Posts by Duncan

it looked very out of place with its watchtower crennelations, like a mediaevel sort of castle, with a huge sign announcing that this was now the home of the british red cross.

however, we are now blessed with a new, quick-build kingdom hall on the outskirts of town.. but this is not the true story, this quick-build kingdom hall took 3 months to erect, unlike the publicity blurb handed out to our local newspaper which claimed that the work was done in 3 days.. being involved in the building trade, i knew that the local equipment hire company had been supplying the dubs with concrete mixers, diggers, back hoes and jcb's for fully 3 months before the build officially started.. all the ground work was done weeks beforehand, all the services laid on, the roof trusses were ready and waiting as was the curtain walling and window shutters.

Duncan

Englishman

What you so clearly fail to take account of here is the spiritual, antitypical fulfilment of the biblical rule-of-thumb:

"A year for a day"

So, in fact, that 3 month (to us) elapsed build time, was, of course, to those who had the requisite "eyes of faith" a period of only a quarter of a day, or...er...I mean ...was it? 90 years - or something like that(?)

Darn! Since turning apostate I seem to have lost all my spiritual insight (let the reader use discernment)

Duncan (enjoying a Quick Brew)

18

a part of ourselves we neglected

by rodnico in

jw
friends

my mother is coming to visit me next week.

i haven't seen her for over 4 years.

she thinks that somehow i am a completely different person since leaving the organization.

Duncan

What things do I now do, that I didn’t before when I was In The Truth?

I’m afraid to say that the Society has got this one dead right. Since I stopped associating with Jehovah’s People in their Spiritual Paradise, I have given myself over to wickedness, every sort of unclean thing, unwholesome sexual practices, violence and crime.

I regularly rob banks and beat up old ladies. I lie and cheat and, of course, never wash.

I smoke, constantly take drugs and I’m in and out of prison. My life is utterly wretched and I dine at the table of demons. I worship Satan, and strangely enough, I, too, have begun to cultivate Irises (expect to see a Watchtower article about that soon)

Duncan..

11

The very model of a modern Ministerial.

by philo in

jw
friends

i wrote this when i was a hardworking pioneer being passed over for ministerial servantship year after year.. .

the circuit servant's coming soon, and when he asks i'll have to say.

there's a creditable brother here the others are on holiday.

Duncan

Philo,

Bravo!

[applauding, Standing Ovation]

Simply excellent stuff.

Duncan

10

Freudian householder

by anglise in

jw
friends

ok hands up.

who really enjoyed playing the part of the irate or definately unbelieving householder on the school or demo items?.

i know i really did and its only recently struck me that maybe for years deep down these where my true feelings shouting to get out.. shame i didnt listen to them sooner.

Duncan

Hey Thirdson

Do you remember Noble Bowers?

Can’t say I do, but for some reason, I know the name, dunno why, maybe I heard him speak at Twickenham or something.

You speaking about “staged events” reminds me of a young brother I remember giving his first Ministry School assignment. But maybe the sheer embarrassment of it means it ought to go into Englishmans “What made your skin crawl” thread.

This fellow had always been a bit semi-detached from the truth, so although me and my oh-so-faithful-pioneer-cronies knew him, he wasn’t in our circle. He had been a bit of an outsider, but then started going out with a girl – Elder’s daughter – and was making an effort at getting on in the truth. He was about eighteen, I guess, and this was his first talk.

Someone had clearly told him to make a BIG intro in order to get the audience’s attention. And so…

“Now we have Brother Keith New, the theme is for his assignment is “Imitate Jehovah’s Merciful Loving-Kindness” Brother New…”

Keith takes to the stage , arranges his notes, not noticeably nervous or anything, looks up and then and absolutely SCREAMS, and I mean BELLOWS:

“THAT BROTHER JUST MAKES ME SICK! A COMPLETE FAT HEAD! DID YOU HEAR WHAT HE SAID?? THAT BROTHER IS A TOTAL DISGRACE!! I WISH HE WAS DEAD, I HATE HIS GUTS!!!!”

Toe-curling embarrassment as the silence echoed round the Kingdom Hall. For a second there I thought it was some kind of reference to the TMS servant who had introduced him. But…

Keith rearranged is features into a pious, faithful face, and continued at a much lower volume and in a kind of caring tone:

“Have you ever felt this way about one of your Brothers? Do you sometimes allow your feelings to get the better of you? Turn with me to the second book of…..” ..and blah-blah-blah.

But I don’t suppose anyone at all was listening to his talk. He had certainly got everyone’s attention, but I for one was more embarrassed after I had realised the effect he was going for, than I was before.

He was counselled privately about it afterwards he told me, and explained that it was just nerves, he went too mad.

A meeting or two later there was a general admonishment from the stage “not to use gimmicky introductions or stunts that embarrass the congregation” in our platform parts, and everyone knew who was meant.

Still, Keith wasn’t such a hopeless case. He married his sweetheart in the end PLUS - he got out of the truth before I did, so, who’s the donkey?

Eee-Ore

Duncan.

4

Can someone tell me.....?

by biblexaminer in

jw
friends

i have seen that some here post with italics, bold, underline, blockquote and horizontal line.

i have examined the source for some of these posts and they look regular html.

yet, when i have tried, the post appears without the formatting and the source html code appears as text.

Duncan

I'm Glad you explained this, because I was wondering , too.

