Cathy Le Feuvre

D-Day 70 - We Will Remember Them

We often hear just a snatch of Laurence Binyon's 'Ode of Remembrance' which is just part of his very moving longer poem 'For the Fallen'.

It's recorded that Binyon was moved to write the poem in 1914 after becoming aware of the heavy casualties of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front during the opening days of the Great War - later to become known as the First World War, the outbreak of which we will commemorate later this year.

Binyon wrote the lines while visiting the north coast of Cornwall, looking out across the ocean. 'For the Fallen' was published by The Times newspaper (London) in September of that year and has become synonymous with days of remembrance such as today.

So here, to mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day, is that Ode of Remembrance. It might have been written thirty years before that day on the Normandy beaches - June 6 1944 - but it is so fitting for this day of commemoration as we remember all those who gave their lives so that we might live in freedom.

#LestWeForget

#DDay70                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                  (image by Cathy Le Feuvre)

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William and Catherine Down Under

I'm thrilled to see that my first book 'William and Catherine' - the love story of the founders of The Salvation Army told through their letters - is being promoted in New Zealand.

Thanks to The Salvation Army War Cry New Zealand for carrying an extract from Chapter 1 of the book. I am privileged and honoured that the book is being profiled and, hopefully, enjoyed by people on the other side of the world. 

Download William and Catherine -NZ War Cry review

If 'Tis Love

On this St Valentine's Day we celebrate and give thanks for love ... not just romantic love, but also the love of family and friends and, of course, God's love for us.

To mark this day I share with you a beautifully thoughtful poem which William Booth wrote to his beloved Catherine in 1872 ... it shows the depth of their love which still endured 20 years after their first meeting and after nearly 17 years of marriage.

When I researched the couple for my book ('William and Catherine' - the love story of the founders of The Salvation Army told through their letters, Monarch books  2013)I couldn't find any letters/notes which specifically said 'Happy Valentine's Day', but when you write stuff like this and you love like this...who needs a special day to say it?

William and Catherine's First Christmas

Christmas 1852

For a certain young couple it was their first Christmas together - or it would have been if it had not been for work committments.

William Booth had only met Catherine Mumford earlier that year, but within weeks they had become engaged to be married. They were head-over-heels in love, but although Catherine had dreams of an imminent marriage - she secretly hoped that she might soon become a wife and had already privately decided that her next birthday on January 17 in the New Year might be a good moment - they were still some years away from a wedding date.

William, who for years had longed to become a Christian evangelist travelling the country spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ, had at last secured a job. Which meant that at Christmas the young couple were separated. Catherine at home in London and William north in Lincolnshire, where he had recently begun work as a Reformed Methodist regional preacher.

Later, of course, the couple would go on to start the international Christian movement, church and charity which is The Salvation Army and which today has church members and charitable work in more than 125 countries across the world.

Today their legacy is a Christian movement which benefits millions of people every day but at Christmas 1852 they were just two young people, missing each other desperately and communicating in the only way which was possible at the time - through letters.

In my book -   'William and Catherine - the love story of the founders of The Salvation Army told through their letters'  (Monarch Books Sept 2013) - there's a brief  glimpse of a Victorian Christmas through Catherine's own words, penned to her beloved. The letter shows us her heart, as well as a little of the minutiae of everyday life. But, as with all the correspondence which the couple exchanged over 40 years, this not just a love letter. As deeply committed Christian individuals, who each put God even above the other, their words of love were naturally interspersed with spiritual thoughts and ambitions.

 

                                       Monday December 27th /52

My dearest William,

As I did not feel in writing tune either yesterday or on Xmas day, I will this evening give you a sketch of our Christmas enjoyments. Father dined at home & tho’ our number was so small we enjoyed ourselves very well.

Your representative on the wall seemed to look down on our sensual gratification with awful gravity, manifesting an indifference to the good things of this life, not at all characteristic of the original. I thought about you very, very much through the day. I could not but contrast my feelings with those of last year. Then my anxieties & affections were centered in objects whose love & care I have experienced through many changing years. Then I knew no love but that of a child, a sister, a friend, and I thought that love deep, sincere, fervent; perhaps it was; nay, I know it was. 

But since then a stranger, unknown, unseen, till within the last short year, has strangely drawn around himself the finest tendrils of my heart & awakened a new absorbing affection which seems, as it were, to eclipse what I before deemed the intensity of love. Then my anxieties were almost confined to home; now this same stranger like a magnet draws them after him in all his wanderings, so that they are seldom at home. What a change in one short year! Can you solve the mystery? Can you find the reason? 

