For no particular reason I thought readers might like to be reminded that, in the practical sphere of Physics there are three basic laws, and it is often thought that these laws can also be applied to human behaviour.
- The first rule is that, unless it is affected by an external force, an item will either continue to be at rest or continue moving in the same direction forever.
- The second rule states that force is equal to the change in momentum (mass multiplied by velocity) over a period of time.
- The third principle is that there is always an equal and opposite response to every activity in nature.
An example of the first rule can be seen in the behaviour of every large organisation: These are incapable of changing course until a force greater than the inertia of their mass compels them to do so.
But it was an article in the Farming Press that first made me think of rule three. I appreciate rural beauty, and so a recent report caught my eye because it showed that Britain has now established a significant acreage of subsidised wildflower meadows. This will please those who want the countryside to better reflect its ancient diversity and, it is indeed a pleasure to look out over a wildflower meadow.
But, when thinking of Rule Three we note that the acreage of new wildflowers is the same as that needed to grow one million tonnes of wheat and, as Britain cannot feed itself, that wheat must be grown somewhere else, by somebody else. Let us then imagine what those foreign acres look like through the eyes of someone who saw forest but now sees wheat. Do they think the view is worse? At least, that somebody won’t be in Ukraine where views of the landscape have already been changed for the worse.
Talking of views this is my two hundredth View from the Pew. When I started, Rector Pat, Graham Hale the editor and I agreed that my name would not appear in the hope that observations, analysis, and conclusions might be better discussed on their merits.
As time passed some wanted to know who the writer was and so my name has appeared ever since. Consequently, I would like to thank those many readers who have encouraged me during this past sixteen years and am grateful for their support and feedback. A frequent question from them is “How do you manage to keep coming up with the ideas?” That bit is easy I say, because I genuinely think I don’t know anything. That makes everything interesting and worth trying to get my head around it. It is the ‘getting my head around it’ which is demanding. But when I do, I am happy to share thoughts with readers and listeners.
My earlier mention of gratitude to Rector Pat and Graham Hale can be extended to my own son Tony who, along with David Farrants of Dymock and Mike Hencher of Newent encouraged me to write and film a series of videos on Christian Doctrine, the first of which was shot last month. The first video on Faith and subsequent ones are being hosted by westernwaychapel.org (click on messages and scroll down) They can also be found on YouTube by entering Peter Wells, Pauntley into Google Search. My son tells me this is the title of my channel, on which I hope to put further videos, and the archive of Views from the Pew, later in the year.
Little did our Tony, Dave and Mike know that being able to pull together my thoughts in this way was an answer to a prayer as to how I might witness during my last years. The traditional ‘pulpit’ reckons me too old, but YouTube, and Facebook have no such reservations.
I am sure there are others of similar age whose knowledge is wide and have wisdom to boot. Therefore, as lots of youngsters have shallow roots in the soil of history having not spent much time with their grandparents, I encourage older readers to ‘Get on-line’ with a wise word. There are lots of foolish words out there, so a few wise ones would not come amiss.
But talking of technology and wise words, this letter in the Telegraph adds a cautionary note. Intercessionary prayers in the Parish Church had just begun when a mobile phone burst into life and a resonant bass voice filled the Nave:
“I’m sorry but I cannot accept any further requests, please try later.”
View from the Pew 