Threads with Connection

A few days ago, my dad gave me a football programme that he had kept for nearly forty years. It was the souvenir programme from Scunthorpe United's match against Exeter City on 2nd May 1988. We both knew it wasn't an ordinary programme. Produced to commemorate the closing of the Old Showground, it captured a moment of enormous significance in the history of Scunthorpe United and the town itself. As I began turning the pages, I realised I wasn't simply looking at a football programme. I was holding a carefully preserved piece of local history. Saying Goodbye to the Old Showground For generations of Scunthorpe supporters, the Old Showground was more than a football ground. It was where first matches were attended, where lifelong memories were created, and where families gathered week after week to support their team. Football grounds become woven into the stories of people's lives. When they disappear, something more than bricks and concrete is lost. The contributors to t...

 Last Saturday, I spent some time walking around Ashby Ville Nature Reserve. The walk itself wasn't particularly long — 2.36 kilometres and 35 minutes according to my Apple Watch — but it turned out to be one of the highlights of the week. As I followed the paths around the reserve, I found myself appreciating something that is often overlooked in weight loss journeys: movement doesn't always have to feel like exercise. The reserve offered space to walk, think, observe the wildlife, and simply enjoy being outdoors for a while. I took photographs along the route and later turned them into a short video. Looking back through those images reminded me that progress isn't always measured purely in kilograms lost or calories burned. Sometimes progress is taking time for yourself. Sometimes progress is choosing activity over inactivity. Sometimes progress is simply getting outside and moving. That walk burned 158 active calories, but it also provided something less measurable — a ...

When your day involves long hours and constant change, it can sometimes be surprisingly difficult to properly switch off. The laptop may be closed and the meetings may be finished, but that doesn't necessarily mean your mind has stopped working. Sometimes you need something that creates a deliberate transition from the demands of the day to the opportunity to rest and recharge. Recently, I've found an unexpected tool helping me do exactly that: Golf Clash, a free-to-play mobile golf game. Now this isn't really a review of the game. It's more a reflection on why it has become part of my evening routine. What Is Golf Clash? For those who haven't come across it before, Golf Clash is a free-to-play mobile golf game available on both iPhone and Android devices. Players compete in quick golf matches against opponents from around the world, earning coins, unlocking clubs, and progressing through increasingly challenging tours and tournaments. What initially appears to be a...

  One of the most common phrases used in health and care transformation is that patients should experience joined-up care. It's a phrase that appears in strategies, frameworks, presentations, and policy documents across the NHS. But what does it actually mean? At its simplest, it means that people should not have to navigate the complexities of our organisations in order to receive the care they need. Patients do not think in terms of primary care, community services, acute trusts, mental health providers, social care, local authorities, voluntary organisations, or integrated care boards. They simply know they need help. They have a health concern. A long-term condition. A family member who needs support. A recovery journey. A moment of crisis. What they experience is one life. Unfortunately, many of our systems have evolved around organisational structures rather than patient journeys. As a result, people often find themselves navigating boundaries that they neither understand nor...

 This morning I had the privilege of leading worship at Scunthorpe Salvation Army. The theme was  Light in the Everyday . As I prepared for the service, I found myself reflecting on how often we associate light with the big moments in life. The dramatic moments. The moments that attract attention. Yet the more I thought about it, the more I realised that most of the light we encounter comes from ordinary people doing ordinary things extraordinarily well. A kind word. A listening ear. A helping hand. Someone who notices when another person is struggling. Someone who keeps showing up. Our Bible readings came from Isaiah 58 and Matthew 5, where we are reminded that light shines through practical compassion and through people willing to reflect God's love into the world around them. The story of the Good Samaritan reinforced the same message. One person chose to stop, notice, and care. The act itself may have seemed small, but to the person receiving that kindness it changed every...

Every now and then you walk into a theatre with one set of expectations and leave wondering why you ever had them in the first place. On 30th May, I had the opportunity to see  Jekyll & Hyde  at Hull Truck Theatre, performed by the Northern Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA). Before the show began, I knew this wasn't a touring West End production or a major professional company. What I didn't expect was to leave feeling that I had seen a production every bit as good as many professional shows I have watched over the years. In fact, one of the strongest compliments I can give is that after a few minutes the distinction simply stopped mattering. The quality of the performances, music, staging and storytelling completely drew me into the world of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale. Hull Truck Theatre itself deserves a brief mention. It remains one of my favourite regional theatres, combining a welcoming atmosphere with comfortable surroundings that make for an enjoyable ...