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12 January 2013

War Cry THE

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No 7098

Universal Pictures

FIGHTING FOR HEARTS AND SOULS

Students prepare for the French Revolution in ‘Les Misérables’

A L !

E N V O I I V LUT O V E R FANS no longer have to dream the dream. Les Misérables has finally hit the big screen. Cinemagoers are packing out stalls and humming along with stars as they belt out the show-stopping tunes ‘On My Own’, ‘One Day More’ and ‘Bring Him Home’.

The film version of Les Mis is based on the musical written by Boublil and Schönberg, who adapted the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo. Ever since the stage show opened in

Turn to page 3

WE DON’T HAVE TO BE BOUND BY OUR MISTAKES writes CLAIRE BRINE

2

The War Cry 12 January 2013

NEW YEAR HONOUR FOR SALVATIONIST’S COMMUNITY WORK

News

A SALVATION Army volunteer in Rotherham has been awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Year Honours List for services to the organisation and the community.

For 15 years, Barbara Sabin has ministered at Salvation Army churches in the area, building up community programmes to help people who are in need.

Since becoming the leader of the Parkgate Salvation Army church in Rotherham, Barbara has started a second parent-and-toddler group for the community and organised a food programme which every week distributes parcels to people who would otherwise have little or nothing to eat.

GROUP Barbara is not the DOCUMENTS first member of her VIOLATIONS family to have been given the honour – her father received the British Empire Medal in 1946.

She said she was accepting the award ‘on behalf of all those who work and minister through HUMAN rights group The Salvation Army Christian Solidarity to support the most Worldwide (CSW) vulnerable people in documented an increase in violations of freedom of our communities’. religion or belief in Cuba Courtesy of Barnsley Chronicle last year.

CSW says there were 120 reported cases of infringements of religious freedom in 2012, up from 30 cases in 2011.

The number did not include the men and women who were arrested and imprisoned for the Sharen duration of Pope Benedict with Andrew XVI’s visit last March, Foster of which local human rights community groups estimated to be centre upwards of 200. builders According to CSW, Foremans members of congregations attempting to attend activities could not be devel- above the hall has been conchurch activities have oped, or even take place on the verted into a meeting room for been arbitrarily detained same day, until improvements teenagers. and churches have been denied registration and Members of the congregawere made. had their buildings The leader of the tion are planning to use the confiscated. centre, Major Sharen buildings in other ways for the

Volunteer makes the list

Cuba detains churchgoers, says CSW

Barbara, who has been awarded the British Empire Medal, poses with the award given to her father

HECKMONDWIKE SALVATION ARMY REDEVELOPS SITE

Centre builds for future of community

INSIDE

C COMEDY AND THE CCLERGYMAN’S WIFE p8 COMMENT

p6

GARDENING

p7

PUZZLES

p12

INNER LIFE

p13

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

p14

WHAT’S COOKING?

p15

Furlong, said: ‘Our facilities were inadequate. Our church wanted to rectify this.’

The new community building has more entrances, so that different community groups can access it at the same time, and a kitchen that will give the church the capacity to serve nutritious, reasonably priced meals to 80 people.

Renovators have also adapted the centre’s worship hall to make it more accessible. A derelict flat

community.

PRAYERLINK

THE Salvation Army church at Heckmondwike has officially opened its redeveloped site as a community hub.

The centre decided to replace one building and renovate another to improve facilities for anoth its work. wo It was already running a playgroup and luncheon club in playg its co community building, but the

YOUR prayers are requested for three-year-old Molly, who has a brain tumour; for David, who has cancer; for Monica, who has undergone an operation for bowel cancer; for Terry, who has been unwell, and for his wife; and for Alan, who has breathing problems.

The War Cry invites readers to send in requests for prayer, including the names of individuals and details of their circumstances.

Send your requests to PRAYERLINK, The War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN. Mark your envelope ‘Confidential’.

12 January 2013 The War Cry

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Universal Pictures

Valjean vows to live differently Valjean says: ‘He gave me hope when hope was gone; he gave me strength to journey on.’

Valjean is right.

Trying to find hope in what appears to be a hopeless situation is difficult. When life is falling apart, we can feel broken, abandoned and doubtful that things will ever improve.

But the truth is, there is always hope. We can find strength we didn’t know we had – if we turn to God for help.

The Bible says: ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble’ (Psalm 46:1 New International Version).

If we turn to God and tell him our problems, he will help us to cope with them. He will give us the strength to overcome them.

Whatever we have done wrong in the past, God can forgive us and show us how to live better in the future.