But I am forgetting to detail the day’s pleasures, etc. After dinner we all went on a walk, talked about you, my dear brother, the changes which have taken place in a few years, the changes which probably will take place in a few more, etc. My dear father seemed kinder and more comfortable than usual; he is still a teetotaller & is abstaining altogether from the pipe; there is a change for the better in many respects. Don’t forget him, my love, at a throne of grace. Help me & my dear mother to pray for him…  Oh, for a Christ-like sympathy for souls, such as I used to feel when I have sat up half the night to plead for them. My dearest love, this is the secret of success, the weapon before which the very strongholds of hell must give way. Oh, let us try to get it again; let us make up our minds to win souls, whatever else we leave undone. 

But to return again, we spent a very pleasant evening together. I lay on the sofa, working a little watch pocket for the use of that stranger I have been speaking of, which I hope he will use for my sake, even tho’ he may be provided with one already. I hope he will not consider it murdered time. It did not take me long. My dear mother & myself enjoyed a good season in prayer & then retired to rest. Yesterday we heard Mr T[homas] in the morn’g; liked him much. School in the afternoon; got on well; children gave signs of serious interest. The evening spent alone, thinking about & praying for your preaching, etc. Today have been practising music, short hand, reading, working, etc. 

Good night! I am very tired, or I would not send such scrawl. I long for a letter to hear you have enjoyed yourself and all particulars.

 

This is an extract from the correspondence of Catherine Mumford (later Booth) and William Booth held in the British Library (Booth Papers Vols 1-1v MS 64799 - 64802) which is included in Chapter 5 of 'William and Catherine - the love story of the Founders of The Salvation Army told through their letters' - published Sept 2013 by Monarch Books (Lion Hudson plc) by Cathy Le Feuvre

 

 

 

Lockerbie Memories - 25 years on

Today we mark a very sad moment in our world's history. Twenty five years ago 270 people lost their lives when a 747 aeroplane en route from London to the USA exploded over the little town of Lockerbie on the Scottish borders.

Memorials are planned here in the UK and in the USA, where so many people lost loved ones. No matter the passage of the years the pain will still be as raw as they think back on those they lost that day, and the human potential which came so abruptly to an end that evening. So many of the travellers that Christmas were young people returning home to the US, or visiting friends across the pond.

I always remember this day - but for a different reason.

Wednesday December 21st 1988 was my 30th birthday and I awoke feeling rather traumatised. Other 'big' birthdays have come and gone since but the Big 30 seemed like a very large milestone at the time. I knew it was irrational but I could not shake myself out of self pity. I had told no one that it was my birthday and for the first time ever I had chosen not to take the day off work.

At the time I worked as a reporter/producer/newsreader for BBC Jersey - a local radio station in the Channel Islands (Great Britain) - and I was on the 'late shift'. I started at lunchtime and would work through the afternoon, and then when everyone else left around 6pm I would be on my own.

For someone who was already feeling a little down, being alone on birthday night was not a great decision. But it was a busy shift -  while BBC Jersey broadcast the evening 'shared' show transmitted from our sister stations on the British mainland, my tasks would include completing the production for the local early show for the following morning, a Thursday. This might involve some recorded local interviews, telephone conversations and writing up of stories, as well as monitoring the national feeds and ensuring that stories for the next day which came through on the BBC nationwide 'circuit' system were recorded and available for my colleagues.

My final job of the day would be to compile and read the news headlines (national/international/regional/local) and local weather forecast at 10pm.

In the days before internet, we received all national and wider regional news through a large telex machine which constantly spewed out reams of paper. Although we had no locally-initiated news bulletins between 6 and 10pm other stations around the country would have, and so the news stories kept coming, as well as cues for stories and features which could be picked up via the aforementioned BBC 'circuit' recording system. The television was on in the corner of the toom, tuned to BBC 1, just for company. 

Mid-evening, probably around 7.30pm the telex machine suddenly sprang into action. I recall walking to the machine and reading a headline 'Air Crash over Scottish borders'. If I remember rightly, at first it was thought that two fighter planes may have collided mid-air. However, over the next few hours the sheer horror of what had occurred became clear. The telex machine told the story as my BBC colleagues in Newsgathering in London, Scotland and across the world put together the bones of what had happened. Within an hour or so BBC and ITV national networks were running newsflashes. Remember this was in the day before digital TV ... there were just a few terrestrial channels available.

