Season’s greetings from Maureen Brown... What was your first Christmas present?... The real sports personalities of the year. They are Scottish and eleven and twelve years old... 43-years of not knowing....

My first service in December was at the Stirling Spiritualist Church (SNU) on the 4^th.  A really cold night with the roads being icy, even though the authorities keep telling us that they are all geared up and ready to roll at the first sign of a problem.  But the journey was as always well worth it with the warm reception we received from all at the church.

6^th it was Mrs Primrose’s Church in Glasgow...

8^th... The day of the great storm I was scheduled to attend the Lighthouse Spiritualist Church in Gourock.  President Jenny Lafferty was determined that the church would open just in case even one person ventured out on that terrible evening.  Even though the police were suggesting that one only travelled if their journey was necessary I was willing to make the journey if the winds abated by 6.15.  They did not so I cancelled.  I was a wee bit annoyed that the winds did drop a bit at 6.45 but the right decision was made as part of the road I would have travelled on was closed around 7pm.

9^th... We enjoyed the evening at Glasgow, Central Spiritualist Church’s Christmas party.  The entertainment was provided by the Feral a very talented folk group.  Not usually my type of music but I did enjoy listening to this group.

10^th... our second and probably last car-boot sale.  There seemed to be more selling than buying but as like November we made a profit with Isobel’s craft and card and my framed prints.  The profits from both days will go to charity
11^th... I was off to the Dunfermline Spiritualist Church (SNU).
12^th... A short journey to the Pollockshaws and District Spiritualist Church in Langside Halls, Shawlands Cross, Glasgow.  Bill Thompson long time president of this church was absent because of health problems and I hope that he will soon be fit and well.th me through my website or they had contacted our churches. This turned out to take up the full day as more and more are seeking our help these days...
14^th...  Voluntary work and then giving a talk on Spiritual Healing.

15^th ... Was my last service of a busy year and this was at ASK Dreghorn.  It was nice to see May and Jim Brown again.....

19th... Being asked to wander around an old building to see if I detected anything on a psychic level.  Nothing was detected but I will explain more about this early in the New Year.

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 Missing from our platforms these, days but not forgotten is Maureen Brown.  Maureen for many years was one of Scotland’s busiest and well loved mediums.  She was always accompanied to churches by her husband Archie, who was as well known and loved as his wife.

Apart from being an excellent medium Maureen always took time and still does for anyone who asks for her help.  Not only did Maureen encourage many a circle member and fledgling, when they had their doubts, but also took time to speak to any member of the congregation who needed her help.     

Maureen and Archie were among the first people I met when I entered a spiritualist church for the first time. After chatting to this couple for only a few minutes it was as if I had know them for years and many others will tell you the same. Both served time as President at ASKS Stewarton and worked hard to make this spiritual sanctuary the success it was.   If it had not been for Maureen, I would never have set foot on the platform or stayed there. 

Another string to Maureen’s bow was that she was on the committee of the Scottish and Irish District Council for several years she was in charge of organizing the DC’s open days which were always very successful

Sadly Archie’s health deteriorated and he passed away in 2009.  Maureen’s eyesight is very poor these days but she has not retired, only taken a new role in working for Spirit.  She has swapped the platform of our churches for school visits in her area, to talk to the school children about what it is like to have poor sight.  As expected Maureen’s enthusiasm, great charm and sincerity has gone down with both pupils and teachers.  Maureen does this through DeafBlind Scotland  who do so much to raise awareness of both the needs and potential of deafblind people

 As well as Maureen’s work in churches, she also had a very important role taking her out to see those who contacted Spiritualist churches for help.  It could be because someone was aware of spirit in their home or they wanted to know more about our religion etc.   Many a time Maureen would explain to the family that what they were experiencing was a family member (who had passed over and was trying to communicate.  Helping the family to realise that if they were not frightened of their loved ones before they had passed, why should they be frightened of them now?  When Maureen went out on each task she went out trying to understanding both the family’s position and that of spirit, as to why they were making themselves known.   Not like so many today that go out to similar situations and call it “Ghost Hunting”. 

To say I was surprised was an understatement when I was asked to take over this work from Maureen.  I felt I did not have the ability nor could live up to the high standards that Maureen set for herself in doing such a task.  But I need not have worried and Maureen was always at the other end of the phone to give me support. 

I was speaking to Maureen the other day and she asks me to pass her good wishes for the Festive Season on to all her friends that she made over the years. 

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“What is the first Christmas present you can remember?”

That was a question I was asked the other day and it took me a while to figure it out even though I still have very accurate memories of much that happened before I went to school.

The answer was a cowboy outfit, pistol and holster  when I would be three and then the following year a well made wooden farmyard which would be very expensive today,  Also metal farm animals not plastic like today...The following year it was a watch.  I had always wanted a watch and my parents told me I would not get one till I could tell the time.  They got a shock when I could tell the time perfectly before I went to school, so Santa brought me a watch for my fifth birthday.  A few days into the New Year I started school and after pestering my parents for weeks to let me be allowed to take the watch to school, they gave in.  But a few days later a letter arrived from my teacher saying that I was not to take the watch to school.   It seems I spent more time checking the time than I did concentrating on my lessons.

I found that a great exercise because not only could I see the three Christmas presents in almost perfect detail but I could even sense the joy I had in playing with and owning them.  I wonder if children today get as much fun out of their Christmas presents and if that enjoyment lasts till the following Christmas.  Today children can go into Tesco’s and The Works with their pocket money and buy a small affordable toy each week.   In the past toys usually only came around at Christmases and birthdays.

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 My favorite news story of the week was that two Scottish athletes with disabilities did themselves and Scotland proud by winning no fewer than eight gold medals from the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sport (IWAS) Senior World Championships in Sharjah, Dubai.

What makes this an even more momentous achievement is the fact that they are only 11, and 12-years-old.  The two young Scots proved themselves the best in the world at Race Running – a relatively new addition to the international arena in disability sport...  Their achievements were in the 100 meters, 200m, 400m and 800m at the event in Dubai.  And that is not all - they set world records in three of the four events.   

I always shake my head when well paid sports personalities and those of stage and screen are showered with awards, but on this occasion I feel that these two courageous youngsters should be genuinely recognized for their amazing achievements.  I will be writing to Alec Salmond to suggest that the two youngsters get recognized by their country and that funding will be increased instead of cut to clubs that take time and patience to prepare those with disabilities to fulfill their dreams.

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 Maybe send a few thoughst out to Hakamada Iwao who has spent 43-years on death row in a Japanese prison.  He was convicted of a crime he says he did not commit.  He is believed to be the world’s longest serving death row inmate.

 He was sentenced to death mainly on a confession, which he later retracted at his trial He claims he was beaten and forced to confess after twenty days intensive interrogation.

Executions in Japan are carried out in secret, and without warning to the prisoner or  his family.  So for 43-years Hakamada Iwao has not known from one day to the next when he will be executed Psychiatric examinations have shown that this prisoner has a mental illness as the result of the many years he has spent on death row.

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 May I wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS...