Andrew's Ordination Day

A really lovely day today with some interesting things happening to make me feel what a truly wonderful life I have - full of interest and variety.  An early start saw me drive James up to Salisbury City Football Club for a Men's Breakfast event hosted by Salisbury CityChurch, St. Francis and St. Paul's with Dave Hopwood as the guest speaker.  Dave is well know for his "Blokes Bible" and horrible bible stories.  A good entertaining speaker and a really excellent breakfast. I had stewarded an event he had hosted at Spring Harvest and we chatted afterwards. I then attended Andrew's ordination service in Salisbury Cathedral - a moving ceremony and it was really good to see Andrew finally priested.  We now have five priests in the Clarendon Team all able to take Eucharists which will lessen the load of the existing priests.  This afternoon I visited the Ageas Bowl for Hampshire's T20 cricket game against Surrey.  What an exciting game too.  Surrey won the toss and decided to bat first (bad move for them).  After only two overs Surrey had slumped to 7 runs for 4 wickets.  They rallied a little but ended the twenty overs with a score of 94 for 7.  Hampshire's reply was 95 for 3 with five overs to spare.  After a poor start to the season, Hampshire have now won four out of their last four games and look likely to win a quarter-final place.  I arrived back in Farley in time to join Sara and family for a glass of wine and nibbles after Andrew's first Eucharist at Farley Parish Church.  This evening I set about writing my sermon for tomorrow evening's service at Whiteparish. I think this is the latest I have ever left it to write a sermon (a copy of it can be found at http://pulpitmichael.blogspot.com). Wonder what it will look like in the morning! Feeling really tired tonight.  As I said earlier, a really fulfilling day - full of interest and variety.

"The Glider"

I stupidly got up really early this morning to attend the fortnightly Ambassadors' meeting to realise, on arriving at the Grasmere House Hotel, that we never hold one on the fifth Friday in a month.  Still, I was able to use my trip into Salisbury to fill up with "cheap" diesel from the Shell garage on Wilton Road - 134.9p per litre.  Back home, I worked on the statements for my legal case and wrote the intercessions for my service on Sunday using the book, Parish Prayers.  I also ordered my own second hand copy online from Amazon for 1p (good condition but no dust jacket - not a problem).  I spoke to Jane D at Whiteparish to chose the hymns for Sunday.  This is now done.  Just need to write my sermon on two difficult pieces of scripture.  This afternoon I picked up Gordon Mitchell (retired clergyman in Alderbury) and we drove up to Corsham for a meeting of Wiltshire Masters' Lodge.  what a journey that is - some 50 miles up to the north-Wiltshire/Bath and North Avon border.  Lee Hill, my other guest, met us there.  A really good meeting with Eric Moody telling us his story (again) about how he piloted a British Airways Boeing 747 (City of Edinburgh) through a volcanic ash cloud on Flight 9 from Kuala Lumper to Perth with all four engines failing.  I've heard him speak on this before (at Sindlesham, Berkshire) as well as watched the TV programme, Air Disaster Investigation, on this incident.  I also used to live close to a member of BA cabin crew who was acquainted with the aeroplane dubbed "The Glider".  It's a great story and one I could never tire of hearing from Eric, who is a wonderful narrator.  A really good dinner tonight too - cold meats salad. Back home feeling really tired at 11 p.m.  Mary has Izzy over for a "sleep-over" and although it is now 12 midnight they clearly have no intention of going to sleep as I can hear giggling and movement in Mary's bedroom above my head.

