Grannie's Shin of Beef Casserole

Ingredients:
Two red or white onions diced
Half pint Guiness ale, half a pint of water
2 lbs [1 kilo] shin beef
Herbs; thyme sprigs, parsley, 2 bay leaves,
Teasp. English mustard,; tablesp. Tomatoe puree; shake of salt and pepper; Tablesp honey

1. Cut beef into bite sized cubes
2. Marinade the beef in a cool place overnight in; the beer, 3 or more cloves of garlic [crushed] and a couple of sprigs of thyme.
3. Next day strain and dry the meat on kitchen paper roll. [put marinade mixture on one side]
4. Fry the cubes of meat with some oil [suggest olive oil, butter mix] until sealed, then add the marinade mixture to the frying pan to heat together with the meat, also add 400 ml of dissolved stock cube[beef]
5. Put this in a slow cooker. Ensure the meat is covered with liquid; if necessary add a little water.
6. Adjust the cooker to ‘high’ for about 30mins then ‘low’ for about 6 to 8hrs.
7. Drain the meat from the gravy
8. Mix 1 to 2 tablesps cornflower with the same volume of cold water, add to the boiling hot gravy
9. Season the gravy with some Worcester sauce and mustard to taste, add the honey and tomato puree whilst hot, pour the gravy over the meat into a hot casserole dish, ready to serve.
[serve with mashed potato and vegetables of choice]
[this is Grannie's tried and tested own recipe]

‘Walking with God’

Almost everyone wants to be righteous, to do the right thing, and they also find the self-righteous to be a pain in the neck. Almost everyone desires to be protected from evil but find very disturbed paths to this purpose.
This god who walks by our side does not need to possess a real or physical existence, a virtual, or imaginary existence will provide the purpose.
Children imbue their teddy bears with powers of comfort and friendship, paediatric nurses and doctors know the importance of these to children under stress. Adults too need imaginary ‘beings’ and heroes as in plays, books, song and music etc. They may make fun of children’s teddy bears yet they are unconscious that they too have their own ‘teddy bears’, they are simply more sophisticated according to education and intelligence. Sometimes a picture or a letter can summon up the comforting images of home and love. It takes imagination to realise that imaginary or virtual images, thoughts and emotions are as real as the rocks on the hill, because you cannot touch them does not mean they have no real existence.
Naturally mental illness can cause images and ideas that are ridiculous and dangerous but they are very real to the patient, because some imaginary ideas and thoughts are wrong or put to very evil purpose indeed does not mean that good ideas, thoughts an images should be expunged. This would leave cruelty to work unchallenged.
It is a strange paradox that those who are in most need of walking with god in a spirit of humility are those absolutists who behave as if they already possess the word of god.
The words of the old ‘gospel’ hymn: ‘ Just a closer walk with thee’ [you can listen to it free on the internet] say it all, echoed in the refrain in the Beatles song;
Let it Be.