Heavenly Worldliness

Thames Path South 2-4a More Pics

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 11:45:40 +0000

Thames Path South 2-4a in reverse (Battersea Power Stn-Wandsworth Bridge)

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 11:40:36 +0000

I found it difficult to get back on to the path Tuesday. After a coffee on the Finchley Road I got a train to Victoria again and then a bus to the Chelsea Gate, Battersea Park. I then walked beyond Battersea Power Station before deciding to walk backwards to the Wandsworth Bridge where I had left off the day before, seeing New Covent Garden, the cats and dogs homes, having a lovely walk along the edge of Battersea Park (eventually) and also passing the Albert and Battersea Bridges and seeing the heliport (just missed one taking off) and St Mary's, Battersea, where I failed to locate the grave of Benedict Arnold. Having walked in reverse I could revisit the MacDonald's I had found and catch the bus to Victoria once again to head home. Warm weather though it actually rained at one point.

Thames Path South 1 More Pics

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 17:14:58 +0000

Thames Path South 1 (Putney to Wandsworth Bridges)

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 17:08:49 +0000

From Putney Bridge

Putney Bridge

St Mary's where the Putney debates took place

Wandsworth Park

In these final weeks in London I thought I might try and do the Thames Path South or some of it at least. I took my time over the northern path but I'm trying to fit the southern elements into a much shorter time. So on Monday, after I'd visitethe Escher exhibition, I got down to Putney Bridge on the Underground and crossed the bridge south where I began to walk along the Thames Path towards Wandsworth Bridge. As I came to Wandsworth Bridge I discovered a MasDonalds and nearby a bus to Victoria and then home on another.

Midweek Meeting August 5 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 07:51:37 +0000

Just three of us in the church last night but another four online. We looked at the priestly blessing at the end of Numbers 6 and then spent time in prayer, praying for camps, beach missions, Aber, Ukraine, Ghana and all sorts of other things.

Tu ôl i bob dyn gwych ...

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 22:02:41 +0000

No-one knows quite the origin of the phrase that behind every great man there is a great woman. In 1985 the Eurythmics urged us to ditch the phrase and Maryon Pearson subverted it to "Behind every great man is a surprised woman". The truth is, however, that still today there are great men whose strength lies partly in their excellent wives. That is certainly true of many a man of God.

When I was growing up Derek Swann (1927-2007) and Eryl Davies were among the men of God in Wales and beyond who were serving the Lord with distinction. What I didn't know about them was that, as in the case of my own father-in-law, the two were married to godly Welsh speaking women, both of whom had been students in Aberystwyth University, my own alma mater. Both women died today and will be greatly missed by their families and fellow believers. There is an interview with Ceinwen Swann who married Derek in 1959 on YouTube. Magwen Davies had been very unwell in recent year I understand. Ceinwen's son Phil Swann is the main speaker at next week's EMW Conference in Aberystwyth.

(I should have mentioned that Helen Gibbard, the widow of Rev Noel Gibbard, also died recently. She would have been similar in age.)

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting. But a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Magwen/Eryl Seventies, Ceinwen 2019

Amusching Escher

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 17:57:51 +0000

Escher Schupplement

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 17:52:54 +0000

Escher Exhibischen Schumerschet Housch

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 17:01:50 +0000

It was good to be at Somerset House on Monday for the very well presented exhibition of the work of Dutch artist M C Escher.