We don’t have to stay the way we have always been. God is willing to change us, to forgive us, to clean us, to make us a new person.

When we stop living to please ourselves and commit ourselves to God, he can turn our world upside down and turn us the right way up.

Time to join the revolution?

Valjean (Hugh Jackman) helps Fantine (Anne Hathaway)

From page 1 1985 in the UK, it has been a runaway hit.

The show has been translated into 21 languages and performed in 43 countries. No wonder Hollywood stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway signed up to feature in the film adaptation.

It is set in 19th-century France, where Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) is granted parole after 19 years in prison.

He is angry and homeless. He stays with a bishop, but then robs him. When Valjean is caught by police and taken back to face the bishop, he cannot believe his ears when the bishop forgives him, gives him a gift and offers him a second chance.

The kindness shown to Valjean turns his world upside down. He has never experienced anything like it. He vows to start living differently. He starts praying to God. When he becomes Mayor of Montreuil, Valjean takes the opportunity to help others who are desperate. He meets a prostitute called Fantine (Anne Hathaway) who is dying, and he promises to commit his life to looking after her daughter.

Years later, France is rocked by revolution. In the search for equality, liberty and brotherhood, there is death and destruction all around. But Valjean never forgets the Christian influence of the bishop who showed him the goodness of God. When reflecting on the problems that surround him and how a faith in God can help,

Valjean cares for Fantine’s daughter, Cosette

G N When the ROWI G 4

What’s going on

gets

I

H G U TO

T began with numbers: one in five British youths is unemployed; 300,000 claim benefits; most get £8 a day. But BBC Three’s two-part documentary series Growing up Poor is also es. putting faces to figures.

Next Wednesday (16 January), uary), the focus is on the lads – Craig, aig, Wes and Frankie. Earlier thiss week, viewers met the girls – Bridie, Amber and Shelby.

Bridie, 17, from Rotherham, did not have a strong relationship with her mother and never knew her father. her. She had run-ins with the law. She wanted to join the British Army but for the moment was fighting to keep a roof over her head as her debts caught ht up with her.

In Bradford, Amber, 16, was unemployed and pregnant. She was mending her relationship with her mother, who also had become pregnant when young. ‘It’s like Amber’s following the same paths,’ Mum m reflected.

Seventeen-year-old Shelby was working on a six-month work

Amber is unemployed and pregnant

TIM LAWTON tells Philip Halcrow about his TV documentary on teenagers in hard times

WTON

/TIM LA

n North

e Visio BBC/Tru

placement, receiving the same money as she would have done on job seekers’ allowance. She wanted to go ‘down the right path’. She budgeted for her life alone in her flat. She spoke of responsibility and said there was no way she could have a baby. By the end of the film, her work placement had come to an end and had not resulted in the offer of a job. And she was pregnant.

‘These girls live complicated lives,’ says the documentary’s director Tim Lawton. ‘There are a lot of cyclical and intergenerational problems. Amber is having ing a baby while young, ou , just as her mum did. Shelby and Bridie have difficult relationships with their parents, and the parents themselves

DIRECTOR: Tim Lawton

12 January 2013 The War Cry

5

Shelby was working hard. But at the end of her placement she did not get a job

have issues to face.’

Tim’s series is a follow-on from Poor Kids, which generated about a thousand comments to the BBC’s TV blog after it was broadcast in 2011. It also attracted interest in Parliament.

Tim says: ‘I worked on Poor Kids, which had got a huge response. For Growing up Poor we went to similar areas and looked at generally an older age-group.

‘It took us the best part of six months to settle on the three girls.

‘I was keen to include Amber. The girls’ film was always going to have to address teenage pregnancy in some way, and I wanted to have someone who would be giving birth in our window of filming.

‘I chose to follow Shelby, because I was keen on having somebody

Although some of Bridie’s behaviour might be challenging, there was a depth to her

Above: Shelby lives in a sparsely furnished flat Below: Bridie says: ‘I don’t want discipline, but I need it’

who was trying to further herself and get ahead. I wanted to show the job opportunities that were available to someone who left school without a lot of qualifications and who did not get much guidance or support from family.

I was keen to show somebody who was looking for work rather than seeing benefits as their immediate lot.

‘When I met Bridie, I liked her.

Although some of her behaviour might be challenging, there was a greater depth to her than might immediately come across.

‘I wanted to get to know the girls over a period of time.’

So Tim followed them over the summer last year. His film captured Amber being encouraged to give up smoking for the health of her baby. He watched Shelby take

delivery of a donated cooker for her sparsely furnished flat – and respond philosophically when she discovered that it had no power cable. ‘There’s always something,’ she reflected.

