The walk near the almshouses was cordoned off because of a dangerous branch on one the large conifers near the church.
The wind was strong enough to blow over wheelie bins and traffic cones in Abingdon today, and to send clouds speeding across the sky.
One tree possibly blown over by Storm Doris was in the Albert Park. It appeared that the protective cage had blown over pulling down the small tree with it.
Early daffodils were blowing in the wind near the Bowls Club, and twigs had fallen on a lot of the walks on this very windy day.
On the Ock Valley Walk a number of large willow trees were down – not blown down by the wind. They were cut back as part of the management of the area before the storm.
Who can take a Storm called ‘Doris’ seriously? Now, one called Storm Apocalypse would grab the attention.
I noticed there was a tree down across the drive to one of the schools just up past the two mini roundabouts trapping the teachers cars in.
That was done on purpose Simon by OCC. By stopping cars turning in or out, they could spin the fact that the traffic congestion has been addressed.
Here in Luton we have been warned that in the wake of Storm Doris we are going to be battered by slight shower Ethel and then drizzle Gladys. The wind is not expected to do any harm, but the sudden downpour of zimmer frames may cause structural damage.
I understand it was caused by Brexit.
Oh what a bunch of cynics!
Julian, i think you are right. I believe there’s also a crack in one of the glaciers in the Antarctic, again, since brexit… There’s a correlation there somewhere.
Really really off topic now, but hey ho, asking my ten year old granddaughter what she did at school today ( she’s at a state C of E primary) she replied we had R E, – that’s good, what bible reading did you do? We didn’t, we were asked to design a Muslim Prayer mat ! So what did you read last week? All about Sikhism, the week before? Can’t remember! But it may have been talking about the Chinese New Year? So when do you do bible readings and discuss Christianity? Not sure !!
PPJS, your thoughts would be much appreciated
I hope they cover Pastafarianism!
Sounds great Capt K. Hopefully future generations will be more understanding of how other cultures/religions work than ours were. I was amazed when I eventually discovered the extent to which the major religions share the same values.
Fully agree – religious education is supposed to educate people about all religions, and hopefully create understanding and tolerance. Surely as someone who identifies as a Christian Steve you would agree with that?
Yes Iain I do, but surely to gain an understanding of other beliefs and followings one must have a good understanding and belief in the starting point? Which in this case is Christianity, surely the fundamentals of going to a C of E school is to learn and understand Christianity? Once that’s achieved ( if ever it can be) one then has the ability, through that knowledge, to make comparisons and judgments ? The other weakness in yours and Hester’s comments is that it’s coming from people who already have an understanding, whether that be by education or just life experience, of Christianity and are the able to make judgments or the sweeping statements you’ve both just made, unfortunately however, it would appear my granddaughters R E lessons in a C of E school is being diverted and diluted by the P C brigade?
My understanding is that The Ten Commandments are a codification of ‘rules which have to apply to any society for it to thrive’ and that these rules, in different formats, have been found to underlie ancient civilizations where records survive. I think it’s mistaken to think that Christianity has a copyright on these rules. Unfortunately, where these rules have been subverted it’s usually been for political/criminal purposes.
Of course, it is possible to recognize the usefulness of these rules without the prop of a formalized religion.
Sorry, Captain, I would have replied earlier, but didn’t check this blog as I usually do.
The subject is Religious Education not Scripture or Christianity, and in even in a church school that remains the same. There is a restriction on evangelising in school. I assume there is an exception in faith school, but there is a difference between church schools (which are part of the state sector and subject to the national curriculum rules) and faith schools.
The difficulty is that most religions have within them “truth claims”, which (to put it most bluntly) means ‘we are right’. This does not sit well in a pluralist society – and while the Judaeo-Christian traditions have had a major impact on shaping life in Britain, we are now much more a secular society.
In a secular society truth claims are not protected. This is, of course, as true for atheists and their truth claims as it is for those who adhere to a religious viewpoint.
RE is now really a branch of social anthropology. Discuss!
Religious education in schools is not simply about religious education. in 2010 the government issues RE guidelines to schools that stated that a core aim of religious education is to “provide a key context to develop young people’s understanding and appreciation of diversity, to promote shared values and to challenge racism and discrimination… (it) teaches pupils to develop respect for others, including people with different faiths and beliefs, and helps to challenge prejudice.”
School RE syllabus, even in a CofE school is set by the government and assessed by OFSTED.
I think you should check what the school actually does Steve, rather than just assuming that, because it teaches about ‘other’ religions, it doesnt teach about Christianity. I suspect the fact you are refering to RE lessons means you are thinking about your own primary education in (the 50/60s?) as they dont really divide the school day up that way anymore at primary level.
Assuming that your grandaughter still goes to the same school you have previously referred to, then it is the same one my children all went to. There was lots of ‘Christain’ stuff in their education, including (daily I think but certainly frequent) assemblies which in effect include a sermon and singing of hymns. As with all CofE schools, there are governors appointed by the dioces and I am sure they are diligent on ensuring the guideline of your church are adhered to.
