Thought for the Day from Radio Ulster

“I didn’t understand that, was it in English?”

There are fewer potatoes, carrots and onions to be harvested.

Even something so mighty can become stressed.

The three-days we spent in Bethlehem shook me to the core.

This year, the weekend is officially one hundred years old.

We frequently ask each other, “How are you?”

It lived in the corner and was an immovable monolith...

By shutting down conversations, we are all impoverished.

What's the song that gets you moving?

From “bouncy” you might say to, “less bouncy”.

My deepest secrets were printed in black and white...

I love a bench with a view.

Something close to magic happens around us each time and in each place we play it.

Arday’s life and work had been the subject of intense media scrutiny for several weeks.

Happy New Year!

I wept and whimpered the whole way between Glasgow and Stranraer.

There’s a story about a shoemaker who approached the 16th Century Reformer Martin Luther and asked, “How can I serve God better? Should I leave my trade and become a minister?”

We just passed the second anniversary of my mother’s death.The strange thing about living with a significant grief after two years is that it ceases to be a regular topic of conversation. But the reality is that there are still moments when the sense of loss knocks the breath out of me. The loss remains very real, only quieter now — less public, and more intimate.

"When you're carrying a hammer, everything looks like a nail."

Would we ever be content with what we have..?

I had the privilege of visiting Lebanon last year and had hoped to visit this year again but the war intervened. I found it deeply moving to listen to the stories of those who have been living with cycles of conflict and war and how they find hope and strength to carry on.

I had the opportunity a number of years ago of completing the Mizen Head to Malin cycle challenge with my brother and two good friends. The road trip between Ireland’s most southerly point to its most northernly point, County Cork to County Donegal. Let me tell you the story…

During my summer breaks from university, I returned home to Maine ...

A few weeks ago I walked through town with two of my neighbour friends ...

How do you measure the success of a country?

In recent weeks I came across two interesting stories ...

We went on a cruise to Norway this summer ...

As a child I had a number of fears ...

Without a word being spoken, the chapel had communicated to me its central message...

I love the predictability of their presence, the unspoken testimony of their friendship.

I visited Rwanda a few years ago ...

For many people this is a quieter time of the year, schools are closed ...

Our family have had a lot of big birthdays this past 12 months.

I record just one thing in that day that has brought me joy.

It made me wonder whether the Greenway itself provides something rather like structure.

Every street corner has a different band, or singers, or dancers...

I went to social media to discover whether I really was such a heretic- it confirmed I am

Part of me was very glad to see a couple publicly celebrating their love...

Dogs and dog walkers are great for human connection.

The only Portuguese phrase I knew before visiting Porto was ‘Pastel de Nata’

On the last day we decided to try a fairly ambitious mountain walk...

A Samaritan was the example of a good neighbour.

Spare a thought for Aneximenes

This summer I am facing an imminent new transition in my life.

And then, on the way there, you slip.

My sandcastle-making game was strong!

We’ve got a problem here that will take every single one of us saying no more...

He has invited us to have belief and hope.

‘I tried my best’ is a wonderful epigraph.

“Everything will be okay.”