‘Never mind.’

And he witnessed Bridie’s struggles to pay her rent and buy food – as well as moments when she expressed a desire for a different kind of life and looked critically at her own. ‘I don’t want discipline, but I need it,’ she said.

‘The problems the girls face are entrenched and complex,’ says Tim. ‘Sometimes the value that they had for themselves was so small – and they felt apart from the security of strong relationships. The fact that Amber was with her mum made her situation different from the others’, but a lack of strong relationships could feed into an attitude that didn’t help them believe they could shape their future.

‘Then, for instance, Shelby was working for six months in a shop, stacking shelves. She was working hard. But at the end she did not get a job. That affects self-worth.’

Did Tim glimpse a solution to the girls’ problems?

‘Money might change things, but it’s not the answer,’ he says. ‘There’s no point in just thinking that throwing more money at these problems will make them go away. I don’t know what the answers are. The film wasn’t trying to provide answers. It was only trying to show what the realities are.

‘The main reason we made the film was to try to give the girls a platform to talk about their lives. The viewer won’t always like what they’re saying, but I hope that by the end will have some greater understanding.’

Q The first episode of Growing up Poor is scheduled to be repeated on BBC Three tomorrow (Sunday 13 January)

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The War Cry 12 January 2013

Comment

Sound advice IT is a well-established belief that having a faith benefits mental wellbeing. In 1999, the Health Education Authority published a guide which stated that many people find help and support in faith. In 2007, Keeping the Faith – a Mental Health Foundation report – explored ‘how spiritual activities as part of an integrative approach can support the mental health and healing of individuals’.

This month’s British Journal of Psychiatry includes the findings of a team headed by Professor Michael King of University College London.

The researchers interviewed more than 7,000 people in the UK on the relationship between a spiritual or religious understanding of life and psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses.

Thirty-five per cent of the respondents said they were ‘religious’. Of these, 90 per cent described themselves as Christian. Nineteen per cent of respondents said they were ‘spiritual but not religious’ and 46 per cent were neither ‘religious’ nor ‘spiritual’.

The study found that ‘spiritual people were more likely than those who were neither religious nor spiritual to have ever used or be dependent on drugs and to have abnormal eating attitudes, generalised anxiety disorder, any phobia or any neurotic disorder. They were also more likely to be taking psychotropic medication.’

The researchers concluded: ‘People who have a spiritual understanding of life in the absence of a religious framework are vulnerable to mental disorder.’

Some people choose spirituality because they see organised religion as corrupt, repressive or restrictive. In parts, it is.

In essence, the Christian religion is not about religious observances, organised or otherwise. It is about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

At first glance, ‘spirituality’ can seem liberating, informed and adult. But living by one’s own beliefs and rejecting the spiritual disciplines and behavioural boundaries of following Jesus is not good for our body, our mind or our soul.

Media Extra, extra-special birthday for paper seller Jack ON his 100th birthday, Jack Webb received a telegram from the Queen, went for a meal with his family – and sold The War Cry in Boston town centre.

Jack, who is a member of the Salvation Army church in the town, first sold The War Cry in ‘about 1929’ to help an older member of the congregation. He began to sell the paper regularly in pubs in around 1940.

On his special day he was happy to go into the town with the paper.

‘People said they were going to have a party when it was my birthday. And selling The War Cry is important to me, because the articles have an up-to-date Christian message,’ he says.

If Jack was happy to go into the town, the public were also happy to Jack sells ‘The War Cry’ see him. on his 100th birthday ‘Most of my regular customers already knew that it was my birthday, and they were pleased to see me. There were also other people who saw my 100th birthday balloon, came up to talk with my colleague Rick, who also sells the paper, and took a A WOMAN who ten years ago kicked her habit of smoking copy away with them.

40 cigarettes a day wrote in The Daily Telegraph that God ‘Nowadays, I’m not healed her from her addiction. able to go into town to Eileen Fairweather – who had previously tried and failed sell the paper as often as I to give up smoking – described how she heard God’s voice would like, but when I do saying that he would give her the strength to quit, and that go, people always come once she had done so, she would have to tell everyone about up to speak with me – and it.

In the article, she shared some of her old diary entries. In because it was my birth- 2002, Eileen wrote: ‘I have been praying, and I truly believe day they were even more it is God who is helping me. The difference from every other pleased to see me and help time I’ve given up is extraordinary. I am not afraid or tense.’ celebrate.’

