Words: Abbie Lyall

A Fin24 reader looking to invest in a living annuity, was shocked to find that she would have to pay fees of up to R110 000 per annum. She wants to know if there are other options. An investment expert responds.

IT would appear that nostalgia is in the air this season as I've never fielded more questions about sherry in my 25 years in the wine game. If that translates into sales there will be some very happy Spaniards in Jerez this year and it’s about time.

A NEW bar and fine dining restaurant offering dishes with “Glasgow at its very heart” is to open in a historic City Centre building.

"I'M hungry."

Try to make sense of this if you can. The other day, a fund-raising event for the Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, who is gay, was disrupted by protesters. But they weren’t the kind of protesters you’d expect to get angry about a gay candidate. The protesters were gay themselves. It was a protest against a gay man staged by gays. It was gays against gays. It was pink on pink. It was confusing.

The Reserve Bank bought R11.4 billion worth of government bonds from the secondary market during April, as part of its measures to introduce liquidity to the market.

The budget for Census 2021 is ringfenced and won't be compromised as Treasury seeks funds to fight Covid-19, says Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke.

During Easter, the oldest town in Austria celebrated the life of Jesus and furthered the dream of planting a church.

Roma pastors and leaders from across Eastern Europe and the Balkans gather together for a Roma conference.

We visit the world's biggest grassroots tournament.

ONE of the biggest sporting scandals of all time was just about to erupt in the USA 100 years ago this month. It was in the spring of 1920 that a persistent rumour engulfed the Chicago White Sox baseball team.

MAY is normally a busy month behind the scenes for Gareth Chalmers and the ongoing uncertainty around sport hasn’t changed that a huge amount.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not undergo surgery or any other medical procedure, a South Korean official has said amid continued speculation about his health.

Costa Rica's indigenous people, hidden to the world, have found a new window of hope.

OM Costa Rica team members celebrated Emmanuel with their friends in a home for patients suffering from HIV and AIDS.

WHEN we eventually emerge from lockdown the first thing most people will want to do is hug their nearest and dearest, but for some they will be running to their hair stylist to sort out the unruly mass of top of their head.

RESEARCHERS have called for a two-track approach to easing lockdown which would strengthen protection for the most vulnerable but relax restrictions for the majority of the population.

Farmfoods, a Scottish family business, has served the nation for over 60 years - and has never faltered in selling the finest farm  produce the country has to offer.

Dandelion Cafe

Baker’s Delight

MY mother was known for her pizza but they were never round, not when we were growing up anyway. She would pull them from the ancient coal-fired cast iron range in the living room on long blackened oblong trays, the dough she had spent the day making puffed and undulating but always thin and super chewy.

Calabash African Restaurant

Next month will bring the launch of the Homebuyer Show Scotland, an exciting new event for homebuyers looking to make their next move – and the event is set to make its debut in Glasgow. From frustrated first time buyers to struggling second steppers, and families looking for room to grow, Homebuyer Show Scotland is the first of its kind in Scotland and is designed to help any buyer find their next home, arming them with all information they need to make their next move.

An amazing God-given tool to mobilise and inspire people to make a difference: Global Village.

Pamir Productions, formed in 1991, passionately uses all forms of media to spread the gospel to Afghans worldwide.

When it comes to reaching the least-reached, OM workers are using new technology to make ministry more effective—one byte at a time.

"If we are serious about planting churches among the least reached as how we do mission, we must always be willing to question, reconsider and reform our paradigms," says Shaun Rossi.

OM is known for action, not reflection; for pioneering, not reminiscing. Still, we are wise to celebrate milestones and learn from our past, whatever will serve us well for today and tomorrow.

"Everyone in the kingdom of God is essential to the mission that He has called us to," I'Ching says. "Unfortunately, while we may profess this, often we don’t practise it."

OM Ministry Leader, Lenna Lidstone, discusses how to use Discovery Bible Studies to see vibrant communities of Jesus Followers among the least reached.