Training and more training

Another extremely full day today.  After breakfast I drove to Dennis Marsh Hall, off Devizes Road, Salisbury to attend an all-day training/overview day hosted by Alabare Christian Care and Support as part of my training as a committee volunteer.  This was also designed for new employees and I found the whole course exceedingly interesting and informative.  We were also treated to an exceptionally good buffet lunch.  I now have a much better understanding of the size and culture of the charity I am working for. I was home by 3 p.m. in time for a cup of tea before my meeting with Nils at the Rectory for my monthly training review - so much training going on in my life at the moment! We had a good and honest session and it has been agreed that I will not lead any services during July and August (other than this Sunday's) to allow me to concentrate on my academic assignments; but I have agreed to do the odd preaching at LWL-led services - something I am happy to do.  I do need to keep a full spiritual journal and try to be more diciplined in my prayer life.  I can see that the amount of work I have got on at the moment, whilst helping financially, is not conducive to finding quiet times for prayer and reflection.  My aim, however, is to get back on track with all my portfolios completed before we begin Year 2.  A good house group tonight in which we looked at the same piece of scripture as that I will be preaching on at Sunday's Evensong (Romans 13:1-10).  Not a particularly easy piece.

Schools' Athletics Day

After a trip into Salisbury to bank a cheque from a client, I attended a Staff Team meeting at Alderbury Rectory until 1 p.m.  This afternoon I attended the Salisbury Area School's Athletics event at South Wilts School.  Mary had qualified for the long jump, 80 metres sprint and was a member of the shuttle relay team.  Unfortunately she didn't get through to the final of any of these events but as far as Winterslow School is concerned, she is the fastest girl in the school.  well done.  This afternoon she was completing against girls from some of the expensive fee-paying private schools were they engage in private coaching and take the whole affair far more seriously than some of the state schools.  Mary was upset that she didn't so better but I know she will have tried her best which is what really counts.  I went straight from the athletics event to Devizes to attend my weekly tutorial for my third term's module.  A good evening but feeling quite tired tonight especially as I am still working after midnight dealing with some Complex work from earlier today.

Meeting after Meeting

Another day packed full of work and meetings.  I drove into Salisbury first thing to take my car in to have the fuel pump changed in accordance with the manufacturers recommendations following having a new fuel tank fitted a few weeks ago.  I was given a top of the range E-class as a courtesy car - lovely.  Unfortunately I have been so busy today that I didn't have an opportunity to drive it any further than from the garage to my home and then back.  Shame!  I spent most of the day working on my tribunal case apart from a short respite to mow the front lawn.  Later this afternoon I returned the courtesy car and picked up my own before attending a meeting of a committee of the care centre charity on which I serve.  This meeting lasted much shorter than I expected and I was back home in time for something to eat before I set off again for a Deanery Synod meeting in Porton.  That meeting went on for over two hours and was, to say the least, a very heavy one.  Feeling really tired tonight and have another busy day tomorrow with a staff meeting at Whaddon followed by attendance at Mary's Area Athletics before driving over to Seend for my LLM tutorial.  Wow.  I seem to be in perpetual motion just at the moment.     

Sara's first intercessions

A "bitty" day today.  I found it really hard to get up out of bed this morning having had several deep dreams - none of which I can remember now.  This morning was spent in the study working with little respite.  Preparations for the tribunal in a couple of weeks time is now stepping up and is likely to take up most of my time over the next couple of weeks which means my academic studying is likely to  be on back burner a bit.  I will have to try and write four essays and complete three portfolios before 12th September to be back on track for the second year of study.  some midnight oil is likely to get burned.  This afternoon Sara and I visited the local head teacher to discuss an issue which had arisen in Mary's class last Friday.  Hopefully the matter will be resolved but hasten to add that Mary is not in any form of trouble.  Indeed, we learnt that Mary has been successfully selected to take part in three events at the Area Schools' athletics day on Wednesday.  Four years ago Tom managed to bring home gold for the school's relay team and was crowned as an outstanding athlete - pity he didn't carry on with it.  Tonight Sara and I attended the service at Porton to commission the Rural Dean and Assistant Rural Dean.  Sara delivered the Intercessions and showed a real gift for doing so.  I am sure her ministry will go beyond LPA in the fullness of time and certainly see her doing the intercession on a regular basis in Winterslow - especially as I will probably be doing these less and less as my own ministry develops elsewhere in the Team and Deanery.  I finished the day doing a little more work on my tribunal case this evening and writing my blog before going to bed - hopefully before midnight tonight.

