Danger Zone

We are standing on the banks of a pond known as Hondegat on a bitter Winters day in the small Dutch village of Asperen. The year is 1569. Suddenly, we see a thin man running towards us pursued by a heavily armed guard from a nearby palace which had only recently been turned in to a prison. As the man approaches the pond he does not stop but passes over the ice covered water with ease. However, when his pursuer tries to do the same, being much heavier than his skinny prey, as well as carrying arms, he falls through the ice into the freezing water. Continue Reading

When Helen Watson found herself thrown at the feet of the Elders of the Perth Presbytery of the Church of Scotland, having allegedly been caught in adultery, perhaps, just perhaps she thought, as the woman in Jesus day, thrown at his feet in similar circumstances and offered grace and forgiveness, she might have been treated similarly. However, she was to be bitterly disappointed – and was hanged in front of her mother’s house a few days later. (1) Continue Reading