“Enough is enough,” said one Edinburgh resident, about the scene of desolation in Princes Street Gardens. Following this year’s bigger-than-ever Christmas Market and Hogmanay celebrations, the mudbath left after the festive village was dismantled is disgraceful. I’m tempted to say it looks as if a herd of belted galloways has run amok, but that would be unfair. Cattle don’t make half as much midden as the city’s annual cash-cow.

On the potholed drive home from the pub the other night, a creature ran into the beam of our lights. Long, low and lean, for a moment it looked like an otter. One has occasionally been sighted in our village, though like Loch Ness’s fabled monster this is a source of some dispute. But in another second it was clear that this beast was not from the riverbank but the woods.

I dimly remember a time when the subject of keeping a house warm would have left me cold. In a previous existence, my brother-in law would visit in the depths of winter and complain about how chilly the place was. The problem was not our thermostat, however, but that he chose to sit in a bay window overlooking the Firth of Forth, through which the wind would find him in his short-sleeved shirt.

A young American dressed for the hills wandered past our cottage last week with the air of someone lost. Alan who, since we moved here, has found his calling as a human Google map, asked if she was looking for something. “Yeah,” she said, “a Diet Coke.” He told her that, despite our community’s many attractions, a shop wasn’t one of them. Pointing her in the other direction, towards a village two miles away, he said she’d find what she needed there.

There was a time when I would sit up late in bed, reading novels. As a reviewer, this was often for work, but that didn’t diminish the pleasure of ending the day in another world. Of late, however, I’ve hurried through ordinary books the way you rush the main course in expectation of pudding. The reason? I’ve discovered the joy of gardening catalogues, and of roses in particular. As a result, my evening ritual is extended to include a last look at roses that ramble over walls, or join hand

When I first moved to the country, I anticipated taking long sturdy walks every few days, filling my lungs with fresh air, and gradually – proudly – achieving the weathered complexion of a Norwegian fisherman. Such is the variation in outdoor complexions in rural parts, Farrow & Ball could start a new range: shepherd’s sunburn, builder’s brick red, farmer’s frozen snout.

One of the loveliest towns in Italy is the walled city of San Gimignano, an hour’s drive from Florence. When I first visited it was bleak midwinter and all but a few shops and cafes were shuttered against the sleet. Its claim to fame is a profusion of medieval towers, hence its hyperbolic label as the Manhattan of Tuscany. When I arrived these fortresses soared overhead, making shadowy streets even darker.

In search of peanuts for the birds, I stumbled across an agricultural shop in a nearby village. From the outside it was unspectacular, but opening the door was like stepping into an episode of The Archers. They did indeed have peanuts, in sacks the size of whisky barrels. I wouldn’t have been able to drag one as far as the till, and I wondered if other weaklings had ever secretly slashed them open and let nuts pour into their pockets, gloves and wellie boots, before staggering out like overstu

There is little to like about the present predicament, but one thing I don’t miss is checking my diary every evening for a reminder of what tomorrow will bring. Our social life is not what you’d call a whirl, so usually memory can be relied on for the occasional gatherings. Here in Hoolet, socialising is often impromptu, a random encounter leading to a casual evening drink a few hours later, or a last-minute supper in a kitchen, so soon after the invite that nobody could possibly forget.

Sunday, April 19, 2020.

Location: Littleferry, Sutherland

Inverness Botanic Gardens

OM’s Mercy Teams International and an Out of the Comfort Zone outreach team partner to practically demonstrate God’s love in Kampong Speu.

OMer Joelma (Brazil) answers questions about her life and ministry in Cambodia.

An OM worker in Cambodia shares about how a new training she is attending is transforming the way she does ministry.

AN ENERGY-HARNESSING wave machine is set to begin sea trials later this year.

SCOTTISH energy storage start-up Gravitricity has received £300,000 from government agency Innovate UK to explore the potential to use gold mine shafts in South Africa as energy stores.

A BIOTECH veteran has hailed a Glasgow firm that claims to have discovered two separate potential treatments for Covid-19 patients for use before they are put on ventilators.

A 53-year-old man has been arrested in connection with smuggling firearms into the country.