The information was sparse - the time that PanAm flight 103 left London Heathrow (18:25) en route for New York JFK ; the time that the aircraft disappeared from radar over the Scottish borders (just a few minutes after 19:00); reports of a huge explosion in the small rural town of Lockerbie. Then there were the growing numbers of feared victims - more than 250 on board the flight itself, and lives lost on the ground. The news story developed as the evening progressed and the enormity of the tragedy that was unfolding all those miles away in Scotland became clear to me.

I turned to the BBC 9 O'clock television news and the story was, of course, headlining, although the details which we would learn over the ensuing days were yet not there. We didn't know yet that it was a bomb on board the aircraft, in an unaccompanied suitcase, which has exploded mid-air. We were yet to learn the names of the individuals - young, old, families, business people and dignitaries, those headed home for the holidays - whose lives were ripped from them that night, including 11 residents of Lockerbie who were killed when parts of an aircraft dropped from the sky onto their quiet little hamlet.

At 10pm I had the sombre duty of reading the news to the world that was Jersey. I can't remember what local headlines were in that bulletin, or indeed if there was any other national or regional news other than brief headlines. As the duty producer it was down to me to decide how much time was given over to the PanAm 103 story and I guess most of that short bulletin would have been taken up by that news. 

I do remember the immense sense of responsibility that overwhelmed me as the BBC Jersey news jingle played and I pressed the 'live mic' button. 

As I've said, this was in the unsophisticated media days, before internet and mobile technology, before digital television platforms and 'rolling news' channels. This was in the day when many people still got their news from their daily papers, some would have watched the TV news but many more would still have relied on their 'wirelesses' for their evening headlines. On a personal level, I had several aunts who didn't even own a TV and I knew always listened to the BBC Jersey 10 0'clock news before they retired to bed.

I was aware that for them, the first they would hear of the Lockerbie Air Disaster would come from me - their local newsreader. I was aware that I was delivering news that would shock and appall. And how I delivered that news was important.

We are trained to read news without too much emotion. I don't know whether I achieved that on that particular evening. I remember my heart beat very fast through the length of that bulletin. As I read out the telephone number for people to contact, in case they believed they had relatives on board the ill-fated flight, and repeated that number ... I became acutely aware that for many people the night would be highly personal and would change their world forever.

Of course, we now know that Lockerbie changed all our lives. We lived in a world where hijackings of aeroplanes was common. We were living through turbulent times where terrorism was an everyday fact of life. But this vile act was something different. Apart from anything else it fundamentally changed the way we travelled - no more unaccompanied luggage, much greater security at airports, more anxiety for travellers. It truly was a turning point and the next would be post 9-11 when once again we would scrutinise and improve air safety.  But of course, for the relatives and friends of those who had lost their lives, that night was so much more significant.

After the 10pm bulletin, I ensured the 'handover' for my colleagues was in order, knowing that what I had left in the 'Morning Show' tray would probably not be used. News from Lockerbie, from London and from New York would continue to develop overnight and the next day's bulletins and radio shows would be dominated by the PanAm 103 story.

I would usually have discarded all the paper from the evening, but on that day I left the piles of telex alerts for my colleagues who would pick up the story the following morning. It was a sort of testament to the evening's events and I didn't want to just consign it to the bin. However, BBC Jersey was off air and would not be back in action until around 7am the following morning. There was no more I could do. 

I locked the office, turned on the security systems and walked the short distance home. I was very sad, but in a strange way, no longer depressed at being one year older. I thanked God that I was alive. And I went to bed thinking of all those who had been lost that evening, and their families and friends who would soon be receiving the worst news of their lives.

Today - 25 years on - I think and pray again for those on both sides of the Atlantic for whom December 21st is annually a reminder of their loss, a day when sadness is relived but life is celebrated.

'William and Catherine' - book promotion continues!

 

At The Salvation Army Territorial (national) Congress held in Glasgow in Nov 2013 there were live webcasts of the three main 'meetings' or sessions, and wrapped around those were live programmes introducing themes for the weekend, including interviews of those taking part.
On Sunday morning (Nov 3) presenter Major Martin Hill interviewed me about my first book whose central characters are the founders of The Salvation Army - William  and Catherine Booth. I was at Congress signing copies of her book and talking to people about it!
'William and Catherine - the love story of the founders of The Salvation Army told through their letters' is published by Lion Hudson and is a Monarch book 
The letters of William and Catherine are held in trust for the Booth family at the British Library in London and for the book I edited the letters and included some other personal and public writings and memoirs of these remarkable people. I also included historical narrative and created short stories which further bring to life this passionate, spiritual and loving couple.