England go out of Euro 2012

I attended the Early Eucharist at St. John's this morning as Sara and Mary were taking part in the Walk the Wards event at Wilton House in aid of the Salisbury Hospital Stars Appeal - a total walk around the grounds of Wilton House (home of the patron, the Earl of Pembroke) of some 10 kilometres.  At the last minute, Mary decided that she didn't wish to join in and so I was left at home with both of the children.  I did some work in the study and this afternoon cut the grass on the bank.  The weather has, at last, turned much warmer.  This evening, after I cooked a prawn curry for Sara and myself, we all watched the England v. Italy Quarter-Final of the Euro 2012 competition.  Typically, for England, the game went to extra time and penalties with the final result being that Italy went through to the Semi-Finals by winning on penalties 4-2.  England's Ashley Cole and Ashley Young both missing from the spot.  No great surprises, really, as Italy were by far the better side throughout the match. 

An afternoon selling cup cakes

I spent most of the morning cutting up, with a hand bow saw, the fallen tree in the front of the house and stacking up the logs produced.  This afternoon I helped Sara put up her gazebo for the Winterslow School Fete and then stayed on all afternoon to help with selling cupcakes (for decoration by the kids, a tombola and and lottery draw to win some Jamie Oliver goods.  Felt really tired by the end of the end but went along to Jeremy and Sue's party this evening for a couple of hours.  Walked back in the pouring rain - yes its back with a vengeance after a fairly dry but windy day.  Sara was already soundly asleep in bed when I got back (as she was last night) so I stayed up and watched a few innings of the Washington Nationals v. Baltimore Orioles World series qualifier (eliminator) match.  Washington Nationals won 3-1.  Not a very exciting game really.

Presentation at Westbury Church

The day started off very wet and blustery and I discovered that one of our "heavenly trees" at the front of the house and fallen over - caused by a combination of wet ground and high winds.  This will need to be removed in its entirety - something which had been planned in any case as part of the scheme to erect a picket fence around the front of the property. I drove over to Frome, this morning, to pick up Complex's books of account following audit and then on to Westbury to attend Ashley's presentation for the Interpreting the Bible module of our LLM training.  The presentation took place at the White Horse Team benefice behind Westbury Parish Church. They seem to have great facilities and a number of Ashley's support group attended his excellent presentation on the topic of "Covenant" as a biblical motif.   On my way back to Winterslow, I stopped off briefly at Warminster and returned home at around 2.30 p.m.  This evening, joined came over and joined me at the rose bowl for an evening of exciting cricket in the T20 series.  The weather really did brighten up this afternoon and evening and we had a full 40 overs.  Unfortunately, Kent batted first and made 151 for 5 and Hampshire's reply was 148 for 6 meaning that Kent won by a mere 3 runs (Hampshire gave away 11 in extras!)  We stayed behind for coffee in the members lounge which meant that we were able to drive straight out of the car park with no queue.  A really lovely evening which Ashley clearly appreciated.  looking forward to the remaining T20 matches although I do hope Hampshire's performance improves as the team is now lying bottom in its group.

A heavy working day

I spent nearly all day today in the study preparing for the three-day employment tribunal I am doing for clients in Surrey.  Just like old times again - dealing with all the paperwork and preparation following my full day with clients on Tuesday.  I did manage to read one chapter of Brother Yun's book today - perhaps the most amazing chapter of all in which he describes his escape from Zhengzhou (Chengchow) prison.  Tonight our house Group was very thin on the ground - just three of us - but we watched Les Isaacs of Street Pastors giving his talk to Spring Harvest 2012 (Minehead Week 3) on the topic of "One Church".  Some very inspirational messages especially the need to put aside our denominational differences and act together as a single Christian unit - Christ's body.  To work together for the good of the world and the Kingdom of God.

