Tea with the Bishop (and Archbishop)

Again, I spent most of the day at home.  Tom was also at home as the public sector workers strike against pensions and pay changes had closed his school.  The less militant Winterslow School remained open and Mary, reluctantly, had to attend.  Sara did her stint at Morning Star as usual.  I did a bit of Complex work and cleaned my car as well as tidying up some of the family room and putting some bits and pieces in the loft. This afternoon, I went to PC World again to buy a monitor cable for my laptop so that I can show a PowerPoint presentation on the TV to the House Group tomorrow evening.  After this I attended St. Mary's Church Hall in Whaddon to have tea with the new Bishop of Salisbury who was accompanied by Archbishop Daniel of the Sudan.  The tea was for him to meet all the Licensed Lay Ministers and trainee (me!) in the Alderbury Deanery.  I had a long chat with him about a number of things including Sara's work on the Calendar and I also gave the group my view about the need for missional work (not missionary work) if the Church of England is to have a "hopeful" future.  The bishop listened carefully to all his lay ministers had to say and seemed interested in our ministry.  There is often, I sense,  a feeling amongst the laity that their views are not held in much esteem above the views of their ordained brethren.   We have a very special ministry, as I pointed out when I spoke in open session, to get alongside ordinary lay people as part of laity ourselves - a unique and blessed position to be in.  This is what I feel I have been called to do and this is what I expressed to Bishop Nick, as he likes to be known.  Feeling quite tired tonight and looking forward to a good night's rest.  Need to press on with my second essay tomorrow and will be pleased when the first portfolio is finished.

Saints set a record for successive home wins!

I had planned to go to Morning Prayer at All Saints this morning but nobody turned up - this is the problem with not having a weekly newssheet any more.  The weather was quite grim today with reports later on of tornadoes breaking out in the UK.  I worked in the study in the morning writing and sending out quite a number of letters and emails for Complex.  At lunchtime I went into Salisbury, leaving my car at the Peterfinger Park & Ride, and getting the bus into the city centre.  I did some more banking for the Calendar (another £200-odd) and met Sara in Pound Stretcher quite by accident - I went in to buy an exercise book and Sara was doing some Christmas stocking shopping.  I spent this afternoon in Sarum College library planning out my second assignment and listening to the howling gale and rain which was pelting the windows. However, by the time I left at 3.45 p.m. the weather had abated and I walked out in quiet and fairly mild weather.  I called in at PC World to buy Mary's birthday present and got home about 5 p.m.  Tonight Tom and I went into Suouthampton to watch the Saints v. Hull City game.  Saints played poorly in the first half letting in a goal before half time and going into the break losing 0-1. West Ham were winning away at Middlesbrough by the same margin.  Two quick goals from the Saints in the second half assured another win - the 21st successive win at home (St. Mary's) and a football league record (previously held by Liverpool).   West Ham beat Middlesbrough 0-2 which meant that Southampton remain top of the Championship but only two points and two goal difference ahead of West Ham.  However, Saints are eight points clear of the playoffs and the table tonight really does show how West Ham and Southampton appear to be running away with the two automatic promotion places at the moment.  Off to Doncaster on Saturday - I have now got the tickets.

A Morning at St. Mark's

Up early this morning and after a light breakfast of two rounds of toast, I drove to the London Road Park & Ride site and then from there walked along London Road to St. Mark's Church to attend a seminar on Mission and Evangelism called "From Aquarium Keepers to Fishers of Men". A really interesting and insightful morning.  Sara took Mary into Salisbury this morning to the Drop-In Health Centre as her ears have been troubling her and she has been in great pain.  It appears that her "tubes" are blocked and she needs a course of decongestants to help clear them.  Fortunately nothing serious.  From St. Mark's I walked into the city centre and banked another £185 of Calendar proceeds as well as posting some letters in the Central post Office.  I had a coffee in Cafe Nero and made some phone calls and answered some emails including a telephone chat with Mum about my impending visit to Grimsby.  On my way back to Winterslow, after walking back form the city centre to the Park & Ride, I called in at PC World to find out whether it would be possible to get a laptop for Mary in blue.  It appears that HP have sold out of the particular colour and model she wants and so we'll have to re-think the whole thing.  Tonight I attended the ninth of  my theological reflections tutorials.  I now need to hand in my first assignment (which Ashley thought was very good) and get started on my second.  I will probably go to Sarum College tomorrow and start work on it after some further prayerful reflection.  An early night tonight as I also have some important Complex work to deal with tomorrow morning.

