These Lively Oracles

Nicknames have always been a staple in the workplace. And while a few of them were derogatory I have found that the majority of them were quite funny and quite poignant. One well known guy was nicknamed “The Stabiliser”. This was on account of his feet having a pronounced “out-turn”. They were nearly 180 degrees wide when he stood up. Another famous guy was nicknamed “Wingnut” on account of his ears sticking out like a wingnut. It was said of one other guy who had a limp that he had a short leg and an even shorter one. I remember one guy I worked with was called “Wire-Neck” on account of having bits of metal clamped to his neck after an operation on his vertebrae. He was in a traffic accident in his younger days and had to have his spine stapled together. “The Hat” just generally referred to anyone who was a manager on account that historically they wore Bowler hats or any other type of hat that distinguished them from the ordinary workers. But it wasn’t just people who had...

On a recent citybreak weekend to London I had bought some theatre tickets to take my wife to a very popular show. We had had a great weekend and everything had gone to plan right up until we got into the queue for the show.  The production was called “The Show That Goes Wrong”. It’s a very popular show on stage and television. Very slapstick. Very carefully calculated. And the whole show is based around things going wrong and it is a very entertaining show. Time was moving along closer to the start of the show. Unfortunately the queue wasn’t moving along so we could be seated for the show to start. Suddenly theatre staff were coming along the line and handing out leaflets saying that the show had been cancelled. No reasons given. “Technical difficulties” were cited as the reason. Some people actually turned and started to wonder if this was just a new twist in the show’s plotline – Wondering if the show had actually been cancelled, etc. But it was true. The show really was...

I did some electrical work recently for someone. And whoever had worked on the house originally had clearly got no idea of what he was doing. You see, electricians have a book of regulations that we work to. We simply refer to it as “The Regulations”. But in reality it has a very long title with British Standard Classification numbers and other various legal documents referred to within it. It is also sometimes referred to as “The Code Of Good Practice”. This is the “go-to” document for all electrical standards within the U.K. And although other countries have their own versions of these documents when it comes to how a electrical circuit is actually wired the wiring is pretty similar the world over. However. I’m not so sure that the guy who had previously wired this house even knew that such a document ever existed. Every single part of the wiring circuit was wrong. Oh, it worked. But, like everything, all’s well and good until something goes wrong. And that’s where the ...

  In the movie “Funny Girl” Barbara Streisand sang “People who need people, are the luckiest people in the world”. And surely this must truly within the body of Christ. We are all just people. With our responsibilities. With   our hang-ups. We have worked hard to gain what we have earned and we carry our hardships with whatever dignity we can. Some people that I have encountered along my Christian journey have been real motivators and inspirations that I still look back fondly on. I remember….. Colin – An older man who taught me about the unity of all Christians. He was a great example of getting along with other Christians, even when they disagreed strongly. We shared a few coffees and laughs along the way. And ofcourse, there were more than a few bible gems dropped along the way that I could pick up on. Edward – A man who taught me the value of reading correctly. He gave me several books. These were the sort of books that would lead you on to read other books...