Here’s a little mental exercise for you. There are 24 books of the Bible hidden in this article. One is marked for you to give you the idea of what to look for.
In this paragraph are hidden some books of the Bible – can you find them? There are twenty-four in total and your job is to find them. I hope you won’t judge such an exercise a waste of time – it’s not illegal! At Ian’s request, I’ve made them all quite easy, so it won’t take too long. You’ll never guess who I got the idea from (answers on a postcard if you know!) You’ll find yourself looking so exceptionally hard that your eyes ache! You’ll probably discover some by fluke, but others will get you in a real jam, especially as they’re all cunningly hidden in a most ruthlessly verbose piece of prose. It might be interesting to chronicle some people’s attempts: one lady locked herself in a donjon (a high tower in a mediaeval castle)! Another old hag gaily remarked that she brews a cup of tea and the answers just come to her! Such sad pathos earns some sympathy, because, I must admit, it usually takes quite a while to find the last one. But as a matter of fact, some people seem to have the ability and skill for such exercises in their genes! Isolating one book is quite often a revelation (yes, there are some easy ones!). When all is revealed, I predict loud lamentations, cries of “Hosanna!”, humiliation and maybe a song of songs (another easy one!). See how well you compete! Remember, it’s only a game!
Return to Index for the Parish of Walthamstow Magazine, July/August 2008
