War Cry 10 April 2021

Scrabble Day spelt out in so many words

WAR CRY

10 April 2021 20p/25c

Too close for comfort Patient puts the pressure on psychiatrist in new ITV thriller

‘I faced a million little challenges moving to the UK’

The Salvation Army is a Christian church and registered charity providing services in the community, particularly to those who are vulnerable and marginalised. Motivated by our Christian faith, we offer practical support and services in more than 700 centres throughout the UK to all who need them, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation. To find your nearest centre visit salvationarmy.org.uk/find-a-church

What is the War Cry? The Salvation Army first published a newspaper called the War Cry in London in December 1879, and we have continued to appear every week since then. Our name refers to our battle for people’s hearts and souls as we promote the positive impact of the Christian faith and The Salvation Army’s fight for greater social justice.

WAR CRY Issue No 7520

Editor: Andrew Stone, Major Deputy Editor: Philip Halcrow Production Editor: Ivan Radford Assistant Editor: Sarah Olowofoyeku Staff Writer: Emily Bright Staff Writer: Claire Brine Editorial Assistant: Linda McTurk Graphic Designer: Rodney Kingston Graphic Designer: Mark Knight Email: warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk The Salvation Army UK Territory with the Republic of Ireland 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN Tel: 0845 634 0101 Helpline: 020 7367 4888 Subscriptions: 01933 445445 (option 1, option 1) or email: subscriptions@satcol.org Founder: William Booth General: Brian Peddle Territorial Commander: Commissioner Anthony Cotterill Editor-in-Chief: Major Mal Davies Published weekly by The Salvation Army ©The Salvation Army United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland ISSN 0043-0226 The Salvation Army Trust is a registered charity. The charity number in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 214779, in Scotland SC009359 and in the Republic of Ireland CHY6399.

Printed by Walstead Roche Ltd, St Austell, on sustainably sourced paper

Your local Salvation Army centre

INFO 2 • WAR CRY • 10 April 2021

EDITOR From the editor’s desk

THOUSANDS of people are expected to journey this year from their homes in Hong Kong to begin new lives in the United Kingdom. There will, undoubtedly, be many new things each person encounters as they start life in a different culture. Education, health and housing as well as social and community activities will not be the same as in Hong Kong.

The adjustments will be huge.

Hong Kong Ready Churches is an organisation that aims to support Hong Kongers having to make those adjustments. Offering their help to people of any faith or none, the organisers want to offer the hospitality they believe is at the heart of their Christian faith.

Supporting their endeavours is writer and illustrator Jacinta Read. In an interview in this week’s War Cry, Jacinta explains the challenges she felt as she and her family moved to the UK from her homeland of Hong Kong in 2013.

She tells us: ‘It can be hard not feeling known, and feeling the distance from parents, siblings and the friends we grew up with.’

However, Jacinta found that her Christian faith helped her cope with the challenges she faced. ‘I believe that the God I love is the same God no matter where I am,’ she says.

Jacinta is right. It does not matter where our lives take us – either physically or metaphorically. Nor does it matter how tough or easy our circumstances may seem at any one moment. We can all experience God’s presence and his love.

We may not have plans to move thousands of miles around the world, but we are all living at a time when we do not know exactly what the future holds. What we can know is that God is there to help us, if we’ll ask him.

CONTENTS

What is The Salvation Army?

FEATURES 3

Give it some thought

Psychiatrist has trouble in mind in TV drama

5

Word-perfect

The appeal of Scrabble

6

Culture shock

Finding life different in the UK

9

TV times for faith

Production company brings God into the picture

REGULARS 4

War Cry World

12

Team Talk

13

Wisdom in the Words

14 Puzzles 15

6

War Cry Kitchen

9

Front-page picture: SNOWED-IN PRODUCTIONS ITV

15

SNOWED-IN PRODUCTIONS ITV

TELEVISION

MOTHER’S CRIME IS CLOSE TO HOME

As she awaits trial, Connie Mortensen must piece together the night of her crime

Psychological thriller gets personal, writes Sarah Olowofoyeku

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T’S a dark, rainy night and Connie Mortensen (Denise Gough) is preparing to do the unthinkable in ITV’s three-part drama Too Close, which begins on Monday (12 April). With her daughter and another young girl in the back seat of her car, she drives off a bridge into the river.

Having survived, Connie is being held in a psychiatric unit, awaiting trial. Forensic psychiatrist Emma Robertson (Emily Watson) has been assigned to the case, and must make an assessment of Connie’s state of mind on the night of the offence. But Connie claims she cannot remember what happened, so Emma has to help her piece together her memories.