'William and Catherine' - the Book Launch

My new, and first, book was launched at The Salvation Army UK in London on Wednesday September 25 2013.  The launch was hosted by Salvationist Publishing and Supplies and was held in their shop. We had a busy day, sold lots of books and raised nearly £200 through a 'coffee morning' for the excellent Macmillan Cancer Support charity.

The book is called 'William and Catherine' - the love story of the founders of The Salvation Army, told through their letters and is published by Monarch, an imprint of Lion Hudson.  The book features some of the loving and spiritual letters which William and Catherine Booth wrote to each other throughout their lives, historical narrative and creative stories. 

The book can be bought through SP&S, LionHudson and Amazon - including for Kindle!

On launch day the media team from The Salvation Army took photos and a short video...here is the film, in which I explain some of the 'lesser known' facts about William and Catherine Booth which are featured in the book....just a quirky little insight but certainly not the whole story!

 

  

Celebrating Founders' Day

On July 2 1865 a tall dishevelled man with dark unruly hair and a hooked nose stood up to speak in a tent on the Mile End Waste in Whitechapel in East London. 

The tent was rather decrepit, and the crowd mostly represented everything that 'polite' society at the time would have abhorred - drunkards, street women, ruffians, people from the very poorest levels of society who all hoarded into the tent to listen to the guest speaker for the evening. The sight, and the smell of the crowd on that warm July evening must have been overwhelming!

But Rev William Booth, for it was he who stood in front of the crowd, felt immediately at home among these people. He hadn't grown up in the lap of luxury but had worked in a pawnbrokers shop from the age of 13. As a young Christian who desperately wanted to be an evangelist, he had been turned away or fallen out with several churches and congregations and had finally steered his own course and had travelled the country preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the 'whosoever'. He and his wife Catherine, herself a talented speaker and writer, in setting up their own Christian ministry, had not opted for the luxurious option. They often found themselves penniless, raising eight little children and relying on the good nature of friends and family members for support. They lived on faith.

Yes, William and Catherine Booth knew what it felt like to be excluded from society, unloved by the majority and living on the very edge of financial disaster.

Yet when William stood up in that tent on the old Quaker Burial Ground, the guest of the East London Special Services Committee who had organised the evangelistic mission, it was the start of something which would eventually result in a worldwide Christian organisation which today spans the globe, and reaches out to millions of needy and disadvantaged people every day.

From the humble beginnings of a tent in the East End of London grew William and Catherine's own outreach and mission to the community where they found themselves - the East London Christian Mission, later to be known simply as The Christian Mission. Although the central focus of the Booth's organisation was always to see people's lives transformed by the love of God, eventually the Christian Mission developed into more than a 'preaching ministry' and into a practical mission, offering support and assistance - food, clothing, shelter, jobs - to those who found themselves at the bottom of the social pile. However, in the process, God also used the Booth's ministry to reach people from all levels of society, transforming millions of lives not just spritiually but practically.

It wasn't until 1878 that the Christian Mission was renamed The Salvation Army, but it is July 2 which is celebrated and marked every year as 'Founders' Day' - the 'start' of the ministry which grew into The Salvation Army.

Although we are nearly 150 years on from that tent on the Mile End Waste, the need of society is still great. People are still struggling to survive, struggling to make ends meet, battling addiction, finding themselves in situations from which it is difficult to exit. 'Polite' society still often looks down on those who they perceive to be weak, people remain voiceless and powerless. And The Salvation Army is still there - to help, to support, to bring the love of God into lives without love. Not necessarily offering a 'hand out' but invariably a 'hand up' - to help people help themselves out of their situations. More importantly, the spiritual needs are still great. People still have a need for the transforming love of Jesus Christ, no matter their social or economic status in the world today.

As William Booth stood preaching on that warm July evening in a tent on an old burial ground, he  could not have foreseen what would come. But, undoubtedly, he trusted God for the future.

Perhaps THAT is the overriding message of Founders' Day - Trust God, he knows the future!

My book William and Catherine - their love story told through their letters is published in Autumn 2013 by Monarch Books.

Read more here. To pre- order from Amazon click here

 

A Life of Duty

Sixty years ago today, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom. 

It was June 2 1953 and the country, and the wider world,  was buzzing with the excitement of the occasion. An estimated 11 million people listened into the Coronation Ceremony on the radio and a further 27 million people in Britain watched on TV. This in the days when TV sets were still a rarity, many many people used the Coronation as the excuse to buy their very first TV and those who did not do so gathered in neighbours' or family sitting rooms to watch the ceremony live on the strange little box with the black and white pictures which took centre stage in the home for that day. 

