NEW EVERY MORNING....
“When thou hast thanked thy God for every blessing sent......”
As midnight approaches I look back, not just upon 2017, but from the beginning. I thank God for my parents and my brothers and sisters who provided the family in which I grew up. All over the world there are children who would not believe such love and security was possible. I give thanks for my school teachers who made the best of me - especially my Headmaster who gave such an exaggerated report of my financial prowess that I have enjoyed a career as a Chartered Accountant beyond all expectations. I give thanks for my time in 1941/43 as a founder-member of 172 (Haywards Heath) Squadron – Air Training Corps, which led to RAF 181 Signals Wing (Air radar) in Burma and Indonesia. I give thanks for those who made it possible for me to have my own accountancy practice after the war - those who worked for me and those who were my clients. I give thanks for those who voted for me in Parish Council and District Council elections and those who forgave or excused my shortcomings. I give thanks for those who encouraged me in voluntary work after retirement, particularly as a Charity Trustee. I give thanks for the Priests and Chaplains who have advised and guided me over the years, especially those who did not hold my back-sliding against me. And I thank my Guardian Angel (I think of her as female) for the innumerable occasions when I must have goaded her almost beyond endurance. Before all these I thank my wife and children who have tolerated my many shortcomings yet still profess to quite like me. On and off. So here’s to 2018 - and my hope for you all is that, whatever the hardships ahead. you will find such love and support as I have enjoyed.
.....what time will then remain for moaning and lament.”