While Emma tries to establish a level of professional distance in their sessions, Connie attempts to get under her skin. Asking personal questions and trying to suss her out, Connie makes the psychiatrist a little uneasy.

She somehow sees that Emma is not as together as she might seem, and that the case is striking a nerve.

Emma makes some progress, however, when she brings up Connie’s friend and neighbour, Ness Jones (Thalissa Teixeira). Connie reveals how she met Ness and the unease she felt from the beginning. ‘I think my body was trying to tell me something back then,’ she says. ‘A tug from the wings.’

While the case is evidently putting a strain on Emma, she continues her investigations. She wants to help Connie, and to figure out what led her to the point of committing the crime.

In a vulnerable moment, Connie asks Emma: ‘How does everyone else function? Why aren’t the streets full of wrecked people?’

It’s a line that resonated with both lead actresses, especially because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Emily says: ‘I walk around the park at the moment, and I think probably everyone you see is in some kind of crisis – whether it’s an emotional crisis, financial crisis, grief or whatever.’

Denise Emma Robertson points out must make an assessment of Connie

Emma wants to help Connie

Was Connie’s friendship with Ness the beginning of her downward spiral?

how Connie and Emma’s relationship ‘shows the amount of healing that can happen by actually sitting and talking through things’.

She says: ‘What Emma does is deeply compassionate.

She goes above and beyond. Essentially it is a story of one woman deciding to go that extra mile to interrogate something. A woman who decides to put herself on the line to help another woman out.’

Many people can relate to the feeling of being in ‘some kind of crisis’. Life can be difficult, and challenges come in all sorts of ways – job losses, bereavements, relationship breakdowns, all of which can cause us great unhappiness or lead to mental health problems.

While Christians also face struggles and sometimes need professional help, their faith is a story of one man who put himself on the line to help us all out. Jesus, the Son of God, went above and beyond and gave up his life for us.

Though our problems do not automatically go away when we accept Jesus’ sacrifice and commit ourselves to following him, he offers us an inner strength to get through them and a sense of calm that will outlast them. He says: ‘My peace I give you … Do not let your hearts be troubled’ (John 14:27 New International Version).

Whatever our trials may be, Jesus promises his peace if we stay close to him. That’s something worth investigating.

10 April 2021 • WAR CRY • 3

JIM HOLDEN/ALAMY

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HUGH DENNIS – whose weekly satirical Now Show with Steve Punt comes to the end of its latest run on Radio 4 this weekend – made some observations about God in a podcast series released last year.

Speaking on God Only Knows, in which guests are hypothetically killed off and invited to put three questions to God, the comedian and actor explained that his view of God was influenced by his father, who was a bishop.

‘I grew up in quite a religious household, although it was never forced on me,’ he said.

‘I spend quite a lot of time thinking about God because [of] my dad – most of the books in his study were about God.’ When host Matt White asked Hugh to consider what he thought God looked like, he replied: ‘I don’t think he looks like anything but he’s … very benevolent. There’s no hellfire and brimstone and nastiness.

He was a very enabling, warm God ... Sort of very warm and lovely and helpful. Not judgmental. And you were sort of aware he was there and had the vague idea that he really wanted everybody to be happy.’

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A US TELEVISION series about the life of Jesus and his followers has been downloaded eight million times since it was made available as an app.

Users of the app – available on the App Store and Google Play – are able to watch

the entire first series of The Chosen, which explores the ministry and miracles of Jesus, who is played by Jonathan Roumie.

Following on from the initial series, broadcast in 2019, a second was released in the US on Easter Day.

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CHRISTIAN charity Tearfund has launched a free virtual ‘escape room’ game to encourage groups of family and friends to learn how to mitigate climate change in the real world.

Crack the Climate Silencer is an online mystery game in which groups use video call software to solve puzzles and quick-fire challenges to help their community, country and church take climate action and ‘save the world’.

Dr Ruth Valerio, director of global advocacy and influencing at Tearfund, believes that the game is a fun way for people to socialise and engage with each other on an important topic.

‘I hope that Crack the Climate Silencer inspires more people to reduce their carbon footprint and lobby governments and businesses to mitigate climate change through concrete action,’ she said.

Church serves two million meals THE Salvation Army has provided more than two million meals to people struggling to afford food since the first lockdown was introduced last year.