Advent Service at St. Thomas's

A more typical day today.  Sara and the children had a lie-in this morning as I went to the 9.30 a.m. Morning Praise service at All Saints which was conducted by Maggie and Jane.  A really good service but poorly attended, I regret.  I gave Jan a lift to and from church and I was back home by 11.00 a.m.  I spent most of the afternoon completing my assignment and Sophie called round just after 4 p.m. to have a look at it and give me some tips (as she has recently completed an Open University Degree course she is well versed in academic essay writing) and tweaked it a bit.  Richard and Linda called round at 5.30 p.m. and we all went to the Advent Service at her new church, St. Thomas's in the city centre.  A lovely warm candlelit service with a wonderful choir.  Not much input from the congregation but a great opportunity to meditate and reflect upon the coming Christmas season.  We were each given a strip of linen to complete a crib on the altar.  Rod, a fellow Freemason, was in the congregation and appears to be involved in that church.  Sara spent most of the day ironing all the washing I had done whilst she was away at Champney's.  I spoke to my sister, Heather, briefly on the telephone this afternoon and it seems that there will not be the opportunity to meet up with her in Doncaster on Saturday.  Christmas presents will have to be left at Grimsby.  Richard and I met for a couple of pints in the Lion's Head to end the week and back home Sara and I watched an interesting programme showing private cine film of the Kennedy family - pictures never seen before.  The weekend seems to have flown by and has been really packed with unusual events.

An old friend visits - Saints lose

Winterslow Village Hall featured in my life for a third day this week - but more of that later.  A busy Saturday morning with me taking Tom up to football on Barry's Field where Clarendon Juniors lost to the top of the league club by 1-3.  Tom and the team were quite demoralised by this defeat - their team is certainly not doing too well at the moment.  Sara was out in Amesbury this morning and at lunchtime today my old student friend from Liverpool days, Dave, came over from Swindon (where he now lives) and we all went to the Lord Nelson for lunch.  The kids were introduced to the game of dominoes for the firs time - I hadn't realised that they have never played this game before - and really enjoyed it.  We have a really good set of tiles in the family room and must get it out one evening.  Dave came back, after lunch, for coffee where we nattered until he left us a 4 p.m. to go into Salisbury to attend the Advent Parade at the Cathedral.  I had intended to work on my essay this afternoon but watched the live football scores coming through on Sky TV.  A disastrous day for Saints today.  They lost 2-0 to near bottom of the league team Bristol City.  That defeat was compounded by a resounding win by West Ham against Derby County (2-0) which now leaves Saints with only a slender two-point lead at the top of the Championship with West Ham breathing down their necks!  Tom and I watched the West Ham game live on Sky.  Tonight, Sara and I went to Penny F's 50th Birthday Party at the village hall (second day in a row that I've spent my evening there) where we spent about 3 hours chatting to friends.  We can chili con carne for the main meal with excellent cheese and biscuits and puddings (one supplied by Sara - her famous lemon mousse) and a cash bar run by Roger from the Lord Nelson.  Although I am not a great party goer it was a lovely way to end a rather interesting and unusual day - seeing an old friend and watching Saints lose!

Winterslow 1990-2010

Up early again this morning sorting out the children for school.  Took Mary to school and returned home where I did some housework and dealt with some paperwork.   The morning seemed to go incredibly quickly and Sophie called around at 11.30 a.m. with Rachel to go through my LLM assignment with me.  We sat in the kitchen whilst Rachel watched children’s TV.  Sophie took a critical look at the work I had so far done and made some suggestions as to how the essay could be structured.  I intend to get a first version completed by Sunday evening.  I made us a prawn curry for lunch and Sara returned at about 1 p.m.  Sara remarked that the house smelt like an Indian Balti House. We sat in the kitchen and the lunge chatting and watching children’s television with Rachel.  This afternoon, when Sara went out to pick up Mary from school I dozed off in the armchair for half an hour and didn’t even hear somebody at the door- must have been exhausted.  I really am a “morning person”.  This evening I attended a local history slide show in the Village Hall presented by Norman, the village’s local historian.  He was showing slides of the village and its people and events between 1990 and 2010. Very interesting but it did emphasise how, over the years, there has been so a large degree of inter marrying between families and how the same families have run events over the decades.  Sara spent the evening at Ruth’s attending a jewellery party in Firsdown.  Back home I watched an episode of Storm Chasers before going to bed.