When Elizabeth took her oath of consecration, was crowned and invested with all the regalia and titles that come with being the British monarch, she didn't just become Queen of the UK but of many other nations including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon.

What an overwhelming responsibility for someone aged just 25!

Admittedly she had been raised as a Royal and would have been aware from her earliest moments that she lived in a world where duty was an overwhelming principle. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was the grandaugher of King George V and Queen Mary, but her father, Prince Albert Duke of  York,  was second-in-line to the throne, so Elizabeth and younger sister Margaret were not born as certain front runners for the eventual job of monarch.

That was until Elizabeth was 10, when her Uncle David (King Edward VIII) , who had succeeded to the throne after the death of George V in January 1936, decided in December that year to abdicate the throne so he could marry Wallis Simpson, a twice divorced American with whom he had fallen in love.

From the moment her father ascended the British throne (he took the regnal name George VI), the young Princess Elizabeth would be groomed for a life as monarch. Her duty to her country would have been quietly processing in her mind and heart, her at-home private education would have prepared her for the eventuality of a life of service, where her own wishes and desires would need to be suppressed. From that moment it was not about her - Elizabeth the private individual, the woman, the wife, the mother - but about the greater good, her people.

By the time her father passed away when she was 24 - George VI sadly died of lung cancer on 6 Feburary 1952 - Elizabeth had married her third cousin, Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh -  had two young children and had enjoyed something of a private life, albeit wrapped up in all the responsibilities which came with being Heir to the Throne.

But was she prepared for monarchy? Her background would certainly suggest so, although the loss of her beloved father aged just 56 would have been a tremendous shock and propelled her into the role of Queen many years before she might have expected, and certainly many many years before she would have wanted.

S0, on June 2 1953, she processed through the packed streets of London and the cheers of the crowds to Wesminster Abbey in Central London and amid much pomp and historical ceremony swore the sacred oath of allegiance to her country and its laws. Much as kings and queens of England had done down many centuries, during this solemn Coronation Ceremony, this beautiful, sincere and dutiful young woman took on responsibilities which you and I can only imagine. Apart from being monarch of the United Kingdom and all those other aforementioned countries and dominions, Elizabeth II also became Head of the Commonwealth, and  Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Down the years, through good times and bad, Queen Elizabeth has 'ruled' with grace and determination. She has weathered the storms of public disapproval and bathed in the love of her people.  She has held her head high during family grief and trial, and shown her compassion and care to the grieving. She has rejoiced with us and mourned with us. She has been the best example of a 'working mum' before that creature became popularised. Although undoubtedly she had lots of help, she has raised 4 children and worked tirelessly, giving of herself absolutely every day.

There have been those who have speculated whether she might one day abdicate in favour of her son Charles, but many commentators have suggested that Her Majesty's sense of duty to the role and to her nation would never allow that. Even now, aged 87, she still remains dedicated to her life of devotion and duty and keeps going, undertaking public duties and always looking immaculate, when many elderly women would be happy to sit at home in their slippers drinking tea and quietly nodding off in the corner of the room.

This second Elizabethan era has stretched entirely across my life and the lives of most of the people I know. For us it's always been Elizabeth and although she is not yet the longest reigning British monarch - Queen Victoria reigned for nearly 64 years from 20 June 1837 to 22 January 1901 -  our Queen Elizabeth is coming close.

Whether you like the idea of the monarchy or would rather see the UK as a republic, there's no doubting this woman has been a wonderful example of dutiful service. She is something for us to be proud of.

So I, for one, think of her today and wish her many more happy years of life and service. I thank her for her life of duty to her people and to her sacred 'calling' as Queen,which was sealed on this day sixty years ago.

And I say, with many many millions more and with true sincerity  .... 'God Save the Queen'.

(Thanks also to http://www.thediamondjubilee.org)

 

 

Just About Sales?

You might think this is a trivial issue -  but something is bothering me!

If I'm perfectly honest, it's been lurking in the back of my head for a little while, but only in recent weeks have I started to articulate my thoughts.

SO why haven't I come out and spoken about it before? Well for one thing, I don't want to appear thick. Is this, I ask myself, something about which I should KNOW, instinctively?

Secondly, I don't want to seem ungrateful at what is being provided for me. And I certainly don't want people to think I don't want to look after myself, because - of course - I do!

What is it occupying my time and thoughts?

