Maundy Thursday

Another cold day today although the weather was changeable with some sunny spells and yet more showers. I spent a good deal of the morning dealing with emails and doing some work for a client. I also tidied up the side of the house and and collected together quite a lot of junk to take to the Amesbury tip this afternoon. My new ice skates arrived. They seem to be a little tight around the ankle (size 8) but I would rather have it that way as loose skates are more likely to cause one to keel over on the ice. They will become more supple with wear. They feel like the ones I normally wear when I hire them. I will only be wearing them for an hour at a time anyway as I find an hour on the ice long enough. I did better with my calorie controlled diet today - grilled bacon, mushrooms, beans and poached egg for breakfast; clear chicken noodle soup for lunch; crayfish salad with new potatoes for dinner and a small bit of cheese and crackers tonight as I had some points in hand. Tonight I went to West Dean church for the traditional Maundy Thursday "Upper Room" service with feet washing and giving each other communion to re-enact the Last Supper. I was asked to help drink up the sanctified wine (which was a real red wine) at the end. This is followed by stripping the altar and the vigil (which this year lasted only until 10 p.m.). I stayed for about 20 minutes in silent prayer. On the way back to Winterslow I listened to the last fifteen minutes of Saints game at Brighton. They were losing 2-1 when I switched the radio on but as I entered Winterslow, Lee Barnard had scored an equaliser. The game ended as a 2-2 draw. Not good enough for Saint's playoff attempt but at least a point where one didn't look likely. Tonight I spent some time reconciling my accounts and writing this and yesterday's blog.