These are a few of my favourite things!

No, I'm not really about to compete with Julie Andrews and burst into song! I was just thinking about some of the things that I like in particular and in general, so here they are:

1. Misty September mornings. I think that walking across a field when the grass is wet with dew, the mist is rising as the day wakes up, alone with your thoughts, is absolutely magical.
2. Paintings by a fabulous artist called Geoffrey Key. He is part of the Northern School, hailing from Manchester, and I have several of his paintings. One of my favourites is called Setting Sun, and it's the picture at the top of this Blog. I love the rich colours!
3. I love my vocation! I cannot think of any other work that would give me so much pleasure. Pretty well everything that I am involved in is to do with the ministry that I've been called to, whether it's the work that I do with my church and denomination, my hymn-writing or The Voice magazine.
4. When I want to retreat and get closer to God, nothing can beat walking in the Welsh mountains for me. Some people might think that you would be lonely, but I find that you are enveloped by the surroundings in a most indescribable and wonderful way. Before moving to my present home I lived in a tiny hamlet situated on the edge of a mountain range, and it was a wonderful place to be.
5. What could be better than waking up in the morning next to the person you love! I love looking across at Gill as she slowly comes alive in the morning.
6. There's an expression that 'Sad movies always make me cry'. Well that may be so, but, adapting the saying a little, 'Old movies always make me smile'. I guess it's another of those things where familiarity is comfortable, but I still get as much pleasure from watching re-runs of favourite movies as I did when I first saw them.
7. The sound of children laughing is one of the best tonics that you can get. If you're feeling a little down, just walk past a school playground at a break-time and hear the sounds of the children playing. You don't need to see them even, just hear them, in order to lift your spirits. I guess that it's the sound of people being happy!
8. Talking about laughing, I can think of no better way to make you feel better all over than to have a really good laugh, you know, one of those laughs that has tears rolling down your face! I laugh at the simplest situations. I love some of the situations in TV programmes like Only Fools and Horses. Every time that I see the episode with the chandeliers, where The guys are waiting below a chandelier to catch it in a blanket when it's knocked out from the room above, only to discover too late that they are waiting under the wrong one, my sides ache from the laughter.
9. The pleasure that we get from our little dog, Sam, is priceless. He understands a wide vocabulary, which means that you have to be careful about using certain words or expressions in his hearing. I love the way that he seems to be fast asleep and yet you only have to say the word'DO' in a certain questioning tone for him to be bouncing around your feet, expectantly waiting to see his lead materialise from the ether, no matter what time of day it is.
10. Last on this list, but by no means least, is the pleasure that I get from writing my blog. I try to maintain your interest, dear reader, with a variety of subjects approached from different angles. I guess that the fact that you give a little of your precious time to share my journey means that I'm successful to some degree!