Lunch in Warminister

Woke up in bed alone this morning as Sara is spending her first night away at Champneys, Liphook.  Tom needed waking up and got himself ready for school but Mary needed a bit more encouragement from me.  I took Mary to school and spoke to Sara on the telephone - she is certainly enjoying herself away.  This morning I drove over to Warminster to meet up with my fellow student, Ashley, to discuss our LLM assignments and he showed me what he had so far written.  I also gave him details of the tutorial on Monday which he had missed.  We met in a lovely little cafe called Rosie's Team Room Restaurant which is in the cellar of a card/gift shop.  I had a very good brie ploughman's and Ashley soup and a roll.  We spent about an hour and a half together encouraging each other in our studies. I also did some banking and called in at the  I was back in Winterslow just in time to pick up Mary from school.  I cooked the children a pizza for tea and had some caviar on crackers for myself.  Jeremy called round at 6.3o p.m. for his interview for my assignment and stayed for our House Group which saw five us us tonight.  We started on the theological reflection exercise but this ended as a general discussion about the history of our churches in Winterslow and varied issues surrounding ecumenism in the the village.  Went to bed after watching the latest episode of Rev. and Not Going Out.  A light hearted end to quite a heavy day.

Stargazing with the Brownies

I went to Mid-Week Eucharist this morning - a very small congregation of just five!  It was a pleasant little group and Cynthia presided.  After lunch, Sara drove to Champney's Health Resort at Liphook where I had undertaken my retreat immediately before my selection conference for LLM.  How I envy her - such a wonderful and tranquil spot.  She has taken a lot of paperwork with her to sort out in the quiet of the resort.  Wonderful food there too!  Tom didn't get to football practice tonight as I had to give a talk to the Brownies on astronomy and we were able to do some star gazing at the back of the village hall.  Unfortunately, when I retrieved my telescope from the shed, condensation had got into the tube and so the mirror and the objective glass were wet.  I have now moved the telescope into Sara's study where it is currently drying out.  I think the evening went well although I am not sure if the older ones were really concentrating.  I was quite exhausted when I got back home.  Had a relatively quiet night tonight watching TV and went to bed relatively early.  I put some washing on too - quite a remarkable achievement worth putting in the blog!  Another busy day tomorrow - a trip to Warminster to discuss the LLM course with fellow student Ashley, and House Group in the evening.  Sara is not back until Friday afternoon so I am Mum and Dad all day tomorrow and half of Friday.  Survived the first half day, anyway!  Kids still alive!

Seriously Funny at Totton

Took Mary to school first thing this morning and then after a quick breakfast, I went across the road to Karen & Paul's to interview Paul as part of my theological reflection assignment - men and church.  I worked at home for the rest of the morning and early this afternoon went into Andover for shopping and banking - another £400 banked from the sale of Calendars.  This evening 26 of us went to Testwood Baptist Church at Totton to see Adrian Plass, Jeff Lucas and Nicki Rogers in "Seriously Funny".  They had some new material since their tour last year but were just as funny as last time.  Really enjoyed it with some good messages and thought provoking stories and anecdotes.  Sara and I got a chance to speak to Jeff before the show and with both Nicki and Adrian afterwards.  Adrian signed a copy of his latest book "War of the Worlds" for me.  I shall enjoy reading it as it seems to contain quite a bit of his dry wit and humour.  Its theme is about the war which is going on in the Church - a war between two worlds - the world where honesty is valued and the one where it is shunned.  Between appearing to do what is right and expected (keeping up appearances) and also being just ourselves.  Fascinating stuff and something which Nils and I were only talking about on Thursday.  It will be good to go back and reflect on this topic in the context of Adrian's humour.  All those I took, including Sara and Tom, said they had a thoroughly good night.  Tom especially enjoyed it.

More Reflections

A day mainly at home again today working in the study.  Sara was also at home most of the day doing a mountain of ironing which seems to have accumulated.  This evening I attended the eighth session in my theological reflection course in which we each had to relate a "critical" incident in our life and then undertake a reflective process of considering themes that run through the bible and looking at proper biblical quotes in their right context which might help the reflection.  Some quite heavy critical incidents were shared.  Back home, I watched an interesting programme about the Secret Service Detail for President Kennedy and his wife during the fatal Texas trip.  It was interesting to hear their accounts and to see them as old men.  The assassination still seems to be only a few years ago - not 47!

