Rex was someone I worked with for twenty-five years and knew in retirement for another twenty-five. I came to admire him uniquely. So why do I have no stories?
As a colleague he was wise, discreet, reliable. As a person he was quiet, modest, gentle. As a companion he was easy, perceptive. At first acquaintance you might overlook him. At second you might take him for granted. Thereafter you would always want to know what he thought.
On the Athenaeum Committee I used to think of him as my one-man silent majority. I do not recall that he ever spoke first, or interrupted, or repeated at length what had already been said. Those who did so are garlanded with stories.
But it was Rex I would bring in when we seemed to be getting nowhere. He was always clear, and the Committee always followed.
How happy the country with no history, and how admirable the man with no stories!
Brian Gilmore
6th February 2021
I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip — he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you — the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Mark - Psalm 121
4th February 2021
I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.
Mark - 1 Corinthians 15:50-58
4th February 2021