Stories from October, November & December 2017OctoberGordie Jackson·Follow10 min read·Apr 11, 2023--ListenShare1. The Hot drinkWhy is it so important to me? I wondered.gordiejackson.medium.com2. Children ask their questionsI was late to the Quakers this morning. Well, latecomers can enter when the children leave, that is 15 minutes after…gordiejackson.medium.com3. Autumn came to visitLike a kid at Christmas, I could see footprints though no visitorgordiejackson.medium.com4. The Morning dancerThe eyes opened, the dance began,gordiejackson.medium.com5. Do you remember seeing your first peacock?When I started writing on Medium some of my Facebook friends when they saw a Medium posting thought I had become a…gordiejackson.medium.com6. The butter that will never meltThe 4-year-old’s hand with the knife reached across the table to the butter but struggled to cut it. An adult female…gordiejackson.medium.com7. How do you make something more beautiful? Break it!I am letting this medium in me guide me. Some seem to call such a thing ‘your muse’. I think my muse is developing. If…gordiejackson.medium.com8. The power of an experience to wash away again the dirt of prejudiceAs a kid, I was puzzled by the dirt in my nails. “Mummy how does the dirt get in? I only washed my hands this morning.”gordiejackson.medium.com9. Be open to the strangerIt was a silent meeting today at the Quakers though on the second Sunday of the month we have ‘Afterthought’. This is…gordiejackson.medium.com10. The fountain never changes but we doMonday has become another day. Yes, I feel that slight unease when I wake on a Monday knowing that more will be…gordiejackson.medium.com11. Often the beauty is in the beholder and not in the beholdenI have noticed that the photos I snap on my phone often become my writing prompts. I haven’t read any stats though…gordiejackson.medium.com12. EmptyThe Milk carton is empty, the car is almost empty, the bins were emptied.gordiejackson.medium.com13. Keeping the faithThis seems to be the year that I am seeing more of England that I have in the last 24 years. In the last two months I…gordiejackson.medium.com14. It is their story not oursThe panel discussion at Napo conference today was focussed on women in the Justice System. The above photo informs you…gordiejackson.medium.com15. Napo Probation conference — the morning afterSome people run marathons I seem to run conferences. It was 3 30 on Saturday morning that I got to bed and that was not…gordiejackson.medium.com16. A street bench, strangers sharing communionThe last few days had been full of words and activity today I needed to hear silence, the earth breathing.gordiejackson.medium.com17. Look to the sky and see the oneness of the sun even if it changes colourI was coming out the library at lunchtime when I noticed people taking photos of the sky, I looked up and there it was…gordiejackson.medium.com18. Let’s face it!How many faces have you seen today? The first face I saw was Cee’s. She was unusually up before me this morning. I am…gordiejackson.medium.com19. Need a quiet place to restAbout an hour and a half ago I arrived home to be told there was a crisis. I hate words such a ‘crisis’ or ‘urgent’…gordiejackson.medium.com20. Can you hear the still, small voice?For the past couple of weeks I have been dwelling on the following two verses from the book of Luke chapter 11:gordiejackson.medium.com21. 17-year-old self puts in an appearance amidst trains, people, gin and tonicSnapshots of the daygordiejackson.medium.com22. Perhaps like trees next year we will be stronger!Two years ago almost, when I attended a writing workshop with the author Kate Mosse she wrote Samuel Beckett’s quote…gordiejackson.medium.com23. God is like sex, s/he has to be experiencedI was late for the meeting this morning. Truth be told I was knowingly late. The tradition is you sit in the foyer…gordiejackson.medium.com24. What are the gaps in our lives? Mind them!I had a coffee with a friend early this evening. She writes poetry and she is someone with whom I can talk about…gordiejackson.medium.com25. Weird? Maybe! Wonderful? Of course!I was sitting at my beloved station this morning thinking about what the day may bring when I noticed this woman in the…gordiejackson.medium.com26. I don’t want to cook but will I?I stood up from where I seated and saw this sky between the platform’s roofing.gordiejackson.medium.com27. If we want the best we gotta demand it!BBC programme exposes failings in Probation, encounter with homeless man exposes failings in public responsegordiejackson.medium.com28. The secret to being human: We are turned on and offPeople need events! Today Britain’s newest bank opened another store, this time in Luton, Bedfordshire. The town was…gordiejackson.medium.com29. Tell me what breathes inside of you?Cee’s final year of A Levels ( the grades on which University places are offered) has