Way back in the 1970s we used to take turns in going to town to assist with the family shop... that could mean dragging the shopping trolley, or it could mean carrying paper or plastic carriers purchased from the shop at 5p a go.  Given that a pint of milk cost 5p, the carrier bags were not exactly cheap.

Then it all got stupidly competitive and the price of carrier bags fell lower and lower, until it was abolished and you simply grab as many bags as you wished at the check-out. 

We realised that wasn't quite so green after all, and so the quantity of recycle plastic or paper used to make them increased.  Thin, poor quality plastic bags abounded and then, over time they did improve again.

In the 1990s 'smart box' shopping was the new big thing.  I still have my five smart boxes, complete with lids purchased for an extra £1 or so!  Safeway (remember them?) Sainsbury's and Tesco all invested in this greener, quicker approach where you could put stuff straight into a tough plastic box, plonk it in your car and save time (especially in those stores with self-scan options).  You needed special trolleys to use the boxes and it never really caught on.

Next was bags for life - pay 10p for a strong plastic carrier bag and we'll give you a new one when it wears out.  I did actually wear out a few, but as often as not I ended up buying new ones because I felt bad using a not-so-green free bag if I didn't have enough reusable bags with me!  One of my smart boxes is full of bags for life!!

Then it was the hessian bags, the jute bags, the specially deisgned bottle bags, the cooler bags, the foldable put it in your handbag bags... I have them all (and others!) in my kitchen!

So now we've gone full circle.  From today in Scotland (already done in Wales and Northern Ireland, and to follow soon in England) you have to pay 5p if you want a supermarket bag - strong, re-usable 1970s style bags are back!

As for me, I almost always have a cotton bag squished up in my pocket, and have used my own bags at supermarkets since the demise of smart box trolleys.  I've also just ordered myself a pull-along shopping trolley for bigger shopping trips... plus ca change, plus le meme chose!

It was meant to be a multi-voiced reflection, except that, of the three readers appointed, only one was there, so I had to adjust on the hoof to read four out of five sections myself.

A telling of the Joseph tale from Reuben's perspective, three examples stories on human trafficking, and the parable of the lost son as experienced by the older brother.

It was an interesting experiment - not sure it quite worked, though the feedback was generous.

I think my best line was "I don't really exist, I'm just a figment of Jesus' imagination" at the start of the older brother's story.

Some interesting things to ponder from the ways that Reuben and the Nameless Older Brother responded to events...

#FreedomSunday marked and hopefully some thoughts provoked.

On Thursday I had a phone call from my bank, alerting me to suspicious activity on my debit card... it turned out that there were three fraudulent transactions, only one successful, and fortunately only for a relatively small sum of money, which was refunded straight way.  I had two made online payments using the card that were also stopped but, thankfully, as I have a second current account with a debit card (Jewish roots run deep!) I was able to pay for them with the second card.  But I don't know the PIN for the second card, it is very much a back-up, fall-back, last resort account (so not so Jewish after all!) and its balance is kept fairly low (around a month's money) so I couldn't simply get cash from that one.

My main bank were extremely helpful, and said if I needed to get cash all I had to do was pop into a branch... but the only one in Glasgow is in the centre of town, so a not insignificant undertaking.

Instead, I decided that I would eke out such cash as I had until the new card arrived (which I'd assumed would be early next week).  It was a healthy reminder of what it means to be restricted to cash payments and not to be able to get cash from any convenient 'hole in the wall'.  It meant thinking what I could afford to have for lunch if I was to have enough cash left for paying the cafe bill at a scheduled meet later on where it was my turn...  It meant that nipping into the shop to buy milk meant just that...  It meant that when I fancied a treat yesterday afternoon, I didn't get one because I deemed what was on offer too dear...

Every now and then people do this 'live on £1 a day' type thingy knowing fine well they have cupboards groaning with food and a credit or debit card in their pocket.  Actually being stymied for a day or three was a far more salutory experience.

My new card arrived today, and all is well... I hope, though, that I have maybe learned something that won't fade from memory so quickly.

"6.5 inches and ten minutes"

"I like it beside the settee"

"banana"

"I just saw a streaker running down the high street"

"I'm going to Barbados for nineteen weeks"

If you use social media, you may have come across status updates like this and wondered just what on earth they were about. 

• Thinly veiled innuendo (shoe size expressed in inches and how long you spend styling your hair OR where do you like to put your handbag when you come home)
• fruit to inidicate marital status (no idea which one corresponds to single, I just guessed one)
• preposterous status updates (you should not have 'liked' now you must post a forfeit status update from this list) or imaginary holiday destinations for durations dictated by the date of your birthday (month = destination, no idea which is December'; day number = duration in weeks)

So now you know.  Evidently these raise awareness for female breast cancer... because if you 'like' or 'favourite' you will be sent a private/direct message telling you what to post and/or to forward this to all your female friends.

I am sick to the back teeth of these games!  My bc buddies, some of whom are living with secondaries are sick to the back teeth or these games!  We are not your pink sistas (well a few maybe, but most of us are not) and we really don't need some daft game to raise awareness.  In any case, it's not just women who get breast cancer, men do too.

So, if you are still reading (I'll understand totally if people have abandoned this ranty post) and if you want to do some awareness raising, then how about posting this picture...

You could even donate to a research or support charity (see my side bar) or sign one of the numerous petitions online to improve support for those with secondary bc, which kills 12,000 women every year...

I'm not anti-fun but these games don't achieve anything useful, and I'm on a one woman mission to debunk them!!

This morning I began the task of planning preaching themes/schemes/topics for the first part of 2015.  I had an idea relating to the gospel of Mark (it's Year B after all) and then a vague something or other around the Old Testament for Lent... maybe prophets, or covenants or wisdom...

Then in the course of five minutes, two books were brought to my notice, one on Mark,  the other on Hebrew understandings of wisdom.  So that was all brilliantly serendipitous.

Then I became acutely aware I had nothing in mind yet for Advent 2014, which is really a tad more urgent... when I spotted something that just might fit the bill, and heres a small clue...