Reflecting on the past decade without cigarettes, Eileen

God helped me pack in smoking

Cathedral lick hits the heights

wrote: ‘To this day, I am sure I became free of smoking because the love of God – not the retribution – healed me.

‘I have always kept my side of the deal God offered me and, when asked, said that I prayed and he healed me. But I still find it embarrassing.

I am not particularly holy or good.’

AS 2012 drew to an end, Church Times reported that the most popular piece of news on its website was not about the incoming or outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury but a man who had travelled round the UK licking every Anglican cathedral. The paper said that Lawrence Edmonds started his journey as a joke, but it became an attempt to raise awareness and financial support for historic places of worship.

12 January 2013 The War Cry

The great outdoors

7

Ivy berries are less prevalent this year, while ash trees (right) are under threat

Here’s hoping for a better year NOW that the new year is well and truly under way, gardeners may be hoping that it will be more favourable to plants than 2012. The erratic weather over the past 12 months has made gardening a challenge at times.

One plant to suffer as a result of the weather was ivy.

In many parts of the country, the distinctive dark purple berries didn’t form before the onset of winter, robbing birds contain the disease. of a vital food source.

We gardeners can play our The devastating ash tree part to help. Early signs of the fungal disease Chalara disease are noticeable in the fraxinea made headline form of darker patches which news during 2012. Many appear on the foliage and then parts of Europe have suffered spread to young and older devastating losses. News- branches. papers reported that in the The common ash (Fraxinus UK more than 100,000 trees excelsior) and the ornamental were cut down in a bid to variety ‘Pendula’ are particu-

by LEE

SENIOR

larly susceptible to the disease. Older trees are generally more resistant than saplings, though they too can eventually succumb.

Any suspected cases should be reported to the Forestry Commission.

Affected trees need to be disposed of by burning or burying deeply.

LEE SENIOR

ESTABLISHED clumps Q of rhubarb can be forced later this month.

Forcing simply entails covering the crown with an upturned dustbin, large bucket or similar container that will block out the light. In effect it is a kind of blanching. Between six and eight weeks later, thin (almost sickly looking) rhubarb sticks will be ready to harvest. Appearances, however, are deceptive.

The flavour of these forced sticks is less acidic and sweeter than rhubarb grown later in the year.

Time for some seed thoughts SPRING isn’t far away and many gardeners are considering what vegetable and flower seeds to plant. If yours is a small veg patch or border, you need only a few seeds. Economysized packets are great. I always buy parsnip seed in this way, as it is short-lived, staying viable for only one season.

If stored in a cool, dry, dark location, most seeds will remain useable for two to three years. Try a sprinkling of old seed on damp kitchen towel on the windowsill before discarding anything you are unsure about.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised if it germinates, and if you don’t need to buy replacements, you will save a few pounds.

Another way to save money is to share or swap spare seeds with friends or allotment neighbours. Often just a few seeds are enough to try a new variety or to grow a couple of rows.

Beds and borders benefit from mulching with well-rotted manure in readiness for spring.

Cut back any remaining dead herbaceous growth from plants such as sedum before new growth commences.

8

Interview

Did you hear the one about the s ’ r a

R E P O O C A N Y GA re i a l C s l l te w o h e n i r B s l e e f e sh s e k o j t u abo s u s e J and

vic ? e f i w ‘F

OR me, performing stand-up comedy is scarier scarie than having cancer,’ says say Gayna Cooper, an after-din after-dinner speaker who lives in Bedford.

B She should know, because she has experie experienced both.

CLAIRE BRINE

In 22011, Gayna – who had ‘never been ill before’ – developed cancer of the womb.

Thankfully, Than doctors caught it quickly quic and operated. Gayna was wa given the all-clear. She was wa also given a new lease of o life.

JOKING APART: Gayna is a clergyman’s wife and a stand-up comedian

‘Beating cancer spurred m on to live for the now,’ me she says. ‘So, last May, I enrolled on an eight-week comedy course, which culminated in my performing a stand-up routine in several pubs. I was terrified – but I loved it.’

By the time summer came round, Gayna’s story had hit the national papers.

Public interest in her was P hhuge. And Gayna knows why. w

12 January 2013 The War Cry

9

ITV Anglia

Gayna and husband Noel are interviewed for ITV regional news

‘I’m a vicar’s wife,’ she says. ‘And I’m told that’s an unusual tag for a comic to have. I’m also a pensioner and a grandma.’

Gayna explains that she has always enjoyed entertaining people, ever since she was a child.

‘As a little girl, I loved being on stage. But I never really said so, because being a performer wasn’t part of my northern, working-class culture. When you left school, you got a “proper” job.