seen piano and ballet ditched. It…gordiejackson.medium.com30. “What does simple mean?” asks HarryEvery sixth or seventh week I join the children during their time outside of the ‘Meeting for Worship’. It is not a…gordiejackson.medium.com31. What do we have? Apart from stress?Do you get fed up with people saying, “Urgent” in emails, texts and telephone messages? I do. I am often heard saying…gordiejackson.medium.comNovember1. What time is it Mr Fox?I was annoyed. I was made aware of a decision that was taken without consultation with me though involved me. When I…gordiejackson.medium.com2. Where is love when we are faced with hate?New York City attackgordiejackson.medium.com3. Share a memorable experience that comes to mind when you sit in the familiarI was at the fortnightly group tonight and one of our number described a scene that happened many years ago. She was on…gordiejackson.medium.com4. A station like a photo can capture the best of lifeSt Pancras Station, Londongordiejackson.medium.com5. November, a month to be rememberedI was sitting in the cafe at the railway station this afternoon (they serve good cappuccinos). Without power to the…gordiejackson.medium.com6. Inside these four wallsI have counted every brick on each of the four walls, 240 in each of the long walls, 70 in the wall which holds the…gordiejackson.medium.com7. Choose a decade of your life and tell me the person you were?We met as the book group on Friday night. The book was Life after Life by Kate Atkinson. I had only got to page 200 or…gordiejackson.medium.com8. What did the day bring?The tide comes in and goes out.gordiejackson.medium.com9. In the face of great hate, love’s power is available, the choice is ours.30 years on from the Enniskillen bombinggordiejackson.medium.com10. If you were to launch a campaign what would it be?Please only use URGENT when it isgordiejackson.medium.com11. The worst day, best day?On a Friday afternoon, I seem to have more space than usual and so I can read other Medium writers work. It was words…medium.com12. “Excuse me. We will be having a minute silence at 11.”12. “Excuse me. We will be having a minute silence at 11.”“Excuse me. We will be having a minute silence at 11.”gordiejackson.medium.com13. Days will still be born no matter how long the night lastsRemembrance Sundaygordiejackson.medium.com14. Uncomfortable momentsThere has been a lot of press recently about what makes people uncomfortable. Most of these have been interactions with…gordiejackson.medium.com15. Boxes with labels and Boxes with no labelsThe creative spirit is being more challenging than usual with me. It seems to want to bring me somewhere which means I…gordiejackson.medium.com16. Wednesday 15th November 201732 years on from the signing of the Anglo Irish agreementgordiejackson.medium.com17. Does walking on the graves offend the dead or the religious?As a kid, I would often walk with my mother, grandmother and two sisters to ‘the grave’. The grave was that of my…gordiejackson.medium.com18. Just call me Mehal!What if I had been born an Irish Catholic Nationalist?gordiejackson.medium.com19. “Hi I am Andrew, yes my dad’s the head.”A fictitious retake of schoolgordiejackson.medium.com20. I am but the wind caught in a shirt hanging on the washing lineIt is Sunday and I am at meeting. A kid comes and sits beside me as his mum is busy with his sister. I can see from the…gordiejackson.medium.com21. The next train will take you to where your imagination wants to go!I am back on the train this week. I can see how JK Rowling got inspired to write Harry Potter while sitting on a train…gordiejackson.medium.com22. What would you do in public that might be noticed?I got up from the table in the station cafe and noticed a young woman making up her face in the mirror. I thought to…gordiejackson.medium.com23. Today, give thanksThe radio blared out the excited Zimbabweans voices celebrating the resignation of Robert Mugabe. Today they are…gordiejackson.medium.com24. Coming home at ThanksgivingYou know how some days you have more spring in your step than other days, well today I had. The reason, by 6 30 pm I…gordiejackson.medium.com25. Drinking tea and catching upMy mother used to say, “ I’ll take you for a treat.” This meant we would go to one of the many coffee shops of our town…gordiejackson.medium.com26. The Mountains call outYou may not notice in the photo but they are mountains behind the houses. I woke up to this sight as I stayed overnight…gordiejackson.medium.com27. The sun shines in EggerstownA reflection of the past in the presentgordiejackson.medium.com28. This is Freedom. What is freedom?I am running behind myself. The trip to Northern Ireland was so jam-packed (like my suitcase) that I fell asleep most…gordiejackson.medium.com29. A sign that the end is comingIt is a sure sign that Christmas is coming when the tree is erected at St Pancras. This