GOD & STEPHEN HAWKING

John C. Lennox

Richard Dawkins and now Stephen Hawking annoy me no end with their aetheist proclamations and rallying cries. Each to his own, and if people are aetheists good luck to them, but I get tired of reading from people who should know better,  that science has replaced God. From a newspaper review I'd read, a professor of mathematics at Oxford felt the same so I ordered his book "God and Stephen Hawking" and now, having devoured it, I feel much better. John C. Lennox MA PhD DPhil Dsc is no lightweight and has debated Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens and lectured all over the world. He says in an erudite and often amusing way, that offering people the choice between God and science is illogical - it isn't a question of either/or. We need both levels of explanation to give a complete description. The two complement each other. God is the cause in the first place of there being a world for the laws of physics to describe.
I feel happier today knowing that someone is answering the dogmatic aetheists back. And it makes me laugh when I think of the slogan on London's bendy buses that "there is PROBABLY no God so go and enjoy your life" - nothing like sitting on the fence!

CHESHIRE CHEESE

We've been enjoying Michael Portillo's train journeys on BBC2 and when he stopped off at a traditional cheese-making farm in Cheshire I sat up and took note. I love cheese - the more traditional and tasty the better - and this farm looked fantastic. It belongs to the Bourne family and is situated in Malpas. After the programme I looked the place up on the internet and discovered that it was possible to order online ( http://www.hsbourne.co.uk/ ). I filled in an old-fashioned looking form and ordered Mrs Bourne's cheese selection. There was no method of paying so I didn't hold out much hope and the website didn't seem to have been updated since 2002. But this morning the beautiful cheeses, bearing hand-written labels, arrived along with the sort of invoice we used to be given before the days of plastic.
    I rang the farm to thank them and to give my card details. John Bourne himself answered and told me to pop a cheque in the post when I got chance. "I hope you enjoy them because they're pretty bloody good," he said. I'm absolutely certain we will.

GO AWAY!

If you've put some pornographic request into Google please look elsewhere. My stat counter, although healthy numerically is very unhealthily showing me that hundreds of visits are being made by perverts (mainly in Italy). I don't understand why Google is sending them my way but please, unless reading the ramblings of a grandma who bakes and knits, is what you're after, give it a rest and go and find something more interesting to do with your time.

BBC PARENTING DOCUMENTARY

Today I was asked to publish the following:

BBC Three and Renegade Pictures are making a new documentary about motherhood and parenting and we would love to hear from any mums who are happy to share their stories.

The documentary will be presenter lead and will explore what it’s like to raise children today – it will be a thoughtful, insightful film about the decisions women make and different approaches to being a mum today.

Perhaps you believe there is not enough discipline today and have decided to raise your children with a strict framework?

Or do you think children should be treated like adults and allowed to make their own decisions and choices?

Have you given up your career for your children or do you have help from nannies or other childcare so that you can balance the 2?

Do you worry about the dangers out there and try to protect your children from them or do you think children are too wrapped in cotton wool?

Whatever your age and background – whether you’re a mum, step-mum or foster mum, religious or not, strict or liberal - we would love to hear from you.

If you’re interested in finding out more please email: parent@renegadepictures.co.uk. If you do not have access to email you can call: 020 7449 3242. But please note email is preferential at this stage.

Many thanks and looking forward to hearing from you!

Renegade Pictures

NORMALITY

Thank goodness - we can now see the lawn again and the snow pig is just six inches high. Father Christmas couldn't even deliver Oscar's new bike because he worked out that giving a two-year-old a present and then telling him he can't go outside with it would not be a recipe for a happy Christmas Day. But he did bring the digger that Oscar had requested for over a month.

On Christmas Eve Oscar kept watch for Santa

And it was well worth it

And doesn't everyone get a new scarf and hat at Christmas?

Over Christmas dinner Oscar's uncle did the moving napkin trick to impress his nephew

On Boxing Day we took the London son to the airport  so that he could catch the Easyjet flight to Geneva - because it was over three hours late he missed his transfer at Geneva and ended up sleeping on the airport floor for ten hours.  While he was home for Christmas we were able to quiz him about his engagement - not that he ever gives much away.

This picture may suddenly disappear because my son has the copyright and I haven't been given permission to use it!

NOT NICE

I'm tempted to throw every Christmas card with a snow scene on it in the bin. Snow is not nice and I'm sick to the back teeth of looking out on stranded cars being pushed and birds buried up to their necks in white stuff.

The London son and his fiancee (YES ! they're engaged - hurray) were up for the weekend and in between digging his car out and skidding down the road, he found time to make a snow creature that Oscar thinks is Peppa Pig

We had a lovely party for my birthday at Oscar's mummy and daddy's house and Oscar helped me blow the candles out

There are so many comings and goings planned for this week and next by  car and train and plane that I'm dizzy and if they a actually happen then I'm a monkey's uncle.

QUACKERS

The London son is off to Bruges this weekend - Eurostar permitting. last night he dressed as Count Duckula for a Christmas party.

Our daughter is snowed up in Hull but  managed to dig herself out to enjoy a slap-up meal last night. Meanwhile, Oscar has been plodding slowly around the room doubled up like an old man. When we asked him what he was doing  he said "Dada" - apparently his dad has had a bad back and without him realising it, Oscar was watching his every painful move. And I now have to be as good as gold and have emptied my coat pockets of all sweets because as Oscar's speech has improved I've found myself in hot water as he reports back to mummy and daddy: "Grandma, Oscar, jelly bean"