YOUTH COMMENDED

On a dark unpleasant evening two young teenagers came to the door to ask if we could help by looking after a stray cat while they took their bicycles home. They had found the neglected animal at Queendown Warren, made enquiries to establish that it was really a stray and then persuaded it to follow them home. After a dangerous incident when they had been nearly knocked down by a car whilst trying to protect the cat they decided to cover the rest of the journey home in two stages so that they could carry the cat. We were glad to help, encouraged once again to know that two young boys showed so much concern.

E.M.W. and A.E.W.

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH

"The tongue is a world of iniquity" St. James 3: 6.

Are these words of St. James really true? The world, after all, is a vast place. Yes, but equal in its vastness is the misery and chaos caused by unguarded tongues. We have come today to use our tongues as weapons of offence and defence, perhaps because basically we dislike violence. They are such little things that we often fail to see what harm they can do. But mean words have wrecked many a home, divided many a church, and caused all manner of unhappiness. If we have to criticise we should do it quietly and modestly, for in most cases we are simply telling the world what our own faults are. The sobering truth, of course, is that the tongue is the main expression of our personality, and this expression can only be truly good and attractive if it is influenced and guided by the Spirit of God.

Prayer: O God, help us at all times to speak the kindly and helpful word. Amen.

B.A.

A NATURALISTS' NOTEBOOK

Sitting at my office desk writing this notebook on a typical September morning, with the dew lying heavily on the surrounding countryside and the sun just appearing over the horizon in the East, my thoughts reveal a note of sadness. We have to face the fact that the summer is coming to an end (and on the whole this has been a very good one), and autumn is just around the corner.

Many of our summer birds, such as the Cuckoo and Swift, have already left these shores for warmer climates, but in some places the Swallows are still trying to rear just one more family before they set out on their hazardous journey to their wintering grounds in South Africa. Hundreds of these young Swallows and House Martins are now flocking together, as if they are an army gathering all their forces for the final battle, and we must not close our eyes to the fact that this is a battle - one of survival. A large majority of these birds are the young of the year and making the journey of about 4,000 miles for the very first time, with the vast Sahara Desert as the greatest hazard. Many, unfortunately, will perish en route, but I am sure that I am not the only person who wishes them "Bon Voyage", and look forward to seeing them once again next Spring

W.F.A.B.