A lazier Sunday

Sara, Mary and I attended the Parish Eucharist at All Saints this morning which was taken by Alec Knight, the former Dean of Lincoln Cathedral who has retired and now lives in Whiteparish here in the Clarendon Team.  A good service and sermon on the theme of Sheep and Goats from Matthew's Gospel.  The church was quite well attended this morning.  We had a roast pork lunch today and the kids were asked to tidy up their bedrooms before lunch.  We all had quite a nice lazy Sunday afternoon watching TV and, I must confess, a bit of a snooze in my reclining armchair.  I attended the BCP Sung Evensong this evening at Farley this evening where the preacher was the new Master of St. Nicholas's Hospital, Harnham, Canon Michael Goater.  St. Nicholas's Hospital provides sheltered accommodation for the aged who require some looking after but but wish to and do remain independent with their own separate accommodation within the hospital.  I did find his sermon rather erudite, I must say, although well executed.  Quite good in the setting of a traditional BCP service.  It is quite interesting analysing various preacher's styles from which I can learn for my own future preaching career.  After speaking to Mum on the phone, and I was pleased that she has been feeling much better today (she had been in my prayers frequently today) I ended the day and the weekend having a couple of pints in the pub with Richard and Klynn.  We see little of Klynn these days as he is commuting to Europe (particularly Paris) with his job.  It was good to get together again for an hour or so.

A Day at College

A full day at Sarum College today where all the LLM/Fuondation Degree students met and then went to our various different study groups.  Today I was in the group studying the planning and leading of worship and preaching.  I had already completed the Lay Worship Leaders' course so much of the course work for planning and leading worship was very familiar to me.  After an excellent lunch in the refectory, I enjoyed the afternoon session on preaching.  I will need to lead three services and preach three sermons before June 2012.  I will also need to attend services of another church - an evangelical/charismatic church and a higher Anglo-Catholic church and study the liturgy.  Following on from the subject of theological reflection, this is much closer to what I feel called to do.  Quite a lot of work ahead still.   I met up with Sara andMary afterwards in Lidl's where we did a large shop of groceries for the week ahead.  Tonight Sara and I watched a movie of TV and caught up with the football events of the day.  Neither Tom nor I had been able to St. Mary's today where the mighty Saints beat Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0 and reamin five points clear at the top of the Championship table.  They now have 39 points!  Portsmouth lost away at Watford (2-0) and Grimsby could only manage a 2-2 draw against struggling Newport County.   Just hope that Saints win against Hull in a couple of weeks when I return to St. Mary's otherwise my friends in the surrounding season ticket seats will want me to stay away more often.  Now a month since I sat in my seat!  The tickets for the Doncaster game didn't arrive today.  If they don't arrive on Monday I will have to chase them.

Studying

At the request of a villager, I hoisted the Oman flag today.  He has been working out there and wanted to see the flag flown in the village on Oman's National Day. It was Ambassadors' Breakfast Club this morning so another early start.  Following the meeting, and after delivering a letter to Anthony and filling the car up up with fuel at Waitrose,  I drove to the Park and Ride at London Road where I left my car and caught the bus back into the city.  After banking nearly another £600 of Calendar money, I went to Sarum College where I spent about four hours in the library working on my first assignment essay.  I finished the first 500-odd words and then emailed to my tutor (whom I afterwards discovered was sitting in the next library bay).  He will let me know if I am on the right track before I continue it.  I picked Mary up from school this afternoon passing Sara on the A30 as she drove into Salisbury for a hair appointment.  This evening I interviewed one of the members of our Men's Breakfast Club as part of my essay assignment.  We chose the venue of the Lion's Head and had a very interesting discussion over a pint of Exmoor winter ale.  Tonight was Children in Need Night and we sat down to watch the event.  A relatively early night as I have college all day tomorrow - the beginning of my next module - Planning and Leading Worship and Preaching and Teaching.  Looking forward to the Preaching bit which is what I really feel called to do.

New Sofa and Chair Arrive

Up early this morning helping Sara prepare the lounge to receive our new leather sofa and recliner. After taking Mary to school, the tree loggers arrived to remove the front cherry tree.  I was rather saddened to see it go but also felt relief that we will not have thousands of dried leaves blown into the front porch this and future years nor traipse cherry blossom inside the hall for several weeks.  We certainly have more light at the front of the house.  Next year we will also have the hedge reduced in size.  I had my monthly training meeting with Nils at The Rectory at 10 a.m. and we sat and discussed my training requirements and examples of theological reflection.  We agreed that I would lead a service at Winterslow in the New Year - an Evening Prayer service using Common Worship and not Book of Common Prayer, liturgy.  I am looking forward to it.  After my meeting I returned home and our new sofa and chair were delivered.  They match my own existing recliner and the lounge looks really smart now.  House Group was abandoned this evening when three of my group couldn't attedn because of their involvement with Sara's Calendar, one ill, Richard in Cornwall, Sophie in Wales and one tired after a heavy day at work.  Only Dawn arrived and she stayed for coffee and watched The Vicar of Dibley with Mary and me.  After she left, Mary and I watched an hilarious "Rev".  An excllent comedy which I can really relate to as I work more closely with our local clergy.

