RAIN ON THE BYPASS

Hanging around on the Edinburgh bypass is not my idea of a thrill - but the sight of the the Pentlands always reminds me of my hero, Richard Holloway. In Leaving Alexandria, he wrote that he didn't expect to wake up after death to meet his maker, but said that if it happened, he wouldn't be surprised if he came to him smiling across the green fields around the Pentlands.

We were out East to attend a memorial service for a fine man. One of the tributes contained the line, 'John made it easier for me to believe in Jesus.' I like that. First of all the acknowledgment that belief in Jesus (whatever that means) is certainly not easy, and secondly that the quality of other's lives - in this case one devoted to inclusion, social justice and internationalism - is one of the most powerful ways we divine the divine.

On my way out now for a coffee and a chin wag with a pal. Off on holiday tomorrow and still so much to do....I feel an all night session coming on.