Emergency response officer Adrian Clee said: ‘As the country went into lockdown, we knew we had to move fast.

We established 22 regional food hubs across the UK where we bulk-bought food from wholesalers to help our local centres and churches meet the demand.

‘As the pandemic forced homeless drop-in centres to close, we took to the streets to ensure people still got hot food and outreach support.’

In addition to emergency food provision, The Salvation Army expanded its other forms of support for vulnerable people last year – such as debt and employment advice and housing – to meet growing demand.

‘We seek to address the root causes of poverty,’ Adrian said.

‘Our debt and employment advice services often play a key part in enabling individuals and families to move from a reliance on emergency food support to a situation where they can sustain themselves.’

4 • WAR CRY • 10 April 2021

FEATURE

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BORIS JOHNSON has thanked churches for the way they have supported people throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a message recorded for this year’s Spring Harvest Christian festival, the prime minister said: ‘I want to say a great big thank-you, because over the past year or so I have seen over and over again the teachings of Jesus Christ brought to life by people like yourselves: men and women, young and old, right across the UK. ‘I’ve lost count of the number of church leaders and congregations from all denominations that have stepped up to support not only one another, but also to support the whole local community, people of all faiths and none.’

The prime minister was joined by Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who each also recorded a video message for the online festival.

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Claire Brine spells out how Scrabble fans are feeling game

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Do you have a story to share? a warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk @TheWarCryUK TheWarCryUK

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CRABBLE fans are getting ready for a night on the tiles to mark World Scrabble Day next Tuesday (13 April). The 1 annual celebration of the word game falls on the birthday of New York architect Alfred Butts, who created it in 1938.

According to the Association of British Scrabble Players, 50 per cent of homes in the country contain the game, and 150 million sets have been sold around the globe.

Former Scrabble world champion Brett Smitheram tells the War Cry how the game came into play.

‘An early version was called Lexiko, but the 15 by 15 grid format we all recognise came later, with the name Criss-Crosswords,’ he says. ‘Butts worked out the letter distribution for the games by painstakingly counting the usage of each letter across multiple publications, including The New York Times. It must have taken ages – and let’s be thankful that “quirky, quarrelling quinqueremes” were not front-page news that day!’

At the World Championship in 2016, Brett’s highest scoring word was ‘braconid’, the name for a parasitic wasp, which earned him 176 points in one move. A fan of the game since his schooldays, he explains why it appeals to people across the board.

‘Unlike some games, such as chess, Scrabble is accessible, as you just need basic spelling and maths skills. The fact that everyone can play makes it universal.’

Brett makes a good point. Scrabble is popular because people of all ages and abilities can have a go. And the more they play, the better they are likely to become.

Similarly, when it comes to what is sometimes called the game of life, there are ways of living that everyone – regardless of their background – is able to follow. The Bible records how Jesus encouraged people to be fair and not cheat. He urged them to choose love over hatred, and forgiveness over keeping score of others’ wrongdoing.

While Jesus recognised that living selflessly took practice, he challenged everyone to try to the best of their ability. Because when we join up with him and allow his love to transform our character, we are on to a winner.

People of all ages can play

10 April 2021 • WAR CRY • 5

JACINTA READ tells Sarah Olowofoyeku why thousands of people from Hong Kong will migrate to the UK this year and how church life helped her settle when she made the move

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S conversations about migration and asylum continue to appear in the media, another route has been opened wider. Since the start of this year, people from Hong Kong who are holders of British National (Overseas) status have been permitted to apply for entry visas, either for two periods of 30 months or for a single period of five years. After five years, they will be able to apply to settle in the UK and, after a further 12 months, for citizenship.

It is estimated that up to 350,000 people from Hong Kong will arrive in Britain as part of the scheme.

Writer and illustrator Jacinta Read, who moved to the UK from her homeland of Hong Kong eight years ago, explains: ‘The UK government has created a pathway to UK citizenship for people from Hong Kong. This has happened in response to the increasing political instability Hong Kong is experiencing.’

The introduction of the visa came after China imposed national security law on Hong Kong residents last year.

The British consulgeneral in Hong Kong, Andrew Heyn, said the imposition ‘marked a clear erosion of the rights and freedoms for the people of this city’.

Jacinta says: ‘Hong Kong is one of many former British colonies, but it differs in one very significant way: the people of Hong Kong did not vote to terminate British rule, and yet sovereignty was relinquished by Britain and returned to China. China had leased Hong Kong to Britain for a period of 99 years, the end of which was on 1 June 1997. Although some people might have hoped for it, the option for the Hong Kong people to vote for or against independence was never on the table.

