Tag Archives: BBC Radio Devon

Storm Centres of History: Parliament and Brexit

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BBC Radio Devon – Pause for Thought:  Storm Centres

During the Pause For Thought this week, I’ve been talking about 7 places I have been to:   Storm-centres of history.

Today, on our final visit, we will go to the British Parliament.

On Wednesday 27th March this year, I attended PMQ’s with my father at the Houses of Parliament (with thanks to Torbay MP Kevin Foster and his team for arranging this)!

 

This date was significant.  This was the Wednesday before the Friday of the original departure from the EU.  It was very exciting to be there, which in the end, turned out to be not quite the bear pit I had anticipated.  

 

 

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Sunday: Participation

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Below is my script for Pause for Thought on BBC Radio Devon:

 

At the end of Disney’s The Jungle Book, Mowgli sees a girl from the village collecting water, and he is utterly enchanted!

 

The panther Bagheera and the Baloo the bear are trying to deliver him safely into the village; but whilst Bagheera knows he must go, Baloo wants him to stay with him in the forest.

But, alas, Mowgli is lost to this new world of wonder!

go on come back

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Saturday: Threat

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Below is my script for Pause for Thought on BBC Radio Devon:

 

Whilst watching The Jungle Book with my two year old daughter, the threat of Shere Khan the tiger loomed large.

All week I’ve explored key themes within the Disney film as it relates to following, contentment, trust, identity and belonging.  Today, Shere Khan represents threat.

The constancy of threat in our lives is a very real challenge.

From accidents and illness, to national politics and global catastrophe – we are a threatened race.

The Jungle Book represents the pompous and the evil of the English character.

The Elephant is an English, old fashioned, pompous army colonel.

Shere Khan is the English, old fashioned evil villain.

tiger

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Friday: Belonging

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Below is my script for Pause for Thought on BBC Radio Devon:

 

There is nothing quite like snuggling up with your children to watch a cartoon.  

As my daughter snuggled in, we enjoyed Disney’s The Jungle Book, and so far this week, we’ve looked at significant themes within the songs:  following, contentment, trust and identity.

Now we look at belonging.

Mowgli feels abandoned and alone.  A crisis most of us feel at some time.

He walks from the lush forest into the wastelands inhabited by the vultures.

He tells them why he is upset so they decide to sing him a song, that begins like this:

We’re your friends
We’re your friends
We’re your friends to the bitter end
When you’re alone
Who comes around
To pluck you up
When you are down
And when you’re outside, looking in
Who’s there to open the door?
That’s what friends are for!

vultures

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Thursday: Identity

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Below is my script for Pause for Thought on BBC Radio Devon:

 

Using the brilliant Disney film ‘The Jungle Book’ this week, we’ve thought about following, anxiety and trust.  Today we look at identity.

The monkeys had kidnapped Mowgli and taken him to their leader, the orangutan King Louie, who wanted the power of fire that humans had.  

He sings, “I wanna be like you, I want to walk like you, talk like you, …”

 

Human beings learn by copying others.

It’s as if we copy others in order that we become ourselves.

So while we maintain our unique identity; to reach it, we need community.  We need others.

loius

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Wednesday: Trust

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Below is my script for Pause for Thought on BBC Radio Devon:

As my daughter and I were recently watching Disney’s ‘The Jungle Book,’ she snuggled in as the snake began his manipulative charm on Mowgli, singing, “Trust in me, just in me…’

Even she could see his sinister intent!

So far this week we’ve looked at the themes of following and anxiety, and now we turn to trust.

Not everyone who says they can be trusted are to be trusted.

Trust is a crucial aspect of human flourishing, and great damage is done when trust is broken.

holloway-kaa-the-jungle-book

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Tuesday: Contentment

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Below is my script for Pause for Thought on BBC Radio Devon (at 25 minutes and 38 seconds in):

 

Recently, I  was watching The Jungle Book with my two year old daughter.

Yesterday we looked at the ‘Elephant March Song’ and what it means to follow.

The second song that got my theological juices going was Baloo’s song ‘The Bare Necessities’.

 

Most people thrive when they have enough of the right things in life.

But how to determine what is enough is the big question.

What might be enough for one person, is ruinous to another.  

baloo

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