My suggestion to you, if you are actually concerned rather than just stirring up a bit of a debate, is to go and speak to the school, who I’m sure would be delighted to explain to you how it delivers a broad relogious education within a christian framework.
By the way, you continually refer to the pc brigade, who are these people? Just people who don’t agree with you? People born after 1960? People who dislike bigotry? I’m curious…
There are exceptions. Muslim Faith Schools teach pupils about Christianity in that we are all Kuffir and unbelievers and should be wiped from the face of the earth along with homosexuals.
So you’ve experienced that yourself have you Janet? Or have you just used the copy and paste function on your computer from a propaganda website/social media post again to try and join in the conversation?
It’s comments like Janet’s that make me greatly relieved that modern schools teach a broad and tolerant view on religion and dont regurgitate the Daily Mail’s latest rant as ‘godsent’ truth.
Steve – if you’re genuinely concerned about what your grandaughter is taught about religion, I recommend you actually talk to the school who I’m sure will tell you what they actually teach. I think your summary is somewhat skewed.
My kids (and David’s) went to the same school and they did indeed get taught about lots of religions. They also had daily (I think) assemblies which were christian, sang hymns, had a nativity play and acarol concert. They also have diocesean governors who ensure the school is compatible with what their church wants them to teach.
Thanks Janet for summing up so succinctly why it’s so important that future generations grow up with an understanding of the reality of different religions and beliefs rather than relying on biased and hateful propaganda.
Christianity is not taught just in RE lessons in a c of e primary. Pretty standard to be learning about all religions in the weekly timetabled RE lesson. Your granddaughter was only telling you about 1 week of many! If she can’t remember what they did in the autumn term in RE classes, maybe her parents need to.encourage her to pay better attention in class.
Oh Janet. I do love you!!!
I do not look at propagandist web sites. I look at the teachings of various religions. Of course there are extremists in all religions. I am against segregation as how can pupils learn more about each other if they are segregating into faith schools?
Some really interesting comments here, I’m not sure I put my point across and reading some of the comments I’m not sure I should even have one as I’m more aligned to Janet than anyone else here.
Either way religion is a very personal thing and those who remember Dave Allen will remember his closing gambit ” may your god go with you”
I suppose what I’m trying to say is that before being taught about other religions and followings one must first have an understanding of who and what you are?
Imagine trying to understand long division if you have no understanding of simple additions? or being told to run a marathon before you’ve run 100 meters?
How can you be taught tolerance and understanding if you don’t really understand what you should be tolerant of?
If that’s the case then there’s a very real risk of being naive, not tolerant. Here’s a bit of Janet for you:- last week a suicide bomber blew up tens of people in Syria, it transpires he was taken to quantanimo by the USA because he was considered a terrorist, then because he was a British passport holder his MP and our government campaigned for his release, they succeeded and when he returned to the UK they gave him £1 million compensation, now was that a case of tolerance Miss judged, or pure naivety?
The issue is that curiculam is set by government who by and large are about appeasing minority’s because they’re swing can be an election winner rather than the rank and file majority who trust in the machine to deliver the best for them, the majority, meanwhile our core, our fundamentals, the very stuff that made this little place so amazing for the past 1000 years is being eroded and diluted!
What a load of tosh
A friend of mine told me a little story last week, she said that, having hurt herself she let out a little yelp and minor expletive. Her 6yr old over hearing this said, “you should be careful mummy, [insert name of deity here to appease all] is always watching…”
Personally, I find that a little unsettling; regardless of what religion.
Religion has been privatised (sequestrated), but religion is actually a public matter. Religion does not have to include the idea of God, but it attempts to explain the the world and how to live in it by reference to something/someone greater than me or, indeed, us.
It is not the only way of describing the world but to the extent that it draws a paradigm of explanation it is more than simply a private belief. Personal adherence to a belief system is, as the Captain hints, more than simply a matter of individual choice. It arises from all sorts of influences – among them, family nurture and societal shaping. and these we may conform to or reject, but we do not act in isolation from the circumstances of our upbringing.
I suspect that if we had been born and brought up in Afghanistan or Iran, some of us who contribute to this blog would have been Muslims – because that’s what we would have learnt and come to believe.
Janet is right, there are extremes in all faiths. The danger is in believing that this is the whole story.
I have spoken to an Ofsted inspector who said that it was very difficult to inspect some Muslim Faith Schools as they were viewed with hostility and non co-operation. In fact a Muslim faith school was not inspected properly by Ofsted because officials were “prohibited” from speaking to pupils or staff, the regulator has admitted.
Janet, if you have evidence that OFSTED inspectors are failing to carry out their jobs correctly might I suggest that you alert OFSTED to that ‘fact’? I’m pretty sure they’ll be very interested.
I actually had a long conversation with an Ofsted inspector. They are very well aware of the problems encountered.
Thank you PPJS, eloquently put,