That was that.

‘Today, I work as an image consultant, so I do a lot of presentations for women’s groups across the country.

I also do after-dinner speaking, and now the comedy as well. Whatever I’m doing, I’m always nervous to be on stage. I worry that I’m not very good.

But when I’m up there, I feel I am where I was always meant to be.’

Through her day job, Gayna learnt about a public-speaking organisation called Toastmasters International.

Four years ago, she joined the Bedford branch because she wanted to develop her communication skills further.

‘The club provides a very nurturing environment,’ she says. ‘Some people join because they want help with preparing a best man’s speech, others join because they get so nervous at

parties that they can’t string a sentence together. Also, accomplished speakers go along just to get better.

‘I learnt that the organisation ran competitions for various types of public speaking, so I entered. So far, I have entered four times and on each occasion I have reached the final for the UK and Ireland. I haven’t won yet, but I think it was through the competitions that people started hearing about me. I built up a reputation as an after-dinner speaker and started getting job offers. I didn’t really do any advertising – I got the work mainly by word of mouth.’

Whether Gayna was giving her image consultant presentation on what to wear and not wear or delivering an after-dinner speech, she always included snippets of comedy. She wanted to make sure that the people who heard her had a ‘jolly, fun time’.

Last summer, someone at Toastmasters told her about a comedy

I’m always nervous. But when I’m on stage, I feel I am where I was always meant to be

The comedy course was probably the most frightening thing I have ever done

course that was being run by a professional comedian. Gayna bit the bullet and signed up. In a group full of young men, Gayna stood out.

‘It was probably the most frightening thing I have ever done in my life,’ she laughs. ‘But, after having cancer, I thought: “What’s the worst that can happen?”

‘A

t the end of the course, the group were thrown in the deep end. We each had to go round four pubs in one evening to perform our set.

‘In the first pub I was awful. I came off stage thinking: “I’ve got to do three more of these!” So I gave myself a good talking to and decided just to enjoy myself.

‘In the following pubs, I began to chat with the audience a bit more, rather than just rush through my routine. It was an amazing experience, and by the time I got to the last pub, I was loving it.’

During her set, Gayna made no secret of the fact that she’s a clegryman’s

Turn to page 10

10

Interview

I think that if Jesus were here, he may even have a little chuckle himself From page 9 wife. She even joked about it.

Most of the time, Gayna’s tongue-in-cheek gags go down well. She hopes people realise that she is not ridiculing the Church or Christianity. But on occasion, she meets criticism for her material.

‘A woman said to me that one of my jokes mocked Holy Communion,’ she says. ‘I guess that for some people – and Christians particularly – my jokes are a step too far. I’m happy for people to talk with me if they feel that way.

‘But at the same time, I’m not going to stop what I am doing.

I’m going to keep making my jokes. I think that if Jesus were here, he may even have a little chuckle himself.

‘I

don’t feel that my material mocks what Jesus has done. If it did, I wouldn’t say it. The last thing I want is to be STEPHANIE SCHAERER/Daily Mail/Solo Syndication offensive.’

Gayna says that to keep her act clean comedy, so I’ll talk about husbands she tries to steer clear of making ‘cheap or the contents of my handbag, and jokes on unsavoury topics’. She doesn’t women relate to that. I think good comuse bad language. But her comedy, she edy is summed up by people laughing says, is mainly for adults. In particu- because they’ve been there, done it, felt lar, she loves performing to groups of it or said it themselves.’ women.

Gayna admits that she often finds ‘I tend to do a lot of observational inspiration for her material in her

DOUBLE ACT: Noel looks over Gayna’s jokes before they are aired in front of an audience (right)

12 January 2013 The War Cry

grandchildren. They provide her with plenty of funny incidents.

‘One of my grandchildren said to me: “You’re the most beautiful grandma in the whole wide world. So why have you got a moustache?”’

Gayna also talks about her husband, Noel, in her act. He is the rector at St John’s Church in Bedford. Gayna points out that, contrary to what the newspapers reported, Noel is supportive of her work.

‘The papers made out that he was horrified by my comedy. But it’s not true. He’s just a very shy and private man. He’s not against what I do and hasn’t asked me to stop doing it.’

Whether she is met with praise or criticism, Gayna seems to make an impact on those who hear her. As well as wanting to make people laugh with her act, she has a message to get across.

‘Whether I’m doing a comedy routine, a speech or a presentation, my message is: This is life – go out and enjoy it. Don’t keep putting things off.

Whatever happens, you can be a victim or a victor.’