An Ecclesiastical Day

I woke early this morning and made tea for us.  I decided to deal with some emails and other work first thing and try and leave some time today to go into Salisbury to spend time at Sarum College library doing some preparatory work for my first assignment (essay).  As it happened, with frequent interruptions from phone calls, I didn't get into Sarum College until after midday and spent a couple of hours researching and putting some thoughts on paper.  I had to get back to Winterlsow for 3 p.m. to pick Mary up as Sara had an afternoon appointment at the dentist's.  Tonight I attend the Joint PCCs meeting at Pitton School which was preceded by an excellent supper for the Full Ministry Team Staff at Debbie's which is next door to Pitton School.  The meeting went quite well - nowhere near as heated as one had imagined it might be - and following the single Winterslow PCC meeting which took place immediately after the Joint PCCs meeting I was home well before 10 p.m.  Tomorrow I hope to continue my exploration of the themes and ideas for my essay.  I would like to have an outline draft of it for next Monday if possible.

Marooned in the office

Apart from attending Morning Prayer with Andrew at All Saints this morning, I spent the entire day in the office at home ploughing through paper and catching up on all sorts of odd bits and pieces of reading and responding to what seemed endless emails.  Right at the beginning of the day, Sara and I pulled the sofa matching armchair out of the lounge and put then up at the top of the drive for the Council to take them away.  Our new sofa and chair (brown leather to match my existing recliner chair) ahould arrive on Thursday in time for House Group.   Sara spent a good part of the day in Stockbridge having coffee and then lunch with Mary and Myrna, her mother's old friends.  This left me free to get on top of some work but, unfortunatley, my planned studying in Sarum College library didn't materialise and I was working right up to 10 p.m. with still some church papers to read in bed before I finally go to sleep.  Sara has borrowed a heavy duty carpet cleaning machine from somebody in the village who frequents the Lord Nelson pub.  She managed to clean the stairs but when she tried to use the main machine for the carepts it fused the downstairs circuit several times.  Clearly there must be a problem with the machine.  In the end the carpet cleaning exercise had to be abandoned. Richard can't take Tom to the Saints v. Brighton match on Saturday so it looks like he will miss it.  I can't go because of my commitment at Sarum College that day as I start my preaching module.  Everything seems to be crowding in on me at the moment and I seems to be fighting to keep on top of everything.  At least the Complex work has eased off a bit - I am ahead of the ga,me on that at the moment.  Tomorrow I am setting aside for studying and then attending the joint PCC's meeting at Pitton. 

Lunch together in Amesbury

A dank misty day today with the temperature never rising above 9 degrees.  After breakfast, I spent the morning in the study until I left home for a meeting of the Church's Standing Committee at the Team Office which lasted until 12 noon.  Sara then picked me up in my car and we drove to Amesbury where Sara delivered Mary's Brownie Uniform which she had sold (Mary is now finishing as a brownie due to her age - she will be 11 years old next month - how time flies!).   We looked around the factory outlet shop in the town centre before treating ourselves to a light lunch at the Harvesters in Solstice Park - grilled chicken, salad and a baked potato.  Back home, this afternoon. I did some preparation for my course session tonight which included some reading and reflection.   Tonight we engaged in some personal reflection work which included considering a piece of scripture and then, in silence, considering it and reflecting on it and trying to work it into our own lives and experiences; then re-reading it to see if we now saw anything new in it or read it from a different perspective.  I found the process quite enlightening - the piece of scripture I chose to reflect upon was Christ's reading of scripture in his local synagogue - Luke 4:14-21.  We also did a group reflection on the subject of the Kingdom of Heaven.  Sara was out at Larkhill tonight doing a Vie Party for a group of army officers' ladies.  Dawn was child minding and when I got back she stayed on for about an hour chatting over coffee.  When Sara got back Dawn had just left and Sara and I watched a little bit of TV before we finally went to bed. 

Remembrance Sunday - "Last of the Summer Wine" Triumphs!

Remembrance Sunday today but Sara, Mary and I decided that instead of going to the Remembrance Day Service at All Saints (which is normally taken over by the British Legion and filled with non church goers) we would use the opportunity to go to City Church which Mary likes and which Sara had not experienced.  As the style is very similar to Spring Harvest I was sure Sara would enjoy it - besides, I felt in need of some detailed spiritual uplifting worship and teaching.  An excellent 45 minutes talk on St. Peter's "wobbles" made me feel quite human and emphasised how hard it can be to be a Christian.  Dear Peter, how so many of us can relate to him!  We had a late lunch of roast beef today and I managed to get to speak to Mum and also Heather on the phone.  Still unsure on what Mum's Christmas arrangements are going to be although she is more than welcome to come and spend some time with us down here.  Tonight we had a full quiz team with James and Tom joining "Last of the Summer Wine" in Paula's quiz.  We won handsomely with a 16 point lead at the end.  Another bottle of wine to add to the collection.  When I got back, Sara was watching a very moving drama about Rudyard Kipling's loss of his son Jack in the First World War.  Having been to Bateman's his home and with Kipling having been a keen Freemason, I found what I saw of the programme very interesting and insightful.