Day Off? Visit to B&Q

Officially it was our "day off" but I found that I had work to do for my Surrey client following my meeting up with them yesterday and put together the draft mission and outreach strategic plan for the Deanery.  However, Sara and I did have an opportunity to get out of the house for an hour or so to go to Southampton Road to look around B&Q to get some ideas for repairing the kitchen drawers and bathroom furnishings.  This afternoon I mowed the lawns (again) and tonight attended my tutorial over in Seend near Devizes where we discussed the pros and cons of different forms of mission course e.g. Alpha, Emmaus, Credo etc. Probably the most enjoyable and easily understood session so far on this module.  As I left Seend, the rain started to pour down again - so much for our lovely sunny day!    

A day working in Surrey/Well done England!

Up really early today as I had a day's work ahead of me at clients' premises in Surrey.  I left home at 8 a.m. arriving at the offices of my clients at 10 a.m. where I worked until 3.30 p.m. including a working sandwich lunch.  We really got a lot of work done before I returned to Winterslow via the pretty route (A272) because of travel warnings of traffic congestion on the A31, A3 and M3.  After stopping off at Winchester for some shopping at Tesco I finally got home at 6.30 p.m.  Exciting night tonight with England needing to win or draw against the host nation, Ukraine, in the Euro 2012 competition, in order to go through to the Quarter-Finals.  In fact England, after a rather shaky start, managed a 1-0 win thanks to a header from Rooney in the 48th minute and Sweden managed to beat France in the same group meaning that England topped their [D] Group and will play Italy on Sunday.  A really great result for new England manager, Roy Hodgson, and one in the eye for those who doubted his abilities.

An evening of first class cricket

Another full day today.  I spent the morning in the study working on Complex work and sorting out paperwork and spent this afternoon at Winterborne Earl's vicarage with Frank G and Peter O-E working on the mission strand for the Alderbury Deanery Strategic Plan.  At the end of the afternoon we had a clear idea of how we were going to structure the document and I will sit down later this week and put a formal draft together using the template I've already prepared.  This evening, James, Richard and I attended the T20 cricket match at The Ageas Bowl, Southampton where, unfortunately, Middlesex beat Hampshire by six wickets (Hampshire, who batted first were 157 for 6 at the end of their innings and Middlesex were 161 for 4 with four balls to spare).  The weather was bright and clear but got quite chilly towards the end of the evening.  We spent the evening on the terraces in the Shane Warne stand.  As a member I am entitled to use the member's facilities but this would have been a bit unfair on James and Richard so we all agreed to slum it.  A really enjoyable evening, despite the defeat, and I am really looking forward to going again on Friday night for the match against Kent Spitfires.

Fathers' Day

Sara woke me up this morning with a cup of tea and presents from the children.  A wonderful card as well. Mary bought me an England flag for my car and a DVD of pub quiz questions; Tom bought me a DVD on the life story of Adolf Hitler (I think he wants to borrow it too!) and some Vimto ice pops (again I think for him too!).  Sara and I went to the 9.30 a.m. Parish Eucharist at all Saints this morning where Nils gave an excellent sermon on the topic of having faith and not relying on just what you see.  He gave the story of two brothers who visited the country for the first time; one brother went back to the city after a very short time as he didn't understand why a farmer would plough up a field and scatter seeds whereas the second brother had the patience to stay behind and watch and understand the whole process of sowing and reaping.   After the service a presentation was made to former churchwarden Norman Thorne, who had completed 25 years as churchwarden and 50 years as a member of the Parochial Church Council. There was the ubiquitous coffee and cake to accompany the occasion.  This afternoon, as a Fathers' Day treat, we all went to a special Family Day at Salisbury Races.  Unfortunately I won nothing but Mary won £4.50 and Tom £6.50, each picking a winner, so they were quite happy.  tonight we invited our friends, the Breachs round for dinner - a Chinese banquet ordered from Porton.  We also watched American baseball tonight on TV.  A really lovely day and it ended well with a great meal shared with good friends.