Well.... it's the HUGE range of TOOTHPASTE which is on the market!

Just watching the TV I've become aware of this phenomenon. There's...

• Toothpaste for Sensitive Teeth
• Toothpaste which Whitens your Teeth
• Toothpaste which is designed to ensure the gaps in between your teeth are clean, as well as the parts of the teeth which can be seen by the world
• Toothpaste to combat tooth DECAY!
• Toothpaste which stops GUM DISEASE!
• Toothpaste which ensures the enamel on our teeth doesn't disappear
• Toothpaste which gets rid of that scourge of us all - PLAQUE!
• Toothpaste which irradicates that other source of terrible shame - TARTAR!

That's just for starters. I'm sure you can add more.

Just strolling down the aisle of my local supermarket today, I was once again reminded of all the different types of toothpaste available to me. White, green, pink, striped. Minty and unflavoured. There are gels, and pastes, and even powders! It's all so confusing!

Returning home, I was determined to do more than just be competely baffled. So I turned to that trusty aide - my computer. Here's where my problems really started. There are literally hundreds (if not more) websites devoted to teeth, toothpaste and all things orally hygenic!

Some are just informational, others more educational. There are those which are designed for younger teeth, some are historical and just plain scary,  others just a bit of fun. Toothpaste, it appears,  can be used for much more than whitening/saving/cleaning your teeth!

I know that the arrival of toothpaste in our world means that, generally speaking, the dental health of the globe has improved considerably. No longer, as in the past, do people need to devise wooden pegs for false teeth which were, apparently, available and in use (in Japan at least) until the early part of the 20th century. Now THAT's scary!

But really - do we have to have QUITE such a range of options on the toothpaste front? Is the vast numbers of pastes, gels and more on the Toothpaste shelves at the supermarket more to do with sales and advertising than anything else?

AND SO WE COME TO THE QUESTION WHICH HAS BEEN BOTHERING ME FOR A WHILE ....

Why can't we have a toothpaste which Whitens, ensures Good Sensitivity, protects Gums, fights Tooth Decay, Plaque and Tartar, cleans the secret and hidden parts of our mouths as well as the bits on public display, freshens our breath and does everything we want it to do - all in ONE PRODUCT?

It is, I'm guessing, not entirely because the producers of dental products are committed to the general improvement of the dental world. I'm GUESSING that there may be something in it for the conglomerates who sell the products. I know - I'm such a cynic!

I'm also guessing that if ... if .... someone was to produce that ONE SINGLE PRODUCT which did everything we'd ever want and need in a toothpaste, there would be no requirement for the plethora of expensive dental product advertisements. We would all be happy with our little tube of DO IT ALL TOOTHPASTE and the advertising industry wouldn't have to spend endless hours coming up with slogans and jingles, sourcing people with already perfect teeth to show us how our teeth should really be, and dentists happy to promote one particular brand.

Yes, I guess with the development of that one perfect toothpaste there would be a lot of people out of work! That's the way of the world!

I've nothing (much) against the worlds of product development and advertising....but sometimes it all seems a bit pointless, doesn't it?

I am sure there will be those out there who will want to comment on why (scientifically) we need all the different pastes and gels and liquids, and powders. There may be some wanting to defend the members of the advertising industry who spend days, weeks and even months in a room devising new ways of selling another new product to the unsuspecting general public. And, of course, there will be those who will wish to champion the different manufacturers of toothpaste who need to keep producing new products to keep us all happy.

You can see why I've been loathe to come out on the subject before.

It's not that I don't care about my teeth - I am actually a fantatical brusher! It's not that I'm unintelligent, but really the science behind toothpaste is beyond me, I'm not ashamed to admit it!

And, of course, I'm very very grateful for toothpaste. In previous centuries I might already be toothless and having to gum all my food to death, or having to use bits of stick to scrape the nasties off my nashers. I might have had to turn to the kitchen where baking soda on a rag would have had  to suffice for teeth scrubbing, or I might have had to clean out the fireplace to get some woodash to smear on - actually, I've discovered, some still swear by those remedies. If I was not so fortunate as to be able to afford toothpaste I might be with the many millions in the world today who still use sugar cane and other twigs to clean their teeth, or just don't bother with oral hygeine because it's more important to eat and ensure their children eat!

But - and this is where I enter the world of imagination and fantasy and my mind begins to roam once again.  I wonder if we might ever return to a more simple time when toothpaste was just for cleaning teeth - nothing more, nothing less? No hype, no complicated science, no guilt. Just toothpaste!