Catching up at the Boston Tea Party

Tom was involved, this morning, with some Duke of Edinburgh Award preliminary work in the form of orienteering and walking in Bentley Wood with his school.  He, Doug and another were taken by another parent by car, early this morning, to the Tytherley Road Gate of Bentley Wood and Sara did his paper round.  Later in the morning, Sara and Mary went into Salisbury and I picked up the lads from Bentley Wood at 12 noon.  They were thoroughly muddy and Tom somehow, despite the expensive purchase of waterproof army-style boots) had soaking wet feet.  Doug was picked up from our house at 1 p.m. and I spent the next hour cleaning my thoroughly filthy car.  This afternoon I met up with Sara and Mary and our old friend Anthony at the Poultry Cross in Salisbury and we spent a pleasant couple of hours chattin in The Boston Tea Party with Anthony bringing us up to date with what is going on at our old company and generally chatting about what we are all doing and our dreams for the future.  Sara managed to persuade him to buy a Calendar which he will be taking to Dorking to show some of my former colleagues in the hope that we can get some more sales there.  Tonight we had a fairly lazy evening watching television until about 11.30 p.m.  Such a very dark night tonight with heavy cloud and no moonlight until later.

Third Member of the "Compo Group" found?

A bit of catching up to do today.  Not a very pleasant day - it seemed to be overcast and depressing weather wise.  The hedge-cutters arrived to tidy up and reduce the front hedge.  They will trim it back but I think we need to get it removed and probably replaced by a low slow growing yew hedge like next door's. This morning I went over to Alderbury to meet Sophie for coffee at the Coffee Shop where we observed two minutes silence at 11 a.m.  Sophie is going to help me put together my essays for the LLM assignments which I must get together next week.  I can't put it off any longer.  We also discussed House Group and other church issues.  I handed over the Plass/Lucas tickets to Alison for the Alderbury contingent.  Following coffee I drove into Salisbury to do some banking and get some money for the hedge cutters.  I stopped off at the Lord Nelson to see Sara and had a chat with Jan and David - David will join us on Sunday night as part of the "Last of the Summer Wine" Quiz Team.  This afternoon I did some Complex work and tonight Sara went to Firsdown to do a Vie Party.  I watched an interesting Time Team programme in which the team investigated the site of Dorchester and Salisbury Streets in Shoreditch which had been destroyed in the Blitz and were now covered by Shoreditch Park.  Absolutely fascinating especially the discovery of the skeleton of a cat which former residents who were interviewed identified as being a the remains of a big black furry cat called "Blackie" which had belonged to their lodger and was killed in the bombing. Modern archaeology at its best.

A day on the trams

I had an unexpected free day today and so decided to use it for a bit of time on my own away from both work and home.  As I had a return rail ticket to Croydon I decided to go up there and have a look around some of my old haunts.  I caught the 8.27 a.m. train from Grateley and after changing at Clapham Junction arrived at East Croydon Station at around 10 a.m. - a really good journey with a quick connection.  I bought a Day Travelcard and caught the tram from East Croydon to Beckenham Junction.   This was followed by a tram from Beckenham Junction to Arena, from Arena to Elmer's End; Elmer's End to Sandilands; Sandilands to New Addington; New Addington to Church Street; Church Street to Wadden Park; Wadden Park to West Croydon; West Croydon to East Croydon and finally East Croydon to Wimbledon where I then caught a train to Woking which connected with the Grateley train from London Waterloo. A total of ten tram journeys covering the whole of the Tramlink system.  I had seen the trams in Croydon on many occasions but other than a very quick journey between East Croydon and West Croydon, had never experienced the smooth and fast running of the trams out in the suburbs.  I was very impressed with a quite a lot of street running in Croydon town centre itself.  I was horrified to see the damage which had been done at Reeves' Corner where the riots of a few months ago had destroyed so much.  The junction seems so different now.   Tonight we had House Group in which we discussed the style and effectiveness of the group itself and I used it to help me with some of my theological reflection work.  James stayed behind afterwards to discuss the Growing the Church initiative which I have agreed to help him with - the impetus having come from me in the first place.