A lazy day watching sport

A quiet day today at home.  Sara and Mary went into Salisbury for cheer leading leaving me and Tom at home.  I did some work in the study - principally uploading and updating my blog and watched the England v West Indies one day international from the Ageas Bowl on TV.  Tonight, we all watched the Czech Republic v. Poland Euro 2012 game which resulted in Poland going out of the competition together with Russia.  Czech Republic won the Group (A) and go through with Greece.  All in all, quite a lazy day!

Well Done England!

Another early morning as this morning was Ambassadors' breakfast club at the Grasmere House Hotel.  Afterwards, I met Sara at Dreams bed shop to look at mattresses the cost of which was incredibly more than I could ever have imagined.  In the end, we bought two pillows which we hope will improve our sleep.  We called in at the Boundary Cafe in Alderbury on our way back home and had a coffee with Ann, Gordon, Alan and a few others.  a lovely group of people.  I spent the afternoon working in the study and this evening Tom and I watched the two football matches in the Euro 2012 - Ukraine v. France which was interrupted after only 4 minutes due to a violent electric storm which threatened to strike players and spectators alike.  The final result was a 0-2 win for France.  This left England needing to win to ensure their continuance in the competition.  This was achieved with a 3-2 win over Sweden who are now eliminated from the quarter finals. England were 1-2 down when Theo Walcott came on and scored the equaliser. Welbeck scored the winner. England are now second in the table (behind France of goal difference) so it is now in England's hands to beat Ukraine to secure their place in the quarter finals.

Bicycle Repair Man Cometh!

It's nice to be back home and after all the driving around over the last few days it was good to stay at home.  I mowed the grass bank this morning which was quite a big job as the rain and warm weather had resulted in the grass and the weeds growing up quickly.  Sara spent the morning working at Morning Star.  This afternoon I went into Andover to do some banking - a client's cheque had arrived whilst I was away, I took the opportunity to visit Halfords and get some inner tubes for Mary's bicycle as, for some reason, the tyres on her bike keep going down and I can't detect any puncture after I repaired a small hole. It seemed cheaper and easier to replace the inner tube rather than try and track down the leak.  Tonight Sara joined other female Christians for an evening at Sara Bossom's in Pitton whilst I held a much reduced house group in which we watched a video of Steve Chalke's talk at Spring Harvest this year.  Sara has been asked by the Rural Dean to deliver the Intercessions at the licensing of the Rural Dean and Assistant Rural Dean at Porton on the 25th June.  That is a real honour and clearly Sara is well thought of by the Rural Dean.   

Back Home to Wiltshire

I woke early this morning and packed up my things in good time and put hem in my car. Mum cooked bacon rolls and once everything was washed up and put away I drove her to her hairdressers in Freeman Street where I said goodbye and set off back down south for Wiltshire and home.  I had a really easy journey back - using the same route as my journey up here - Lincoln, Newark, Leicester, Coventry, Oxford, Newbury, Andover.  I stopped off in Andover, re-filled my car with fuel and picked up some shopping requested by Sara.  Felt really tired once I was back.  I was only at home for a couple of hours before setting off for my tutorial at Seend near Devizes.  One of my fellow students is anxiously waiting the result of the selection conference on Saturday.  Ashley and I did our best to encourage and support her.  By the time I got back home I was feeling really tired - both physically and mentally.

Cleethorpes

The second full day of my trip to Grimsby.  The weather remains dry this morning and so I mowed Mum's front lawn and generally tied up the front garden including trimming the hedge.  John Roe, the Toyota dealer was meant to call at 9.00 a.m to collect Mum's car to take it for an MOT but by 10 a.m. they hadn't turned up.  After a phone call we found out that due to sickness nobody was available to collect the car until 11.30 a.m.  Mum seemed quite anxious and so I told her to ring the garage.  Sometimes her anxiety can be addressed simply by asking a few questions.  I went into Cleethorpes this morning to visit Auntie Mim in Sandringham Road and was delighted to find that my cousin, Ann, was there visiting her Mum.  I gave both a bunch of roses for being so kind and supportive during Mum's stay in hospital. I stayed a couple of hours and had coffee and biscuits.  I returned home for a snack lunch of haslet rolls before going out for a walk to Cleethopres seafront with my camera to try out my new SLR and clear my head.  I had a lovely cappuccino on Cleethorpes Pier at Tides Restaurant.  I also managed to get quite a few good photographs looking across the Humber Estuary.  Mum didn't want to go out at all, either this afternoon or evening so we stayed in and ate a mixed grill for supper; watching the football - Russia v. Poland - what a great game.