year it is a floral one and…gordiejackson.medium.com30. Two Christmas trees are like two friendsWhy is it that with some friends we are totally relaxed and we would bare our soul while with other friends we hold…gordiejackson.medium.comDecember1. How’s your day been?Yes, I saw some snow about an hour ago. Another sign that we are heading to winter.gordiejackson.medium.com2. A half-baked ghost storyIt was cold here today though somehow I have managed, after all these years, to keep myself warm. I love my hat over…gordiejackson.medium.com3. My life summed up by a pair of shoesI have been walking around in a pair of shoes that cut into my heels. I bought them in September and 3 months later I…gordiejackson.medium.com4. Words are things that sometimes are enough.I didn’t see home until the early hours. Those signs of Christmas keep happening and a friend had a get-together…gordiejackson.medium.com5. There is pain amongst the commuters of the morning hour.The concourse of the station is like inside the school gates. There is a familiarity. There is a recognition of others…gordiejackson.medium.com6. What was the kerfuffle in Brussels on Monday about?The Customs Union, Single Market, Irish Bordergordiejackson.medium.com7. Trust life to bring us to the place we should be!Each day is like an Advent calendar it will bring a surprisegordiejackson.medium.com8. Even the pubs want to sparkle at ChristmasWe all want better even if than means using our imaginationsgordiejackson.medium.com9. 3 EU presidents and DonaldBrexit agreement, Trump is the word, Christmas is still on its waygordiejackson.medium.com10. I surrenderI was brought up with ‘No surrender’ as the slogan of my people yet yesterday I heard the creative spirit say, “You…gordiejackson.medium.com11. Snow SundayWho been walking in your footprints?gordiejackson.medium.com12. SnoringDid you ever hear a story in a place you didn’t expect and the story stayed with you?gordiejackson.medium.com13. Snow, trains, abandonmentWhat might they represent?gordiejackson.medium.com14. What to do with worriesA practical aidgordiejackson.medium.com15. The music carries me to a place beyond my fearsIt is a familiar walk. It feels like swimming in a lane as my feet know exactly how to get me to the station without me…gordiejackson.medium.com16. We all need endingsI heard two blokes talking as I walked behind them in the town centre today. They had their hi-vis jackets on, perhaps…gordiejackson.medium.com17. Making all things goodHow do we make things good? How do we get the good out of things or people? In the Christian tradition sexual lust is…gordiejackson.medium.com18. Stand fearlessly in the power of desolationAfter meeting today I was speaking with a friend in her nineties. I like to speak to the those who have lived in the…gordiejackson.medium.com19. While they say, “You can’t” I amThe mind is a powerful machine that holds so many voices. I overslept this morning, I am on holiday so I didn’t have to…gordiejackson.medium.com20. In the light, only the dark spots showIn the dark only you shinegordiejackson.medium.com21. Cheer someone this Christmas send a card!I am a ‘Card sender’. Yes, it is a belief though not yet a religion. I believe in sending cards at Christmas. I don’t…gordiejackson.medium.com22. If we do not believe we will not achieve.If we do not write there will be no words to readgordiejackson.medium.com23. “We are on the bridge”How with a bit of imagination a family meeting can become a scene in Mission Impossiblegordiejackson.medium.com24. “Well as it is Christmas”Italian couple get engaged at London Sky Gardengordiejackson.medium.com25. Christmas magic does not take much, a window, a room, a fire and darkness.I decided to have a car-free day as in the panic to get everything done the roads clog up. I walked into town. It was…gordiejackson.medium.com26. Love came down at Christmas and it is still here!“You are loved”gordiejackson.medium.com27. Christmas day with Greta Garbo and The Lonely CityWe had a small meeting for worship this morning. There were six of us. It lasted 30 minutes, half the usual time. I had…gordiejackson.medium.com28. Boxing day 2017A quote to reflect the emotion, a story of cleansinggordiejackson.medium.com29. The Twilight Zone (between Christmas and New Year)When loneliness reveals itself mostgordiejackson.medium.com30. The sun will rise and so will we!I struggled to get up this morning. It is a feeling with which I am well acquainted. Not often these days though when I…gordiejackson.medium.com31. If someone was to clear away your stuff what genius would they find?Wonderment only comes when we realise by chance what we were missinggordiejackson.medium.com32. Dream it while you sleep, live it while awakeI was listening this morning to Marianne as I do most Saturdays while I make an attempt at restoring order to the home…gordiejackson.medium.comg