‘In the lead-up to the handover, a Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed between the two nations to ensure a smooth transition of power. The agreement is commonly known as “one country, two systems” and it marked out a 50-year period starting in 1997 in which Hong Kong’s way of life would remain unchanged.

‘We haven’t quite reached the halfway mark of those 50 years, but the territory’s political stability has taken several hits. Hong Kongers have made global news many times in the past few years, protesting at what many people feel are China’s serious breaches of the joint declaration.’

The offer from the UK to its former colony will give about 70 per cent of its population – that is, 5.4 million people –

We moved to the UK to experience a slower pace of life

ROBERT HARDINGALAMY

Jacinta, Tom and their two children

6 • WAR CRY • 10 April 2021

INTERVIEW

-cultural the right to live in the UK. Some have already moved here for the sake of their safety.

It was in 2013 that Jacinta and her husband, Tom, moved to the UK because they wanted to change their pace of life.

‘Like many international families, we had enjoyed moving freely between the UK and Hong Kong for most of our lives,’ she says.

‘We were based in Hong Kong and visited the UK regularly. We moved to the UK to experience a slower pace of life while our children were young. We actually only planned to stay for one year, and that became two and so on. My husband and I both work in creative industries and we saw the advantages of staying on, so we flipped the arrangement, choosing to be based here and visiting Hong Kong regularly.’

Jacinta grew up in Hong Kong but is British by birth, and is half Chinese and half Welsh. She suggests that ‘almost anyone who is biracial will attest to the feelings of oscillating between being both and neither – not Chinese enough, not white enough.

‘I had a hard time as a young person trying to make sense of my family and fit in with the various groups. My father was a Hong Kong historian

Turn to page 8 ➥ GAVIN HELLIER/ALAMY

Jacinta’s mother spent time with the family in Oxford last year

10 April 2021 • WAR CRY • 7

INTERVIEW

From page 7 and worked hard to instil in us a sense of pride in our heritage. I often find myself revisiting the things he taught me, and I am grateful that my western side is deeply respectful of my Chinese side, and vice versa.’

She describes her experience living in her hometown by saying that: ‘Hong Kong was a wonderful city in which both my husband and I grew up. We were part of an international community there and we loved having friends, family and influences from every corner of the world.’

Because it is so densely populated and the useable land area so small, the cost of living in Hong Kong is extremely high, says Jacinta.

‘People have to work very hard to make ends meet. There is a work culture of doing whatever it takes to make the seemingly impossible happen.

For example, it is generally a loss of face to be the first one to leave the office at the end of the day. And when work is done, people play hard too. We found work-life balance hard to achieve once we became parents.’

Jacinta and Tom now live in Oxford with their children.

‘The UK has been the right place for us as a family,’ she says. ‘The children

Jacinta and her mother

have loved school and the calmer pace.

We have enjoyed developing a more domestically centred lifestyle. In Hong Kong we were often working all hours and spent much less time together at home. I love being around more nature and the fact that you can get so much fresh, local food.

Hong Kong has no farmland.’

They still faced some challenges as a result of the move, however, the biggest being the distance from loved ones.

‘It’s the trade you choose to make when you move across the world,’ she says.

‘But it can be hard not feeling known, and feeling the distance from parents, siblings and the friends we grew up with.’

There have also been ‘a million little challenges’. As an example, Jacinta describes the difference in each country’s approach to home maintenance, explaining how most people in Hong Kong live in buildings where management takes care of the upkeep. She also says that in Hong Kong children had to focus more on achievement and discipline, whereas in the UK, value is placed on play and creativity. She admits: ‘I didn’t know what breakfast club or after-school club was. Lots of little things I didn’t understand, and I wasn’t sure who to ask.’

In spite of all the differences, Jacinta was able to hold on to her Christian beliefs.

‘My faith has always been a huge help when it comes to navigating cultural divides,’ she says.

Because of her faith, Jacinta has given her backing to an organisation called Hong Kong Ready Churches, which aims to support any Hong Konger

The God I love is the same God no matter where I am

Jacinta’s children enjoy the calmer pace of life in the UK

8 • WAR CRY • 10 April 2021

Tom and his son in Hong Kong

arriving in the UK. One of the organisers, Krish Kandiah, explains why churches have a part to play in welcoming people and helping them to settle into a new environment.