In Grimsby

First full day in Grimsby today and I discovered that my Vodaphone Broadband dongle had run out of credit so I had no access to the Internet with my laptop.   Mum was not feeling well at all so the planned trip to the chiropodist was cancelled.  I drove into Grimsby town centre and visited vodaphone's shop where I was able to top up the dongle - hence the ability to write and publish this blog today.  The traffic system in Grimsby is appalling and streets I used to be able to drive down have now been truncated and Grimsby has simply lost its character as the town I was brought up in.  It always distresses me to see how decrepit it has become - it doesn't even have a league football team to redeem it - only its excellent fish and chips.  I did some shopping in Sainsbury's and tonight, after watching the England v. France Euro 2012 game, I cooked spaghetti bolognese for us.  Mum isn't wanting to go out anywhere. I spent most of the afternoon working on a Complex case with Mum sitting and listening to Classic FM.  Mum went to bed this evening very early - 9 p.m. leaving me to watch an interesting programme on the building of The Shard with a glass of red wine in my hand.  Lovely.  I read some more of Brother Yun's biography tonight as I found it very hard to get to sleep.

A really long day today, as anticipated.  The weather was cold with light drizzle as I walked to St. John's Church for the Early Morning Eucharist taken by Cynthia.  A good number attended this morning - probably because there is a baptism service at All Saints' this morning.  Sara was leading the Junior Church at All Saints' today but I stayed at home and had breakfast before driving over to Farley to lead the Morning Worship service there and also to deliver the sermon on "The Unforgivable Sin?" (see http://pulpitmichael.blogspot.com to read it -"Sermon 9"). There were about 14 in the congregation this morning which made for a nice intimate number and I felt quite comfortable leading and talking to them.  They seemed to be very pleased with the sermon which made them thoughtful and they appreciated me sharing my own thoughts and struggles with them.  I really feel called, today, to my ministry and feel enthusiastic about proceeding with my studies to become licensed as a Lay Minister. I stayed behind for coffee and a chat with the congregation before returning home to pack my things for the drive up to Grimsby to spend a few days with Mum who is currently not feeling too well.  I set off at 2.30 p.m., called in at Andover's Tesco's  to pick up a few provisions and again for a short meal break at Leicester Forest East arriving in Grimsby just before 8 p.m. I had the Test Match Commentary on Radio 2 (LW) to keep me company.  Tonight we watched the Republic of Ireland v. Croatia Euro Football match which Ireland managed to lose 1-3.  They were very poor.  It seemed very warm tonight and I found it difficult to get to sleep.  I started to read "The Heavenly Man" by Brother Yun whom I had seen in Salisbury on Wednesday evening and whose book I had received from Amazon yesterday.

Jubilee Holiday Week

Monday 4th June

No rain today, thankfully.  A quiet morning after yesterday and just before 12 noon I set off for the Ageas Bowl in Southampton for the CB40 limited over cricket match (Hampshire v. Scotland).  Unlike most trips to the Bowl, this one provided a full afternoon's uninterrupted cricket with Hampshire winning the game by six wickets (Scotland 230 for 9; Hampshire 234 for 4).  As a member of Hampshire CC I was able to use the facilities of the Member's Enclosure and got a really good seat almost behind the wicket.  I was also able to take advantage of the member's car park which is a great saving.  Looking forward now to the T20 competition which tends to be on a Friday or Monday evening - both of which I can make.  Back home after the match, Sara, Mary and I went up to Robin Hill Farm to see the Beacon being lit and to enjoy the "bring and eat" BBQ. Over 200 villagers attended the event.  A wonderful occasion.

