A new series of the popular television programme ‘Gladiators’ has begun. Warren Furman was a star in the original series in the 1990s. He felt that being part of the programme under his pseudonym ‘Ace’ gave him everything he had ever wanted, but gradually realised that fame and fortune brought problems he was not prepared…

Holocaust Memorial Day takes place on 27 January each year and is a time to remember especially the millions of people murdered during the Holocaust under Nazi Persecution. It is a time to seek to learn the lessons of the past and recognise that genocide does not just take place in isolation. It’s a steady…

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs. Sepsis always starts with an infection. The body’s immune system – which normally helps to protect us and fight infection – goes into overdrive. Sepsis can lead to shock, multiple organ failure and sometimes death,…

End of life care is being actively discussed in Britain today, especially what is known as “assisted dying.” The word euthanasia comes from two Greek words meaning “good death.” Every day doctors must make difficult decisions about whether to continue treatment or to withdraw artificial life-support measures knowing this will mean the patient dying. “Assisted…

Fanny Crosby was a prolific hymn writer, writing more than 8000 hymns. Soon after she was born, in 1820, it was realised that she was totally blind. Before she was one year old her father died so Fanny was cared for by her mother, Mercy, and her maternal grandmother, Eunice. The family moved to New…

A New Year is beginning. Starting something new gives us an opportunity to do better. Some people make New Year resolutions. It is good to resolve to change for the better and do things differently from the way we have in the past. When we were in primary school and had made lots of mistakes…

Many people around the world are remembering the birth of Jesus. He was the most extraordinary person the world has ever seen but the circumstances of his birth were amazingly ordinary. To comply with a Roman census, Mary and Joseph, a newly married couple, had travelled from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem. The town was…

World War I was a terrible war. The total deaths, both military and civilian, were 20 million with another 21 million casualties. The guns began firing across the green fields of France and Belgium in August 1914 and by Christmas Day had already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. In October 2014 the British army…

Tragically, hate is a characteristic of our modern world. Hate is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things, or ideas. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger and contempt. Hate is ugly and is the opposite of love which is beautiful. Some examples of hate are: hate speech, hateful social media…

The Brazilian footballer Roberto “Bobby” Firmino has had a very successful career. After playing in Brazil and Germany he signed for Liverpool in 2015 and now plays in Saudi Arabia. He has represented Brazil 55 times scoring 17 goals. He grew up in a poor family in Brazil. His father, Jose, was a street vendor…