Doreen White 1958-2011 RIP

Up early again this morning to drive slowly into Salisbury to have my tyre looked at.  The verdict was that there was nothing wrong with the tyre but I had a flat wheel caused by yet another pothole.  These potholes are becoming a real “nightmare” around our part of the world – some of our roads are beginning to resemble those in the Third World or on New Providence!  Bathwick Tyres managed to seal the leak which should sort out the problem for the moment but in the long term the wheel will need remoulding or replacing.  As a result of this unscheduled excursion, I missed this morning’s Mid-Week Eucharist at St. John’s but did manage to get to the Full Team Staff meeting at 11 a.m.  Sara interrupted that meeting towards the end to inform me that a settlement now seemed likely in my tribunal case and I was required back in my office to try and conclude a settlement.  I then spent a frantic hour trying to phone people and get the terms of a settlement agreed and drawn up.  Time was pressing as I wanted to go to Doreen’s funeral this afternoon at Alderbury.  Doreen had been a Lay Minister in our team and had died or a brain tumour at the early age of 53.  The church was absolutely packed with well over 200 people there as a guess.  The full clergy team were present and in addition Chris Reynard (the hospital chaplain) and Vanda, the Rural Dean.  There were many old faces from the team.  Although a funeral, it was a joyous occasion too as Doreen had planned the service as a celebration of her life and a celebration of her meeting with Christ in Heaven.  She did not fear her death, only a sadness for those she would leave behind.  Her coffin was draped with her ministerial scarf and a Saints scarf (being a passionate fan of Southampton FC from childhood).  I could not stay for refreshments and a chat with others (as I would have wished) and so after handing over some of the Plass/Lucas tickets for the Whiteparish contingent, I rushed back home to finalise the settlement and, thereby, remove the need for attending a two-day hearing in Croydon this week.  I managed to cancel my hotel but still have a return ticket on the train to Croydon.  I think I might go up to Croydon anyway, tomorrow, as it would normally be my day off, and spend some time riding on the trams up there.  Tonight I met up with Richard for a couple of pints in the Lion’s Head – feeling in need on a bit of a chat and relaxation after two very hectic days.

A day in London

Up early this morning as I was spending the day in London and had to be at Grateley early in order to secure a car parking space.  As it was, I arrived at the station there at around 8 p.m. to find only three spaces left.  I sat in the car and read my devotionals before getting a coffee from the local vendor and catching the 0859 train to London Waterloo.  A bit like old times – going up to London on business except that in this case, I am now working for my own company. The train arrived there on time at 10.20 a.m.  I walked to The Hub coffee shop at Oasis Church in Waterloo and over a leisurely latte spent the rest of the morning reviewing the papers on my tribunal case – especially the witness statements.  At 12 noon or thereabouts I left The Hub and strolled over Waterloo Bridge to meet up with my clients at Apostrophe Coffee House opposite the Law Courts in The Strand.  We met for an hour over another coffee before walking to The Temple for a conference with our counsel.  The conference lasted for three hours during which we fully explored the strengths and weaknesses of our case.  The clients left me with counsel to discuss some legal aspects and when I left the chambers it was already quite dark.   I walked back to Apostrophe for a cup of tea before meeting with an old colleague, Phil, from Friends Provident days.  He had a problem on which he sought my advice and guidance and we spent an hour or so discussing this over a pub supper at The Lyceum in the Strand.  I returned to Waterloo over Waterloo Bridge by which time it was raining quite steadily.  I was back in Grateley at 9.10 p.m. to find my nearside front tyre very low and so I drove back home very slowly this evening.  Once home I dealt with some work in connection with today’s case and didn’t go to bed until very late.  A long tiring, but enjoyable day.

Tom's lift to school with Spire FM

The weather is turning colder and damper - a real autumnal day today.  Tom and his friend James (Doug was taken back home last night feeling unwell) were picked up by the Spire FM car and taken to school.  They received a mug and a tee shirt each.  This was a prize which Sara won on the Spire FM website - in aid of the Stars Appeal.  All three boys were meant to participate but only the two were available.  Sara was interviewed by Spire FM at the top of our drive and she appeared on the radio news on the hour every hour to tell the listeners that the Calendar had now raised £10,000 and that 1,000 further copies had been printed with a view to raising even more.  In fact, we have had to pay another £2,000 for these to be printed so we will have to hope that we can sell at least 250 more.  I went into Salisbury today to buy rail tickets for my trips to London this week and to bank a further £300 of Calendar money.  I also bought some essential stationery supplies for our company.  This afternoon I mowed the back lawn (for the last time this season hopefully) and read some law and theology in the quietness of our bedroom.  Tonight I attend the seventh of my tutorials on theological reflection which was a group exercise using the praxis or pastoral cycle approach.  I am beginning to get ideas for my assignments clear and hope to start on  these next week once this week's employment tribunal is finished.  It has taken up quite a bit of my time but, at least, it is bringing in holiday money for our next trip out to Nassau.  Sara's father skyped Sara tonight.  He has a couple of operations in hospital this week but we are confident that he'll come through both without too much trauma.

