Staying in touch with the world
10/02/2010
As you pick up your copy of Mature Times this month I expect to be somewhere off the coast of South America en route to the South Atlantic. It’s several years since I was last in this remote part of the world and I must say that I am looking forward to seeing the Falkland Islands once again as well as venturing into colder waters to the South. On my last visit to the Falklands my wife and I had an opportunity to call on many local families and friendships we made then and which continue until today.
More Stories
How youngsters are playing their part in a troubled world
Terry Waite tells of his latest trip with the charity Ycare -working with young people towards a better life.
I long for a simpler, giving Christmas
What are your plans for Christmas? asks Terry Waite
A trip down memory lane with Romany & Raq
If you are of a certain vintage, you may well remember the BBC tales of Romany & Raq - not forgetting Muriel and Doris...
By the time you pick up your copy of Mature Times I shall have been in Cumbria for the annual gathering of the Romany Society. First, I had better clarify matters. This is not a meeting of Travellers and their kin.
It is a gathering of friends who many years ago tuned into the BBC Home Service at five in the afternoon and were captivated by the stories told by Romany of the BBC.
Life is such a curious mix of joy and sadness
One never knows what is round the corner and when we were in the middle of our trip we received serious news. My wife’s elder sister was out with a walking party in a National Park when the branch of a tree fell on the group giving minor injuries to all of them except Ann who had to be airlifted to hospital with serious head injuries.
Will winter fuel payments and bus passes be one of the "cuts"?
"Some of the benefits now provided look ripe for cutting. Pensioners, for example, get free bus travel and also receive tax-free winter fuel payments on top of their state pension..." Terry Waite takes issue with this statement from The Economist and asks MT readers to challenge their MPs on where they would stand if the axe was hovering over pensions and benefits.
Terry Waite: why I cannot support a change in the law on assisted suicide
The question still remains. Who can be sure that the decision to end life is the right decision? Assisted suicide is wide open to abuse.
Terry Waite tackles one of the key debates of our time.
Bluebell Girls, Desmond Tutu and a Rainbow Choir in Lewisham
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One day the vicar confided in me. He was worried as his daughter had set her heart on becoming a Bluebell girl... By Terry Waite
Tell me: are we losing the sense of public service in this country of ours?
As the ship of state ploughs its uncertain way through some of the most turbulent political waters experienced in recent years the crew remain restless. I hold no particular brief for Captain Brown but the behaviour of some of his senior officers in recent days frankly amazed me.
Terry Waite: I’ll stand to sort out Parliament
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I returned from a visit overseas the other day to be greeted with the first of several major explosions which continue as I write. If I mention clearing moats, horse manure and second homes you will know immediately to what I am referring.
We all have our weaknesses
We all have our weaknesses, says Terry Waite, and I am now, for the first time in print going to reveal one of mine
Suffering need not destroy
I am often asked if I continue to meet with the former hostages John McCarthy and Brian Keenan. John lives in England and we do meet from time to time but as Brian lives in Ireland he and I meet less frequently.
However, last week we were given a unique opportunity to all meet again as the BBC approached us and asked if we would take part in a Radio Four programme ‘The Reunion’.
Counting one’s blessings
Terry Waite reflects on his travels.
Terry Waite: The joy of inner quietness
The five years I spent in captivity, four of which were in total solitary confinement, gave me a unique opportunity to learn how to appreciate being alone but more importantly how to value silence.
What Christmas in captivity taught me
For almost four years Terry Waite lay chained, alone and in severe discomfort in captivity. Here he poignantly remembers one Christmas Day when even the electric light failed... but then a sunbeam made its way into his darkened cell.
