Post 11/2023 Cornwall UK Saturday 1 April . . . Today, in windy, changeable weather, we set out for lunch in St Erth. First we took the nine-minute branch line to St Erth Station, then walked 30 minutes to the village. We had a very nice lunch at the Star Inn, (fish pie for Marty, …
Author: John Bender
Hi, my name is John Bender, retired and loving it. I'm writing to help interested people cross bridges to and from the past. Stories from the past can shed light on life in the present and illuminate the future. We've got a lot of living to do. Let's do it!
An enduring fountain of knowledge a library offers
Post 10/2023 Cornwall UK Sunday 26 March . . . Advocates for removing certain books from school and public libraries, have a question to consider: why go against the verdict of history? Censorship lasts for a day. The free pursuit of knowledge, while often circumscribed, endures. My favorite image of a library is that of …
Continue reading An enduring fountain of knowledge a library offers
Whether or not to say more about water and weather . . .
Post 9/2023 Cornwall UK Saturday 18 March . . . More it is. A rainy week has been encouraging, if limiting. More moisture is needed to replenish the county's and country's water supply (see last week's blog). I'm not quite up to the exuberance of Gene Kelly in the 1952 musical Singin' in the Rain, …
Continue reading Whether or not to say more about water and weather . . .
Water, water, everywhere . . .
Post 8/2023 Cornwall UK Saturday 11 March . . . Water, water, everywhere, except in Cornwall's main reservoir, which is less than half full. Desalination offers one answer to the shortage. South West Water has plans to build two desalination plants that would provide a third of the county's drinking water. (Desalination plants remove salt …
On Trencrom Hill
Post 7/2023 Cornwall UK Monday 6 March . . . A memorable moment last week involved looking across Cornwall from coast to coast. We walked to Trencrom Hill from where we could see the Atlantic to the north and St Michael's Mount in the English Channel to the south--a distance of 8.5 miles between Carbis …
A week on
Post 6/2023 Saturday February 25 . . . Our first full week in Cornwall included getting around on foot, bus and train. It included shopping for groceries, settling into our flat, taking part in Shrove Tuesday activities at St Anta & All Saints, having a few guests for lunch, and tuning in to favorite tv …
First post from Cornwall
Post 5/2023 Friday 17 February . . . Made it here as planned, despite one hiccup. The one-and-a-half-hour delay in Atlanta meant we arrived at Heathrow a bit late (a strong tailwind helped push us into almost 600mph), but we had just enough time to pick up our train tickets at Paddington for the five-and-a-half-hour …
Cornwall calling 2023
Post 4/2023 Saturday 11 February . . . We're about to hop across the pond to Cornwall UK. Our routine has been to return in winter/spring to counties Cornwall (and Devon) in southwest England. We're returning to Carbis Bay on the north Atlantic coast. We first visited England in 1975. It was part of a …
A canceled worship service
Post 3/2023 Sunday 5 February . . . I was slated to give the sermon (adapted following) today at worship services for residents in Greencroft Healthcare and Evergreen Place Assisted Living. Covid-19 precautions meant the service was canceled in Healthcare, as well as in Assisted Living since the roof of the chapel there needs fixin', …
A birthday, fables, fresh air
Post 2/2023 Sunday 29 January . . . I like fables. Stories that use cleverness and understanding to solve problems, real or imagined. I like the ancient fables of Aesop. The Boy Who Called Wolf, comes to mind. On the flip side, we've got those nasty conspiracy theories to contend with--mindlessness as opposed to the …
It's About Now 