She doesn’t spout the Scriptures during her set, but she believes that plenty of Bible passages apply to her comedy.

‘I talk about living for today, and that fits in with what Jesus says about not worrying about food and drink or about tomorrow. Although I don’t often talk

about God directly, my faith is tied up with who I am, so it’s bound to have an impact on what I say.’

G

ayna has been a Christian for a long time. Her faith has helped her through all kinds of difficulties, including the loss of her second of five sons in a cot death and her experience of cancer.

‘When I had cancer, I chose to believe what the Bible says. I believed my name was written on the palm of God’s hand.

When I had cancer, I chose to believe what the Bible says. I asked everyone to pray, and then I just tried to rest in God’s presence

11

I believed that God could heal.

I knew that sometimes miracles happened, and sometimes they ddidn’t. I asked everyone to pray, and the then I just tried to rest in God’s presence. But it wasn’t plain sailing. I still enc hav have my low moments and have to crawl out of them.’ cra W When life is hard, Gayna believes that laughter is therapeutic. She relies tha on laughing to relieve stress. She also thin thinks that God likes the odd chuckle.

‘You only have to look at some people and their situations to see that God has a sense of humour,’ she says.

‘He also must have had a laugh when he created the animals. Can you imagine him saying: “How long shall I make this giraffe’s neck?”

‘God is wonderful and deserves our praise and respect, but I also see him as my heavenly dad. And what dad doesn’t want to see his child giggling and happy?’

Earlier this month, Gayna turned 62. But she has no intention of slowing down. As she considers the future, she wonders where her comedy will take her. She plans to perform more stand-up gigs, as well as continuing with her image consultancy and after-dinner speaking. She also would like to write several books.

‘I’m a great believer that you can do whatever you want to – so long as you put your mind to it,’ she says. ‘While I have the health to do more comedy, I’m going to. One day I won’t have the same opportunity.

So I’m going to go for it. Life is for living.’

For more information visit gayna.co.uk

12

The War Cry 12 January 2013

Puzzlebreak

SUDOKU

WORDSEARCH

Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9

Look up, down, forwards, backwards and diagonally on the grid to find these words which start with ‘cold’

T S T U C T A F O T T R R L

M O H D E O D U R O H E A E

E E E R O L L E D S L T L W

M R C O M F O R T D F U U M

W A V E R Q S E E R R R M G

E D E R G L H D A O A K B E

O T R G M A O L B N M E O R

E A L A C O R U N T E Y H R

S U E W L H T O E T E R C R

T R T B D S I H T C C E O S

C E F R H S E S A S S C T T

S Y E C U E U L E E R O E E

K S I F A G L T W L R F R A

R U R C O A R R S E B R A E

Solution on page 15 BLOODED CALL CHISEL COMFORT CREAM CUTS FEET

QUIC CK CROSSW WORD D ACROSS 1. Woody plant (5) 4. Amidst (5) 8. Unusual (3) 9. Farewell (5) 10. Appetising (5) 11. Garland (3) 12. Make payments (5) 13. Malice (7) 16. Character (6) 19. Meritorious (6) 23. Rumbling noise (7) 26. Eagle’s nest (5) 28. Beam (3) 29. Also-ran (5) 30. Loitered (5) 31. Moral depravity (3) 32. Rendezvous (5) 33. Holy (5)

ANSWERS

FRAME FUSION HEARTED ROLLED SHORT SHOULDER SORE

STORAGE STORE SWEAT TURKEY WAR WAVE

HONEY YCOMB B Each solution starts on the coloured cell and reads clockwise round the number

QUICK QUIZ DOWN 2. Uplift (5) 3. Large rock (7) 4. Respect (6) 5. Frequently (5) 6. Zest (5) 7. Purchaser (5) 9. Fire-raising (5) 14. Mongrel (3) 15. Exclamation of disgust (3) 17. Cinders (3) 18. Vase (3) 20. Complying (7) 21. Concede (5) 22. Apprehend (6) 23. Claw (5) 24. Disconcert (5) 25. Filthy (5) 27. Angered (5)

1. Waterless, desolate area of land 2. Ask to a function 3. Empty space within a solid object 4. Low area between hills or mountains 5. International radio distress signal used by shops and aircraft 6. Area of grassland

1. Which musical was based on the play The Matchmaker?

2. According to the nursery rhyme, what colour were the bells in Mary’s garden?

3. Cricket bats are made from the wood of which tree?

4. Where in the body is the deltoid muscle?

5. What kind of animals are vulpine?

6. Where is the Blarney Stone?

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1 Shrub. 4 Among. 8 Odd. 9 Adieu.