‘Hospitality is one of the defining features of what it means to be a follower of Jesus,’ he says. ‘There really needs to be a concerted effort to make sure this group of people feel welcomed.’

Hong Kong Ready Churches offers its support with housing, health, education and community engagement regardless of a person’s faith, but Jacinta has found that sharing the same faith as others has helped her settle in the UK. ‘I believe that the God I love is the same God no matter where I am,’ she says.

‘Having that one constant is everything to me. And I can stretch that idea to see that he is the same God loved by the people in the churches here, who look and feel so unfamiliar.

‘While differences in church traditions and styles could be a barrier for some, we have found that we’ve enjoyed experiencing different expressions of faith.’

INTERVIEW

TV production values incorporate faith Children’s television producer JON HANCOCK tells Claire Brine why he is putting viewers in the picture about Bible stories

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Jon Hancock

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FTER 16 years at the BBC, making children’s television programmes – including the Bafta awardwinning game show Swashbuckle – Jon Hancock felt called by God to co-found a new production company.

The first project by Three Arrows Media was to produce Treasure Champs for the CBeebies channel, a series that helps children to explore values and stories from various faiths.

‘We believe passionately in creating wholesome content that is imbibed with God’s Spirit,’ says Jon, who serves as the company’s managing director. ‘We want the programmes we make to be good for children and to build them up.

It’s important for us to be genuine – speaking to children, rather than down to them – because if a programme is too patronising, children can see straight through it.’

When a commissioner at the BBC learnt about Jon’s new business venture, she approached him to discuss a programme that he had made several years before.

‘Let’s Celebrate looked at how children marked different religious and cultural festivals,’ explains Jon. ‘But it was beginning to look a little dated, so the commissioner said that she would be interested in me developing something new. I was tasked to come up with a children’s programme to explore complex and abstract values, using faith stories

Turn to page 10

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10 April 2021 • WAR CRY • 9

THREE ARROWS MEDIA

From page 9

ws Media Three Arro sure a re ‘T created e programm a , s’ p m a Ch s e ri o ible st that tells B

to illustrate them.

We developed what became Treasure Champs, and the BBC commissioned a double series.’

Currently available on BBC iPlayer, the second series of Treasure Champs invites children to learn about values such as humility, curiosity and trust. In an episode on thankfulness, storyteller Krissi acts out a parable that Jesus told about a woman who lost a precious coin and searched constantly until she found it.

‘Being encouraged to make a programme with Bible stories in it was amazing, especially for our very first gig,’ says Jon. ‘It felt brilliant to talk about kindness, courage and faith for young children in such an overt way.’

Another Three Arrows Media programme that Jon is proud to work on is The Baby Club, also broadcast on CBeebies. The idea was to create a typical parent-and-baby community group and put it on screen.

‘It’s the first show on CBeebies which addresses the dual audience of parent and baby,’ he explains. ‘At its heart, The Baby Club tries to model good parent-and-baby attachment and encourage bonding, which will then stimulate a baby and aid their language and literacy development.

‘While the show encourages parents to find a baby group in their own communities – because nothing beats interaction with other people – it plays an important role for those families who can’t get out. And, of course, when Covid happened, no one could get to a community group anyway.’

Last year during lockdown, Three Arrows Media adapted the programme’s format to co-produce The Baby Club at Home and The Toddler Club at Home. Filmed at the presenters’ own houses, the two series encouraged parents and children to play, sing and dance together.

‘Parents have told us that the shows have been a valuable tool and a lifeline while their children were stuck indoors,’ says Jon.

W

hile Three Arrows Media seeks to produce encouraging, entertaining and educational programmes for children and families, Jon insists that faith is what lies at the heart of the company. He explains why he started it back in 2015 with his colleague, David Hallam.

‘I was thoroughly enjoying my job at the BBC and had a good degree of security there, which I expected would continue. But deep down, it didn’t feel as though I needed God very much, because I was comfortable in my role. I wondered if I would ever have the guts to move on.

‘I realised that I didn’t want to get to a point 20 years down the line and wonder “what if?” So I instigated some

10 • WAR CRY • 10 April 2021

conversations with my friend, Dave, who was also a Christian and working for independent production companies. He had a similar itch that needed scratching, and so we agreed that co-founding a new company felt like the right thing to do. If nothing came out of it, I knew that at least the experience would draw me into a greater dependency on God.’ The company name Three Arrows Media was also inspired by Jon and David’s faith.

‘The Bible tells a story about two friends called Jonathan and David, who have to communicate with one another in code.