Tuesday 5th June

Back to the pouring rain again down here today.  We spent a leisurely morning watching the Jubilee Thanksgiving Service from St. Paul's Cathedral on the TV.  The weather in London seemed to be much better.  What a wonderful celebration - colourful and full of the pomp and majesty we associate with royal occasions.  After we had seen most of the celebrations we all went to the street party at The Flashett which was well named today as the marquee used for the occasion had a "river" flowing through the middle of it.  This didn't dampen anyone's spirits and we enjoyed a really great feast of snacks, cakes and booze.  Great occasion and a day we'll never forget.


Wednesday 6th June

After such a long weekend of celebrations, it seemed strange to be back at work today - but yes, I did have some work to do - notably sending out fee notes and catching up on so much paperwork which had gone by the wayside over these last few days.  This evening I attended a talk by Brother Yun ("The Heavenly Man") a Chinese refugee who escaped from a maximum security prison in China after being imprisoned for preaching the gospel in China.  The event took place at the Godolphin Girls School in Salisbury and organised by Vineyard Church and Flame International.  Brother Yun preached in Chinese with his Finnish friend interpreting into English.  I was expecting it to be just a talk but there was an hour of worship before and after Brother Yun's talk a period of the manifesting of the Holy Spirit.  I left early with the Clarendon clergy as it did seem that the whole affair would go on for some considerable time.  His story is certainly interesting and I shall order his book on line through Amazon.


Thursday 7th June

Sara had Mary and Myrna over for lunch today.  They arrived at 11.30 a.m. and stayed until 4.30 p.m.  I was working today and so only joined them briefly for lunch and again for afternoon tea before they left.  It seems incredible that Mary is approaching 80.  She really doesn't look like it at all.  The weather has turned cold and I actually lit a wood fire today - the first time I can ever remember doing that in June.  I managed to renew our season tickets for Southampton FC today after a few problems - including the fact that Tom has been listed on their records as an adult.  We had a small house group this evening - just five of us - but we continued to plough through Romans.  Felt really tired tonight.   Haven't been very far afield this week at all - the furthest has been to Southampton for the cricket.


Friday 8th June

My car went in for its first MOT today - in fact, its the first time a car of mine has needed an MOT in the last 25 years or so - I've always had new cars which I have replaced before they are three years old.  Thankfully it passed with flying colours - it should have too as I only recently paid for an expensive service at the same garage.  No advisory notifications either.  I went into the city centre for a coffee and a snack at Reeves whilst I waited for my car.  As I did so I received a phone call from our clients, ABC Networking, who invited me to join them for a reception at Fisherton Mill this evening and afterwards at City Hall to see comedians Shappi Khorsandi and Jon Richardson.  Sara couldn't attend but I enjoyed a marvellous evening and haven't laughed so much for ages.  A really fantastic evening. Its good to have clients who sponsor the Salisbury Arts Festival!   


Saturday 9th June

Up really early this morning to take Tom into the village shop to start his paper round.  I have spent most of today preparing for the service I am taking at Farley tomorrow morning - including writing my sermon which I didn't complete until this evening!  Normally I would have it done by Thursday at the latest.  Hope it goes okay tomorrow - in fact, it has ended up being the longest sermon I have so far written.  The furthest I have been today has been the village shop!  The book to be presented to our former churchwarden, Norman, arrived today as did my copy of Brother Yun's book "The Heavenly Man" which I shall now start reading as I have finished Golding's "The Spire". Eyes hurting a bit tonight with all the writing I have done today on the laptop.