This is fun!

Duncan

10

Freudian householder

by anglise in

jw
friends

ok hands up.

who really enjoyed playing the part of the irate or definately unbelieving householder on the school or demo items?.

i know i really did and its only recently struck me that maybe for years deep down these where my true feelings shouting to get out.. shame i didnt listen to them sooner.

Duncan

Hi anglise

This really struck a chord with me. I remember having an assembly part in the early seventies, based around one of those truly godawful “What about Dating?” articles in one of the magazines. (no one in England even calls it “dating” do they?)

I was a pretty good and faithful dub, really, a regular pioneer, a MS, that kind of thing, but I do remember thinking that this article was just plain ridiculous. Way over the top.

And “Freudian householder” exactly sums up the way I ended up playing my part.

You’ll be familiar with the set up:

Basically right-hearted but spiritually weak young teenage brother confides in understanding, compassionate elder that he “just can’t understand” this magazine article [holding it in his hand] about dating.

Caring and wise elder “reasons” with weak teenage brother over twenty minutes or so and finally young brother fully comes around to the approved Watchtower viewpoint and expresses joy and gratitude to Jehovah for correcting his wayward thinking.

Now, what happened certainly wasn’t deliberate and conscious behaviour on my part – like I said, Freudian is a real good insight into the process - but I remember vaguely forming an intention to kind of make the “before” character seem reasonable and likeable, and playing my “after” character in a wholly lifeless and zombiefied manner.

In rehearsals I hadn’t really given them any clue, I had enough sense to tone down the “before” guy, and it wasn’t word-for-word scripted, it was slightly different each time. …But on the night..

“Hello young Brother [Hormones]! Why, you look a bit down-in-the-dumps! Anything wrong?”

“Oh, hi Brother Elder, it’s nothing really. …Well, it’s… it’s just this Watchtower article [produces same with flourish] about dating. You know I’ve been getting quite friendly with young sister [Nubile] recently? Spending time in field service together?”

“Yes indeed! Fine activity! And the article gives us timely counsel. What’s the problem?”

“It’s just this [holds magazine and pretends to quote, in a quite frankly mocking tone] “ …heartbreak… unhappy marriages… unevenly yoked… teenage pregnancies… loathsome sexual diseases…” [looks up] - For Goodness sake! I only want to take her to the Pictures!”

Even after all these years I smile about this, because I REALLY delivered that line.

Well, it brought the house down. Maybe 10 or 15 seconds of top-volume laughter followed by a round of applause. I basked.

This, of course, was not how we rehearsed it, and full credit to the elder who after a few seconds pulled himself together and carried on with the sketch. I did too, I played my part thereafter exactly as we rehearsed it (I was very conscious of the buzz of conversation going on as people kept talking over the sketch)

The part ended, I (my character) was fully turned around and restored to Watchtower orthodoxy, and we shuffled offstage.

I had people congratulate me through the day on my assembly part – I felt like an Oscar winner. It was great, I had made the article look ridiculous (which it was) but I had done nothing wrong, because I had allowed myself (my character) to be won over in the end. I had ended up with the correct viewpoint. It was a strange kind of victory, but real nonetheless.

I heard the CO wanted to talk to me.

“Yes, well done, Duncan. Very – uhhh - lively.”

“Thank you, Brother Merry. [ David Merry – anyone remember him?]

“You got a big laugh there. You KNEW you would, didn’t you?”

“er… yeah..”

“ yes...” He said. That was all.

I never got asked to do an assembly part ever again.

Still, that one moment in time….

Duncan.

33

The difference between a JW and an IDIOT

by Focus in

jw
friends

.

Duncan

Hi Focus

If I apostasised from idiocy, would all my idiot friends stop talking to me?

Duhhhh - ncan.

28

Window Cleaners?

by nicolaou in

jw
friends

like a lot of others here, i gave higher education a miss when i left school (1980).

under the encouragement of the society i pioneered for three years instead!.

now i clean windows for a living.

Duncan

How about a loan

Very kind offer, Hip.

How much? And when do I pay you back?

Duncan

"But it does accrue" Interest

28

Window Cleaners?

by nicolaou in

jw
friends

like a lot of others here, i gave higher education a miss when i left school (1980).

under the encouragement of the society i pioneered for three years instead!.

now i clean windows for a living.

Duncan

"Like a lot of others here, I gave higher education a miss when I left school (1980). Under the encouragement of the Society I pioneered for three years instead!

Now I clean windows for a living. "

Nicolaou, this is exactly my story, you only need to change the date. In 1970 I left school at 15 (youngest legal permissible age in those days) and went window cleaning. Pioneered for 4 years and cleaned alot of windows...

I eventually got a fulltime job when I got married (first time - to the PO's daughter) and chose a job almost by sticking a pin in the situations vacant pages. Ended up in an accounts office.

Finally left "The Truth" completely by my mid-tewnties, and at the age of 27 decided to start studying again - night school. Five years (and one divorce)later I got qualfied as an accountant (ACCA). This was the mid-eighties and my career took off from there.

I am now a Board member (Finance Director) of a public listed company (FTSE 250 list) which employs hundreds of people and turns over £tens of millions. I have to say I'm doing all right.

Sorry, didn't mean to sound smug, the point is - the best decision I ever made was getting an education. It's not too late, go for it.

best wishes

Duncan.