Their idea is to fire three arrows into a field, deliberately aimed so that where they land conveys an important message. Eventually a young boy is sent to collect the arrows and take them home.

‘The story jumped out at me. As we make our programmes at Three Arrows, we want to be firing our content out into the world so that children can find it and take it home with them. When children are young they are setting their foundations for life and learning the skills that will help them to navigate the world.’

As well as hoping to inspire the children who watch his programmes, Jon tries to be a positive influence on the adults who work behind the scenes to make them.

‘The way my faith inspires my day-to-day work is that I want to be a good boss,’ he says. ‘I want to be an excellent example of a manager of people. I want to show my team that my work isn’t everything, that it’s not my identity.

My identity is somewhere else.

‘There are lots of stories that say how difficult the TV industry is and how hard it works people, so I want Three Arrows to stand up as a company that is different. I want us to respect and honour people and to bless people in the way that we go about our business.’

As Jon looks to the future, he feels excited about the projects that lie ahead.

‘My biggest prayer is that God leads us where he wants us to go,’ he says. ‘I have a very long list of ideas, and I have no trouble in dreaming of the bigger things that the company could be doing – but I don’t want to assume that those ideas are God’s will for us. My prayer is that whatever we do, we are always in step with him.’

I want the company to honour and bless people

THREE ARROWS MEDIA

) letcher (left Giovanna F e Baby Club’, h presents ‘T group for en an on-scre babies d parents an

10 April 2021 • WAR CRY • 11

EXPLORE

Prayerlink THE War Cry invites readers to send in requests for prayer, including the first names of individuals and details of their ­circumstances, for publication. Send your Prayerlink requests to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk or to War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, Lon­don SE1 6BN. Mark your correspondence ‘Confidential’.

j

Becoming a Christian

There is no set formula to becoming a Christian, but many people have found saying this prayer to be a helpful first step to a relationship with God

Lord Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life. Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong.

Thank you that you died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free.

Thank you that you offer me forgiveness and the gift of your Holy Spirit.

Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit to be with me for ever.

Thank you, Lord Jesus.

Amen

talk ‘ ’ Team talk TEAM TALK Baftas so right to diversify Claire Brine gives her take on a story catching the attention of War Cry reporters

BAFTA is making ‘a move towards a greater spread of diversity that finally feels almost genuine,’ wrote Paul Bradshaw for NME, ahead of the two-day online Bafta film awards ceremony this weekend. After reflecting on last year’s awards – for which no actors of colour were nominated, thus causing the hashtag #BaftasSoWhite to trend on social media – Paul described this year’s nominations as ‘a welcome picture of diversity, inclusivity and some of the best talent around’. With ‘history-making nods’ to women directors (such as Chloé Zhao for Nomadland) and ‘big spotlights for small films’ (such as Rocks), is Bafta getting closer to inspiring a new hashtag, #BaftasSoRight?

According to a BBC report, last year’s Bafta nominations prompted a sevenmonth review into the awarding body’s ‘lack of diversity’, resulting in more than 120 changes to its voting, membership and campaigning processes. Bafta chair Krishnendu Majumdar said: ‘We started the Bafta review process with the intention of levelling the playing field and introduced a range of measures to ensure that all entered films were seen by our members and judged on merit.’

Sounds good to me. I applaud Bafta for recognising the need to change and taking the necessary action. I welcome any process that makes the world a fairer place.

But I think this move by Bafta goes beyond ticking the diversity box. It feels as though Bafta is distributing its awards to a wide range of people and projects not because it appears to be the right thing to do, but because it really is the right thing to do. It recognises that good, creative work can be found everywhere, and not just from one type of place or one type of person.

It acknowledges that reviewing a wide range of material is enriching – and the best of it deserves to be recognised.

This weekend, as the Bafta nominees celebrate their victories or commiserate with each other over their losses, I hope the event makes film history for making the world a little bit fairer. Because it’s only by doing so that we will really begin to see the best.

Good, creative work can be found everywhere

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Basic reading about Christianity Information about The Salvation Army

Looking for help?

Contact details of a Salvation Army minister Name Address Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International

Or email your details and request to warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk 12 • WAR CRY • 10 April 2021

EXPRESSIONS

Mal Davies explores song lyrics that have a note of truth about them

Wisdom in the

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QUICK QUIZ 1

What was the name of the fictional family featured in the Channel 4 TV sitcom Desmond’s?

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In an email address, what word does the @ symbol represent?

