This is the Place

 This is going to be a bitty blog post.  Random thoughts brought together.  We live in hope, or so Rebecca Solnit would want for us. The first thought has been nagging at the back of my brain the last few days.  We live next door to an Asian family, when I moved in a couple of years ago (or longer) the little boy came up to me and said "hello, I am your neighbour", whenever their cricket ball thumps my window and I feel cross I remember that.  

There is a small Muslim community in Tod, I see the men going to prayer many days.  The Singh community and the Muslim community help when there is a flooding crisis in the town they bring in food and help to clear the  houses of water. Surely very neighbourly.

I think up North they have a very different attitude to people of other religions.  Yes I know the terrible thing that happened in Manchester when another fanatical Muslim person attacked at the Jewish synagogue, it was terrible but it was one crazily stupid terrorist.  He was shot dead by the police and a vigil was held for the two Jewish men who had died at this moment in time.

Tony Walsh wrote a poem, it was given out at the last time time in 2022, at the concert in Manchester Arena when another terrorist bomber killed 22 people, mostly youngsters 'This is the Place' you can find it in the highlighted link.

We have Andy Burnham as the mayor of Manchester now and listening to him speaking on the religious programme this morning, he said he was a lapsed Catholic.  Same as me, though actually it was the young child in me at Sunday school, who asked the pertinent question as I looked down at my prayer book.  So, if that bearded man is God of us all, why do Chinese and all those other people on the planet not believe in him? That thought scuppered my religious beginnings from an early age.

But one thing I am fairly sure about is that Jesus's teachings were right to love one's neighbour.  And so today, I fervently hope that the hostages will be released in Palestine tomorrow and that some kind of peace will be arrived at,  And that terrible broken place of Palestine will one day be rebuilt.

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As usual blowing their own Northern trumpets!!!

This is the place in the North West of England

It’s ace, it’s the best and the songs that we sing

From the stands, from our bands set the whole planet shaking

Our inventions are legends! There’s nowt we can’t make and