Royal Celebrations on the River

What a wonderful celebration today - the River Thames Pageant to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.  I started my day by driving over to Alderbury to attend a special Jubilee Day Service at Alderbury Village Hall led by Elizabeth which took the form of cafe church.  Coffee and biscuits to start with the congregation sitting at tables.  A good range of well-known hymns and Elizabeth took several of the Queen's Christmas messages over the years for us to reflect upon.  There were about 60-70 people present from all denominations and we enjoyed a very free and relaxed atmosphere.  There was Union Flag bunting everywhere.  Bill M, bless him, gave me his ticket to Brother Yun's lecture at the Godolphin School on Wednesday night.  what a kind and thoughtful man and such a selfless act on his part.  He insisted that I took it as he thought that I would get a great deal more out of the talk than he would as he had already read Brother Yun's book - about Christian persecution in China.  They are such lovely people in Alderbury and seemed genuinely delighted that I was going to join them on Wednesday.  Back home, I was glued to watching the river pageant on television - a really fantastic spectacle.  The only downside was the torrential rain which accompanied it later on.  I had to take Mary and Izzy over to Winterbourne Gunner Cricket Club later that afternoon to the Winterbournes Fete where she was in the cheerleading demonstration team.  A colourful experience again with a Jubilee theme.  The country seems alive with patriotism.  The day ended with a couple of pints in the Lion's Head with James.  Richard is currently away in Cornwall and then Yorkshire.  I had hoped that James could have joined me for the cricket tomorrow at the Rose Bowl but Sam is unwell and he has to drive to Berkshire to pick up his son.  A really satisfying day today.  Tom watched some of the pageant but preferred to spend his time on his computer in his room where he is building a virtual model of Titanic.

A Pimms' (Jeeves') Day

Woke up quite late this morning - 8.30 a.m. after quite a few strange dreams including one involving me diving off a high diving board into a small pool below - must have been all that climbing up the cathedral tower yesterday.  Mary and I went to the Cash 'n' Carry to stock up with drinks as we are quite low.  A cooler but still sticky day today.Quite a lazy day today although I did do quite a bit of gardening this evening as I cleared away a bit more down the bottom for my Chinese/Oriental Garden.  The traffic in an around Salisbury was heavy today with the radio reporting heavy traffic on the motorways and major trunk roads. This is the beginning of the long Jubilee Celebration Holiday and so many people are en route to the West Country for the break.  Sara made a home-made cola drink from a Jamie Oliver recipe whilst I had a Pimm's type drink called Jeeves'.  I watched an interesting programme tonight showing the private photographic album of one of the SS officers at Auschwitz.  The scary thing is that he and his fellow officers do not look like monster but ordinary men and women.  It's so hard to imagine what possessed them to undertake such evil actions.

Up Salisbury Cathedral Tower

I woke up this morning to heavy fog.  An early start as I attended Ambassadors' Business Breakfast Club's AGM at the Grasmere House Hotel and then had to take my car into the Mercedes Garage for repairs to its fuel tank.  I was given a wonderful E-Class 250 as a courtesy car which was a dream to drive although slightly unsettling when it kept cutting out the engine whenever I stopped at traffic lights or was stopped in traffic generally.  This is all part of the eco-culture of the new Mercedes cars.  I arrived back home briefly after some banking and shopping at Staples for some printer paper, and picked up Mary (whose school is having a teachers' training day) to bring her back into Salisbury for lunch and to take her up the Salisbury Cathedral tower.  We parked the car at Petersfinger Park & Ride and went to Burger King for lunch.  We arrived in good time for our 2.15 p.m. tour of the tower.  There were only four of us, myself, Mary and a couple from Melbourne, Australia.   We were led by tower guide Leslie Smith, whom I am sure I have met/seen before, and our tour lasted just under two and a quarter hours.  He was an excellent guide and gave us plenty of opportunity to ask questions and he explained, in great detail, the craft of the medieval woodcutters.  We learned where the term "top dog" and "underdog" came from - the cutting of large tree trunks to make stanchions in a pit - the overseer being on top and the underdog being the the pit.  We were fortunate enough to be in the bell chamber when the 4 o'clock was struck and I managed to get the whole process on video.  A quiet evening in tonight.