of the people’. But good religion always encourages us to think more clearly about and probe more deeply the issues of our day. If we do this, Jesus promises us that we will know the truth, and that the truth will make us free. [John 8.32].
Panasonic LCD Viera 32" Television Model TXL32E5B. £20. 01963 33160. Hotter Ladies Shoes Calypso, black, Size 6 1/2, Standard fit. Brand new & not worn £15. 01963 33160. Owl doorstop, 10 inches high, as new, £5. 01202 861588. Tachograph removed from TK Bedford complete with cable £20 01722 711456. Old Belling round metal bed warmer working order collectable £10 01722 711456. Seven rare beer bottles unopened dating back to 1953 all different brews £20 01722 711456. Portable 12 volt television 5.5" screen collectable £15 01722 711456. Desert Orchid wall plate limited edition by Clare Eva Burton unused £15 01722 711456. Four Victorian mahogany balloon back chairs, VGC, £85. 07967 140478. Kampa Quarter master 3 storage unit – great for storing in your awning/tent.
£25. martyn.redford1@gmail.com Globe lights. Great for lighting up your camping awning. (8 Big and round globes to plug into mains) £10. martyn.redford1@gmail.com Caravan waste hog £25 martyn.redford1@gmail.com Folding camping table £25. Size 150cm long, 80cm wide, folds to 75cmx80cm. Brown. Came from Highbridge Camping shop. martyn.redford1@gmail.com Knitting yarn large quantity £20. 01258 861317. 2 folding 2 tonne axle stands. £5. Draper petrol engine compression tester new. £4. 01747 852267 (Shaftesbury) after 6.30pm. Clarke 3 tonne trolley jack. £20. Draper 1.5 tonne scissor jack. £5. Phone 01747 852267 (Shaftesbury) after 6.30pm please. Wanted go cart damaged, broken,rusty project for teenager must be cheap 01722 711456.
Concertina in original wood case, good condition, £40. 01747 852408. Classical guitar, never used, boxed includes guitar bag for adults & children over 10 years. £35. 01747 852408. Stur High School girls uniform, size medium, various items including PE kit. £50 job lot. Call or text 07736 561825. Fire bricks, 'Skamolex original' vermiculite board 900x600x25mm approx, new* ideal for fire bricks for stoves etc. £15. 07393 573241. Vintage Sharpes of Aberdeen 'The Gordon' 3 1/2" W fly fishing reel. Good condition. £40 01747 871809 Weights Set of 3 sandfilled dumb-bells £8 ono 01935 412892. Single fold up bed very little used no longer required £25 ono. 01935 412892. Black leather bomber jacket size 36/38 £40 ono Phone 07494 674353. Rabbit hutch, large, as new on legs £30 01258 268810. House + Run combined
Items for Sale Nespresso by Magimix CitZ & Milk coffee machine black. Nearly new. £50. 01747 861244. Ladies’ vandal wedge heeled shoes, size 7D, never worn, £12. 01202 861588. Ladies’ pavers, black and patent slingback shoes, size 7, extra wide fitting, never worn £12. 01202 861588. Grey teddy bear, 18inches high, machine/hand washable, unwanted gift, £4. 01202 861588. Halfords Roof Box, black 290 litres, side opening good condition, £50 Mere 01747 861242. Peugeot 206sw roof bars, lockable, good condition, £30 Mere 01747 861242. Baby Dan play den, 6 sections, including gate. White metal, fabric base, excellent condition, used once. £55. 01747 854983. Logitech remote PC keyboard & remote mouse. £5. 01963 33160. LG PC flat screen monitor 22". £5. 01963 33160. 28