10 Tasty. 11 Lei. 12 Spend. 13 Rancour. 16 Nature.

19 Worthy. 23 Thunder. 26 Eyrie. 28 Ray. 29 Loser.

30 Idled. 31 Sin. 32 Tryst. 33 Godly.

DOWN: 2 Raise. 3 Boulder. 4 Admire. 5 Often.

6 Gusto. 7 Buyer. 9 Arson. 14 Cur. 15 Ugh. 17 Ash. 18 Urn. 20 Obeying. 21 Yield. 22 Arrest. 23 Talon.

24 Upset. 25 Dirty. 27 Riled.

QUICK QUIZ 1 Hello Dolly! 2 Silver. 3 Willow. 4 The shoulder.

5 Foxes. 6 Blarney Castle, Co. Cork.

HONEYCOMB 1 Desert. 2 Invite. 3 Cavity. 4 Valley. 5 Mayday.

6 Meadow.

Inner life

12 January 2013 The War Cry

TIME AND TIME AGAIN

WEEK 2

Time Lord

Nasa

In this series, ROSEMARY DAWSON looks at what the Bible has to say about time

13

THE cult television programme Doctor Who has entertained millions of children and grownups. Many Saturday nights have been spent watching through intertwined fingers or from behind the sofa as the Doctor fights to save the world from the invasion of the Daleks or other aliens.

The Doctor is portrayed as a Time Lord, who explores the Universe in the Tardis – a time machine which enables him to journey from century to century.

When a new actor takes over the role, the Doctor is ‘regenerated’ – allowing the character to take on a

Technology has brought people closer together new body and personality.

In reality, the Doctor is a fictional character in a television series.

Only God himself – the real ‘Time Lord’ – is able to transcend time and space. As Isaac Watts writes in the hymn: ‘A thousand ages in thy sight/ Are like an evening gone.’

This sentiment echoes the teaching of one of the Bible’s writers: ‘Long before the mountains were born, long before you brought earth itself to birth, from “once upon a time” to “kingdom come” – you are God’ (Psalm 90:2 The Message).

The global village in which we live is constantly changing and reinventing itself. Technology allows us to see events almost as soon as they happen, and has brought people closer together. Or has it? The very pace of change can in itself be frightening and bewildering.

TIME TRAVELLER: Matt Smith as the Doctor Featureflash/Shutterstock.com

The world may be changing, but are people’s attitudes, priorities and behaviour changing and improving at the same pace? Sadly not!

But we can still rely on one constant certainty in everyday life: that God – through his Son, Jesus Christ – is the same, yesterday and today and for ever.

And if he is the same, it follows that he is just as able to help us now, in 2013, as he was thousands of years ago. He is still able to change our lives for the better today, and in all our tomorrows.

O Next week: Time out

LOOKING FOR HELP? Just complete this coupon and send it to The War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN Please send me Basic reading about Christianity Information about The Salvation Army Contact details of a Salvationist minister Name Address

14

The War Cry 12 January 2013

Food for thought

Better late than

never

by CATHERINE WYLES

‘YOU’RE late,’ my teacher would helpfully point out if I was caught creeping into school after registration. It was an unnecessary thing to say, because I already knew that I was late. Perhaps what she should have said was, ‘I am cross that you are late’ or ‘Why are you trying to sneak into school after the bell has rung?’

Library picture posed by model

When I was recently visiting a junior school in Cumbernauld, I was surprised to read a notice which said: ‘Don’t worry if you are late. We are pleased that you are here because we would have missed you.’

What a wonderful notice! There was no sarcasm, no condemnation. Better late than never, so the saying goes.

The notice reminded me of a story Jesus told about a father and his two sons. The younger son left home, taking his share of the family inheritance. He blew the money on parties and ill-chosen friends, while the older brother remained on the family farm with his dad.

When things got rough for the young son, he returned home. Jesus said that when the father saw him, ‘his heart was filled with pity, and he ran, threw his arms round his son, and kissed him’ (Luke 15:20 Good News Bible).

The father’s arms were open wide, ready to receive his child.

In the same way, the

arms of our heavenly Father are open to receive us.

No matter where we have been, or how long we may have left it before turning to him, God is

The father’s arms were open wide, ready to receive his child

O

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MY

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The War Cry

always glad to hear from us. When we approach him, he welcomes us.

When we say sorry for our mistakes, he forgives us.

God doesn’t condemn us for our time away – he is more joyful that we are home.