Seven People who testified to the innocence of the Lord Jesus

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 07:45:48 +0000

James Tissot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Pontius Pilate: The Roman governor who presided over Jesus' trial. He publicly declared multiple times that he found no fault in Him. Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this man." ... Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. ... For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him." Luke 23:4, 13-15, 22, (Also John 18:38, 19:4)
Pilate’s Wife. She sent a message to her husband warning him not to harm Jesus because of a troubling dream she had. While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him." Matthew 27:19
Herod Antipas: The tetrarch of Galilee who also examined Jesus. After questioning Him, he found no grounds to condemn nim to death and sent him back to Pilate. See above, Luke 23:15
The Repentant Thief. The criminal crucified alongside Jesus defended him while on the cross, stating that Jesus had done nothing wrong. We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. Luke 23:41
The Roman Centurion: The soldier in charge of the execution detail declared Jesus to be a righteous and innocent man immediately after witnessing his death. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man. Luke 23:47
Judas Iscariot: After realising the consequences of his betrayal, the disciple confessed that he had sinned by handing over "innocent blood". "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." ... Matthew 27:4a
The religious leaders. Despite their efforts the religious leaders could not even find acceptable false evidence against his innocency. The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Matthew 26:59, 60

10 Paradoxical Things that Jesus is as noted by Charles Wesley

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 18:29:19 +0000

From the same hymn (Thou hidden source of calm repose)

Thou art

My rest in toil
my ease in pain (The medicine of my broken heart)
In war my peace
in loss my gain
My smile beneath the tyrant's frown
In shame my glory and my crown
In want my plentiful supply
In weakness my almighty power
In bonds my perfect liberty
My light in Satan's darkest hour

(Three more In grief my joy unspeakable, My life in death, my heaven in all)

10 things that Jesus provides as noted by Charles Wesley

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 18:24:29 +0000

Charles Wesley Unknown Artist via Wikipedia

He provides, according to Wesley,

(Thou hidden source of) calm repose
Thou all sufficient love divine
(My) help and refuge from my foes (Secure I am if Thou art mine)
And lo from sin and grief and shame I hide me Jesus in Thy name (because) Thy mighty name Salvation is And keeps my happy soul above
Comfort it brings
and power
and peace
And joy
and everlasting love
To me with Thy dear name are given Pardon ...

(Two more: and holiness and heaven (Jesu my all in all))

Lord's Day August 2 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 11:34:37 +0000

I was the visiting preacher at Childs Hill last Lord's Day. We began with communion and then I preached on Acts 4:12 to a well packed congregation. We had visitors including the lady from the hotel who turned up last Wednesday and the Saywell family home from the Philippines. Reuben spoke briefly. In the evening there were fewer. We looked at the very encouraging verse, Deuteronomy 33:28. Good day. There won't be many more quite like this.

With the grandchildren

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 04:13:00 +0000

Here I am this time last year with two of my younger grandchildren (Nos 6 and 9 I believe, Boaz & Gwen)

10 More Classical Composer Number Letters H-V

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 04:45:00 +0000

George Frideric Handel B HWV HG
Joseph Haydn HV or Hob
Gustav Holst Holst H
Franz Liszt L LW S
Felix Mendelssohn MWV
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart K or KV WSF
Franz Schubert D
Robert Schumann WoO
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky P TH
Antonio Vivaldi P RN RV

(Also Camille Saint-Saëns R; Georg Philipp Telemann TWV)

Open House

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 20:47:33 +0000

In the light of our upcoming move we decided to have an open house here and it was today. Between 3 and 7 about twenty people popped in, nearly all from the street but supplemented by one or two others from the church. One or two who were invited couldn't make it. We were not particularly diverse perhaps but a quarter of them are Jewish and Australia, Malaysia and Scotland were represented. Three women who came are now in their nineties. People were very kind with all sorts of gifts. It was lovely to chat and reminisce.

10 Classical Composer Catalogue Number Letters B-G

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 19:13:16 +0000

AI generated

Johann Sebastian Bach S or BWV
Béla Bartók BB DD or Sz
Ludwig van Beethoven WoO H Bia or DHT
Hector Berlioz H
Georges Bizet WD
Johannes Brahms WoO
Frédéric Chopin A; A, C, D, E, P and S; G; KK; WN
Claude Debussy L
Antonín Dvořák H B S T
Edvard Grieg EG

The Postal Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 09:30:02 +0000

Had a fun day yesterday at the Postal Museum with my grandson Ezra who is with us for the week. The visit is in two parts - the mail rail on one side of the street and the museum itself on the other. All very well done. Bought a book on Telephone Boxes which I read and enjoyed.