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Which figure in the technology industry wrote the recently published book How to Avoid a Climate Disaster?

What was the maiden name of British Olympic gold medalwinning cyclist Laura Kenny?

Actor Tom Hollander played which character in the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet?

What was the title of Amanda Gorman’s poem that she read out at President Joe Biden’s inauguration?

ANSWERS

words Straight from the Good Book F

OR 2,000 years, Christianity has had a huge influence on various parts of our culture, including the arts, literature and music. Not surprisingly, this extends to what could be classed broadly as ‘popular music’ – the music that has ‘hit the charts’ since the arrival of rock’n’roll in the late 1950s.

Sometimes this influence is obvious, especially in songs that either use Bible texts directly (such as Boney M’s ‘Rivers of Babylon’ based on Psalm 137, or the Byrds’ ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ based on Ecclesiastes 3).

Other songs refer to God or Jesus directly (such as Norman Greenbaum’s ‘Spirit in the Sky’ or Joan Osborne’s ‘One of Us’).

Some songs, however, are more subtle and use a phrase from the Bible or allude to something related to Christianity or the Church. A good example is Van Morrison’s ‘Bright Side of the Road’, in which he sings: ‘And time seems to go by so fast,/ In the twinkling of an eye.’

Many listeners wouldn’t pick up on it, but as he sings this, Van Morrison quotes the Bible. In Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, the apostle looks ahead to the last days and eternal life, and he says: ‘We will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye’ (15:51 and 52 New International Version).

A few other examples of artists referring to the Bible would be Mumford & Sons’ ‘Babel’ (referencing Genesis 11), Sia’s ‘Eye of the Needle’ (Matthew 19), Hozier’s ‘Movement’ (Jonah 2) and Bon Jovi’s ‘Blaze of Glory’ (Genesis 4) just for starters.

It’s hard to imagine what the world would look like if all the Bible references suddenly disappeared. Whether you’re a Christian or not, your world would change. Every time you sing about the ‘brokenhearted’, you’re quoting Psalm 34:18; ‘a sign of the times’ is from Matthew 16:3; to ‘harden your heart’ is from Exodus 4:21, and the ‘apple of your eye’ comes from Deuteronomy 32:10.

So, the next time you sing along to a song on the radio, you might be quoting the Bible.

Some songs use a phrase from the Bible

10 April 2021 • WAR CRY • 13

1. The Ambrose family. 2. At. 3. Bill Gates.

4. Trott. 5. Mr Collins. 6. ‘The Hill We Climb’.

CROSSWORD CROSSWORD PUZZLES

QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Piquant (5) 4. Rescued (5) 8. Electrically charged atom (3) 9. Untrue (5) 10. Planet (5) 11. Rim (3) 12. Healed (5) 13. Ratify (7) 16. Stable (6) 19. Cream cake (6) 23. Quill (7) 26. Of the city (5) 28. Mongrel (3) 29. Raising of glasses (5) 30. Likeness (5) 31. Owing (3)

14. Night bird (3) 32. Dig (5) 33. Cattle round-up (5) 15. Travel on snow (3) DOWN 17. Bind (3) 18. Astern (3) 2. Lazy person (5) 20. Messenger (7) 3. Surrendered (7) 21. Wash (5) 4. Concealed 22. Arched gallery (6) marksman (6) 23. Destined (5) 5. Very bright (5) 24. Grant (5) 6. Bestower (5) 25. Travel 7. Squander (5) accommodation (5) 9. Point of 27. Mark (5) convergence (5)

SUDOKU

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

HONEYCOMB HONEYCOMB

7

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

ANSWERS QUICK CROSSWORD ACROSS: 1. Spicy. 4. Saved. 8. Ion. 9. False. 10. Venus. 11. Lip. 12. Cured.

13. Endorse. 16. Steady. 19. Eclair.

23. Feather. 26. Urban. 28. Cur. 29. Toast.

30. Image. 31. Due. 32. Delve. 33. Rodeo.

DOWN: 2. Idler. 3. Yielded. 4. Sniper.

5. Vivid. 6. Donor. 7. Waste. 9. Focus.

14. Owl. 15. Ski. 17. Tie. 18. Aft. 20. Courier.

21. Rinse. 22. Arcade. 23. Fated.

24. Award. 25. Hotel. 27. Brand.

HONEYCOMB 1. Nougat. 2. Prague. 3. Carrot.