SA

A

LVATION

12 January 2013 The War Cry

What’s cooking?

Salmon tagliatelle

15

I’M Michael Darracott. I have been an executive chef in several large establishments in charge of cooking for 200-plus people.

I have also written a number of books. It gives me great pleasure to offer my recipes in The War Cry. I invite readers to send in recipe ideas, to be considered for publication here. I would also like to offer help with any cooking-related problems you have. So send in your question and, if it is selected, an answer will be published on this page.

Email your recipes and questions to chefmike56@chefmikedarracott.com

Cook with chef MICHAEL DARRACOTT chefmikedarracott.com

Cheese straws with garlic mayo dip Ingredients: 150g plain flour 95g unsalted butter 10g mature Cheddar cheese, grated ½ tsp Worcester sauce Salt and pepper, to taste 1 small egg yolk For the dip 6tbsp mayonnaise 2tsp garlic powder

Ingredients: 200g tagliatelle 4tbsp vegetable oil 1 small onion, finely chopped 10g sugar snap peas 20g carrots 20g broccoli florets 5g butter 50ml milk 40g Cheddar cheese, grated Salt and pepper, to taste 50ml crème fraiche 1tsp cornflour 200g salmon fillets, cut into bitesized chunks 1tsp parsley, finely chopped

Method: Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.

Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan, then add the onion and peas. Boil the carrots and broccoli in a saucepan.

Melt the butter in a different saucepan, then add the milk and bring to a simmer. Add the cheese, salt and pepper, then slowly add the crème fraiche. Stir until you are left with a thick sauce. (Add the cornflour, to thicken, if necessary.) Fold in the parsley.

Place the salmon chunks in the frying pan and cook, along with the onion and peas.

Drain the pasta, broccoli and SUDOKU SOLUTION carrots, then add to the cheesy sauce.

Add the peas and onion and mix well.

Fold in the chunks of salmon before serving.

Serves 4

Method: Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.

Grease a baking tray.

Mix the flour, butter, cheese, Worcester sauce, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the egg yolk and mix together to form a dough.

Sprinkle a little flour on the worktop, then roll out the dough until it is 5mm thick. Cut the dough into straws 15cm long, then give each straw a twist.

Bake the straws for 15 minutes until they turn a light golden brown colour.

To make the garlic mayo, mix the mayonnaise with the garlic powder. Serve on the side of the cheese straws.

Serves 5

More

Harry Selfridge wants to serve up the best

IN

ITV Pictures

store IT’S where you can find the biggest designer labels under one roof. It’s where you can have a makeover or perhaps a haircut – Selfridges.

YOUR LOCAL SALVATION ARMY CENTRE

The story behind the iconic London store is the subject of ITV1’s drama Mr Selfridge. For those who haven’t come in on the ground floor, here’s the story so far.

Unimpressed with the way the British shopped, American Harry Gordon Selfridge wanted to transform the retail experience for ever.

A visionary, Harry planned to open the ‘world’s best department store’ on the dead end of Oxford Street. His forward thinking on stock, floor design, shop windows and sales methods were unlike anything Britain had seen before. But first he had to get financial backers.

Despite opposition and setbacks, the store eventually opened to expectant crowds. The former down-at-heel area becomes the place where everyone heads.

In the second episode – scheduled for broadcast tomorrow (Sunday 13 January) – Harry draws in the crowds by exhibiting Louis Blériot’s plane, straight after his first cross-Channel flight.

But behind the glitz and glamour of Selfridge and Co, it isn’t all plain sailing. Harry’s wife, Rose, left Chicago to help him follow his dream. But

A new you is on offer writes RENÉE DAVIS as business takes over, Harry has less time for her, and she begins to feel isolated. Then there is the beautiful Ellen Love. Harry wants her to be the face of Selfridges.

But she wants something from Harry in return. All that glitters is not gold.

Some people appear to have it all, and it’s easy for us to think that their life is easy.

But life is never without its challenges.

Heartbreak, neglect, sadness and frustration are no respecters of wealth. However, whatever our financial status, we can be secure

in the fact that God knows our heart.

‘The Lord does not look at the things people look at … The Lord looks at the heart’ (1 Samuel 16:7 New International Version).

When we approach God, we don’t have to hide the things we don’t want others to see. He wants the best for us.

When we ask for his forgiveness, he will heal our hearts, fashion us into a new person and give us a purpose in life.

That’s definitely something worth buying into.

The Salvation Army (United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland) on behalf of the General of The Salvation Army.

Printed by Wyndeham Grange, Southwick. © Linda Bond, General of The Salvation Army, 2013