Sunflowers

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 08:53:45 +0000

Sucha great sight. These are in our living room at the moment.

Midweek Meeting July 29 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 21:00:10 +0000

Paul Christian B Yang-ed, CC BY-SA 4.0
<https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0> via Wikimedia Commons

We returned to London in time to lead the midweek meeting. For various reasons we thought it might be better tio have this all online but then we remembered that a visitor often comes and we have no details for her and so Eleri and I went to the chapel and four others were online. As it turned out, our riend didn't show but two refugees from the hotel round the corner did. One was M, a woman from Kuala Lumpur, a professing Christian, who arrived ten days ago and has left for opersonal reasons. The other was C, a man from Benin (where there was a coup at the end of last year) who arrived 14 days ago. They said they'd be there Sunday. I spoke on Isaiah 26:3, 4. Wonderful verses.

Funeral Eirwen Joy Davies

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 20:22:52 +0000

We headed for Aberystwyth again last Monday. We called into Caerffili en route. Our main reason for heading west this time was for the funeral of Eirwen Davies. When my father-in-law, also there, began his ministry back in 1965 he soon had three elders alongside him (Ieuan Davies, Mike Keen and Ira Mills who soon had to relocate to Yorkshire). Eirwen is the youngest if Ieuan's three children. A medical doctor with a flair for arts and crafts, a believer from the age of four, she remained single and spent most of her life in her home town. She was three weeks older than me and reently died rather suddenly through CJD. I did not know her well partly because when I was a student in Aber she was in Cardiff. We know the family well, however. Eleri is a good friend of Eirwen's brother Geraint (and Tim Mills who was aso there). We sang at the graveside first (the modern way is to have the burial first) then went to Alfred Place where my son is the pastor. Derrick Adams led the whole service and did it well (latterly he was Eirwen's pastor). Everything was in English but for two hymns. There were light refreshments and fellowship after at Llety Parc. Such times are refreshing but sad. I joined Rhodri's half of the congregation in the evening for their midweek meeting. We headed back to London on the Wednesday.

With the Help of Anthony Gormley

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 19:29:40 +0000

On Monday morning we had a family and friends trip down to the British Library. There's not that much to see but Codex Alexandrius and the little Tyndale New Testament are always worth a look. They are also marking 250 years since American Independence and are showing a handwritten copy on sheepskin parchment, the only handwritten ceremonial copy to exist alongside the original manuscript (the Matlack Declaration held at the National Archives in Washington DC). This one is the Sussex Declaration and is on loan from West Sussex Record Office.

Later we got a coffee out on the concourse I placed it on a metal sculpture. It turned out to be an Antony Gormley piece so abit irreverent, although someone who pointed out to us what we were doing thought Mr Gormley would love it. It is perhaps a good sermon illustration of how easily we are irreverend and miss the sacred right in front of us.

Lord's Day July 26 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 19:10:36 +0000

Last Lord's Day was officially my last in Childs Hill but Eleri tells me not to say that as I''ll confuse you all. I'm the visiting preacher this coming Sunday and beyond as August Sundays are notoriously difficult to fill. Anyway last Sunday I preached on my favourite New Testament text, 1 Thessalonians 4:11, 12 and on the text behind me when I stand up on Sundays )Luke 11:27, 28) and that was a good decision. Numbers were not great but it was good to preach once more.

The Natural History Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Brady) — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 18:46:01 +0000

It was good to be at the natural history museum once again last Saturday with family. My third son and his family were around for a few days and they spent the morning in Holland Park and met me in a Caffe Nero near the museum. My nephew Tom also koined us and we enjoyed seeing the various exhibits. Tom is fresh back from Sri Lanka and so this elephnat was of great interest. Lovely time.