4. Hatred. 5. Parade. 6. Doctor.

6 7 4 5 9 1 8 2 3

1 2 5 7 8 3 9 6 4

9 8 3 6 2 4 5 7 1

4 1 2 9 3 6 7 8 5

3 9 8 1 7 5 2 4 6

7 5 6 8 4 2 1 3 9

5 3 1 2 6 8 4 9 7

2 6 7 4 5 9 3 1 8

8 4 9 3 1 7 6 5 2

SUDOKU SOLUTION

3

3 9

14 • WAR CRY • 10 April 2021

8

8

3 6 1 9

5 7 8 8 2 3 7 4 6 5 6 9 7 8 5 2 6 7 3 5 3 9

ORDSEARCH ORDSEARCH ORDSEARCH ORDSEARCH ORDSEARCH

1. Sweet made with sugar, nuts and egg white 2. Capital of the Czech Republic 3. Orange-coloured vegetable 4. Intense dislike 5. Public procession 6. Person qualified to practise medicine

4 1

WORDSEARCH ALPHA BIRTH CREATION DAWN DAY ONE GENESIS INITIATION INTRODUCTION KICK-OFF OPENING ORIGIN OUTSET RISE SPRING SQUARE ONE STARTING POINT TAKE-OFF THRESHOLD

6Look 1 up, 9 down, 4 3forwards, 7 5 backwards 2 8 and diagonally on the grid to find with6beginnings 7these 2 words 8 1associated 9 5 3 4 4 5 3 2 8 6 1 7 9 E Z T L K F H K J P Q D N E U O C Z 5 7 6 I W D J V P 9 1 8 2 4I L Q 3 U R P A X V R D V V V X F F J U L M J T A K E O F F P 9 8 2 3 7 4 6 5 1 I N Q C F G D E B U H Z N N F E Z E 1 3 4 6 5 2 8 9 7 N B Q N Y U D K V R R I C O Z N N O 8 9 5 7 2 1 4 3 F C 6 W D Y O D K V A B R N B K E G V E Z H I I 2 L K L W G O C W R K Z X G 6 7 8 4 3 9 1 5 J S Z T N I O P G N I T R A T S C V 4 1 5 6 9 7 8 2 C P I C S 3I U H L K T N R U X P L U

O M A U L T T A S G A C Q Q Z R J A K G M D J D S I S E E U X S S I W S W N D O O A E S A S R N H Y D N B O Q B C R L G T S I T C H E L P G S V X H G T C Z O R I G I N T S A Z T Y S P L N V G L O N L O O R R I R A J U C X I A W I Q Q Y F P N X I S L S Z N S S L K I Y A I O J Y D V B R W X D R B A R X D K J P P Z P C T Z P

8 5 6 7

5

2 6

9 7

D Hereford beef stew Ingredients

Method

500g Hereford beef, diced

Heat a slow cooker to high.

Ground salt and pepper 1tbsp olive oil 4 floury potatoes, roughly chopped 4 shallots, roughly chopped 4 carrots, roughly chopped 2 parsnips, roughly chopped 1l beef stock Gravy granules (optional)

SERVES

2

Season the beef with salt and pepper before sealing in a hot frying pan with the oil for 1-2 minutes. Allow the beef to rest on some kitchen paper for at least 5 minutes.

Add the potatoes, shallots, carrots and parsnips to the slow cooker, followed by the stock and diced beef. Cook for 1 hour, then reduce the heat to medium. Continue cooking for a further 3-4 hours.

For a thicker gravy sauce, add a sprinkling of gravy granules.

Season with more salt and pepper and garnish with the parsley, to serve.

Handful of parsley, chopped

Roasted potatoes with mayonnaise dip Ingredients

Method

750g new potatoes

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

50ml olive oil

Place the potatoes in a large pan and cover with salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes, or until just tender.

1tsp paprika 1tsp salt 120g mayonnaise 2tbsp harissa paste (red or green) 1tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to garnish

Mix the oil, paprika and salt in a bowl. Place the potatoes in a roasting tray and pour over the oil mixture to coat them evenly.

Using a potato masher or fork, gently squash and slightly flatten the potatoes.

Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until crispy.

Mix the harissa paste with the mayonnaise in a small bowl to make the dip. Garnish with the parsley. Serve the dips alongside the roasted potatoes.

SERVES

4

Recipes reprinted, with permission, from the Love British Food website lovebritishfood.co.uk

10 April 2021 • WAR CRY • 15

Patience is not merely the ability to wait, it is also how we behave while we wait Joyce Meyer

WAR CRY