Posts by Joe Grundy

never was a jw, but been here long enough to have made some friends and respect opinions.. retired in 2004, lived in cyprus 2005-2010. back here in wales since then.. just back from a holiday in france (most recent of many).

love the country, the lifestyle, can get by in the language.. just seen an advert for a country estate (british-owned) they want someone to live on site, do a bit of handyman stuff, etc., look after (mainly brit) holiday visitors in return for zero rent (only utitlties).

family would be abe to come and stay for free.

Joe Grundy

Just back from a 10 day trip to Andorra to visit a friend. A superb country with much to commeend it. Stunning scenery, healthy living and a cheap cost of living.

Very tempted.

19

At what age did you notice time went by so fast?

by adjusted knowledge in

jw
friends

i like so many americans left my parent's house as soon as i could (age 19).

i would see them maybe one or two times a year for the next ten years.

when i hit thirty and got married it was even less frequent.

Joe Grundy

Age is a state of mind, I think - or rather, how you react to it. Yes, there are physical effects but I know young people who already act old and older people who are mentally young.

I think about this sort of stuff about twice a year - New Year and my birthday. I just turned 59, am single and fairly fit and healthy. In a few hours I'm off for a 'spur of the moment' trip. I've booked the car on a ferry to France and I will call and see a friend in Andorra. Other than that the trip is unplanned - I may be away for a week or a month, driving through France and probably Spain.

There are always new places to visit, new people to meet, new experiences to - well, experience.

There will come a time, probably, when this won't be possible but for now I want to enjoy as much as I can. Life is not a rehearsal and you only get one shot at it.

11

D2D Visit - The 'Preaching' Lives On?

by Joe Grundy in

just had an interesting (?

) visit.. 1.30pm, i was outside the front of my house on a small housing estate doing man-stuff on the car.

three young guys (maybe 16-18 or so) wearing long-sleeved shirts approached.

Joe Grundy

In a way, I was disappointed not to have the chance to chat to them and maybe push some innocent but hopefully thought-provoking questions their way.

But:

1. I know that trying to discuss religion with the religious can be like trying to push a worm uphill

2. They would not have accepted anything I said

3. In a group of three, none would dare to show any interest in anything I had to say

4. Being harsh, they are not my problem.

I was thinking afterwards that very recent research shows that people in their age group are at their peak of techno-skills. I would be very surprised if they are not active on the internet (and they won't stick to the official one) and perhaps more importantly on the social networking sites. They don't need someone like me to raise doubts - I would guess that they already have them and just need an opportunity for further research and discussion and to express them.

11

D2D Visit - The 'Preaching' Lives On?

by Joe Grundy in

just had an interesting (?

) visit.. 1.30pm, i was outside the front of my house on a small housing estate doing man-stuff on the car.

three young guys (maybe 16-18 or so) wearing long-sleeved shirts approached.

Joe Grundy

I was only repeating what Gorby said!

When it comes to women I am 100% equal opportunities, and am doing my best to practice what I preach in this area.

(Just had a thought - you don't think that the HS chanelled via GB could see my past, do you?)

11

D2D Visit - The 'Preaching' Lives On?

by Joe Grundy in

just had an interesting (?

) visit.. 1.30pm, i was outside the front of my house on a small housing estate doing man-stuff on the car.

three young guys (maybe 16-18 or so) wearing long-sleeved shirts approached.

Joe Grundy

Just had an interesting (?) visit.

1.30pm, I was outside the front of my house on a small housing estate doing man-stuff on the car. Three young guys (maybe 16-18 or so) wearing long-sleeved shirts approached. Not Mormons, obviously, because they wore coloured shirts and ties (nothing garish) and had no badges. But they had the same clean-cut look and the same innocent smiles. JWorgs for sure.

Me: 'Hi guys'

Dub: 'Hello, we're Jehovah's Witnesses'

Me: 'Oh, I'm sorry. I knew you weren't Mormons because you don't have badges. Aren't you supposed to wear JW.Org badges now?'

Dub: (a bit confused) 'No, I don't think so'

Me: 'How can I help you?'

Dub: (producing leaflets) 'Well, we'd like to invite you to a special convention in Cardiff' (100+ miles away)

Me: 'Sorry, I'm off on holiday tomorrow. That's why I'm messing with the car - it can be a bugger to reach some of the bits, can't it?'

Dub: 'And we'd like to give you this leaflet about our new website'

Me: 'Is that the one with domain they bought off Jewish Women.Org?'

Dub: 'I don't know, it used to be Watchtower but it's changed'

Me: 'Have you got a few minutes while I get this oil off my hands, then you can come in for a cup of tea. I'd love to find out more about the witnesses'

Dub: (rabbit in headlights look) 'Oh sorry, we've got a lot of houses to call at. Thanks for your time'

... and off they went.

I very much doubt whether they'll get a more encouraging response anytime soon. I was polite, friendly, welcoming, interested and willing to spend time with them. I do have a beard, I did say 'bugger' and I was smoking a cigarette but I'm quite a nice bloke really.

They were all about the same age. The spokesman was the most confident, the second about the same, but the third seemed quite nervous (he looked a bit like Billy the Ex-Bethelite's avatar).

I never was a dub. If this is their standard of D2D preaching - even when they're theoretically young and keen and they had me three-on-one and I was inviting more, it's quite illuminating, I think. (And they forgot to give me their leaflets in their hurry to leave).

20

My three days of hell summary - Part I

by cookiemaster in

well guys, i finally got back from the dc or whatever it's called nowadays.

it wasn't really as bad as i expected but still, it was pretty bad.

the first interesting thing happened on the road.

Joe Grundy

It's a thought which has often struck me - that in all religions throughout history (and probably pre-history too) the one consistency is schisms.

And every group and sub-group (and so on ad infinitum) is convinced that it (and it alone) has 'The Truth'.

Says something about all religions, I think.

14

BBC Article on Train Station Witnessing

by scotinsw in

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28166192.

can't make link clickable!.

i pass them in london on a daily basis at one of mainline train stations in the city and the only people i've seen talking to them are lost tourists (looking for directions).

Joe Grundy

I may be being a bit cynical here, but do I detect an 'Andre' (tm) moment in the story about the office worker asking for extra copies of the 'Stress' mag for her colleagues?

I can just imagine the colleagues' reaction in a busy office when 'Andre' comes in with the announcement 'Don't worry about the stress, guys, here are some JW mags!'.

14

BBC Article on Train Station Witnessing

by scotinsw in

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28166192.

can't make link clickable!.

i pass them in london on a daily basis at one of mainline train stations in the city and the only people i've seen talking to them are lost tourists (looking for directions).

Joe Grundy

It's a shame that this BBC article can't be cross-referenced to the BBC news story last week about former JW elder Mark Sewell's conviction for sex abuse (14 years) and in particular victim Karen Morgan's interview strongly criticising WT procedures.

That would be an interesting point of discussion with the WT trolley-dollies.