Home Pub Evening

A fairly typical Sunday today.  Went to the 9.30 a.m. All Age Eucharist at All Saints this morning led by Elizabeth using the projector and screen.  A good service on the theme of All Saints. Sara and I acted as sides people and took up the offertory.   This afternoon I did some Complex work knowing that I have a very heavy week ahead, with being in London for three days out of the five working days and a Full Staff meeting and funeral to attend on Wednesday.  This only leaves me Monday to deal with anything else.  Mary and I went to Lidl's and Staples for some essential shopping later this afternoon and Tom had  his ftriend Doug over to stay for the night.  Tomorrow morning they are both being taken to school from here by the Spire FM radio car and will be interviewed on the radio.  This was a prize donated in a Stars Appeal auction which Sara won a few weeks ago. Richard came over to enjoy a bottle of Sands Bahamian beer which I had brought back for him from Nassau.  We sat in the kitchen this evening (instead of the pub) drinking beer and eating crisps and, as usual putting the world to rights. 

Football and Relaxation

Spent the morning up at Barry's Field watching Tom playing for Clarendon Juniors against Bishop Waltham which ended in a 0-4 defeat for the Clarendon team.  This afternoon, after  a home cooked fish and chips lunch, I drove Tom over to his friend Doug's at Middle Wallop where he was spending the afternoon and evening - it being Doug's birthday.  Sara and Mary spent the afternoon in Salisbury and I had a lovely lazy afternoon with the TV watching and following the football results.  Southampton recorded yet another win (2-4) at Coventry and tonight remain five points clear at the top of the Championship.  When Mary and Sara got back we all watched "You've Got Mail" a film starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan and spent an evening just chilling out.  An early night to tonight.

A beery end to a busy week (in the pub)

It would have been my father's 86th birthday today  and is Myrna's birthday too.  Another early start this morning with Ambassadors’ Breakfast Club at Grasmere House Hotel at Harnham.  It’s hard to believe that it is only two weeks since I sat here for breakfast knowing that we were packing and leaving that night for London Heathrow.  What a packed two weeks has passed and we have done so much!  Sara joined us at the end of the meeting for a photo shoot for the Salisbury Journal to go with a story of how the collaboration and teamwork of members of the Ambassadors’ Group had been instrumental in the success of the Calendar.  Following the meeting, Sara and I went our separate ways – I stopped off at PC World to look at laptops for Mary and also Staples to buy a replacement overnight laptop trolley bag for the one which was broken on our holiday (the handle will no longer extend making it difficult to use).  I called in at St. Mary’s Church. West Dean where Sara had already arrived to support Sophie’s Coffee and Cake morning where Calendars and Fair Trade goods were on display. I left about midday and returned home where I spent the whole of the afternoon on Complex work including a telephone conference with a barrister on one of my cases.  By 6 p.m. I was quite exhausted and ready for a break.  In fact I didn’t finish work until about 7 p.m. and after a supper of grilled chicken and roasted vegetables, went down to the pub where I joined Richard in a pint or two of well earned (well in my view anyway) beer. 

More Reflections

Attended Morning Prayer at All Saints with the curate, Andrew, this morning.  I was determined to get up early and have a half hour of devotion before the busy day began.  It was a lovely period of quite reflection and prayer. I spent the rest of the morning in the office and this afternoon went into Andover to bank yet more Calendar money (another £356) which has brought the total monies received up to £10,000.  Unfortunately, £2,000 or so of that will now have to be used to pay the cost of printing another 1,000 copies!  I also did a big shop at Iceland where pizzas costing $9 in The Bahamas are only £1!  I decided it would be a good idea to stock up the freezer - especially with Tom's favourite sausages.  Tonight we had House Group and completed our formal study of Hebrews but we will return to reflect upon its teaching at a future meeting.  I undertook an exercise in reflection with the group and will be requesting feedback on this and the House Group studies as a whole.  After the meeting I asked the members of the Group who were Anglicans to stay behind to discuss my assignment projects.  It looks as though I shall be choosing the topics of "Men in the Church - Why do we not attract as many men as women?" and "Should Westerners boycott goods and products from exploited people in the third world?"