Monday 4 March
2013
This morning I drove up to Amesbury to meet my friend Lee
Hill for coffee and to discuss the waning fortunes of Freemasonry in
Salisbury. We spent a couple of hours in
Costa Coffee on the Solstice Park chewing the cud and discussed a range of
ideas to try and energise life back into the Craft. Many of the issues we are facing are not
dissimilar to those we are also facing in the church - the traditional way of doing things no longer
fits in with modern day thinking and culture.
We also discussed Lee’s role as a protector of sites where metal is
being stolen. The problem is becoming quite
an epidemic as well as producing a danger
to those involved in the theft and those it is affecting – railways, National
Grid and so forth. The cost to the tax
payer is quite mind-blowing.
This afternoon was spent in preparing Complex’s books of account to go to the accountant in Frome later
in the week.This evening I attend the eighth session of my study module on Church history and Doctrine and we looked closely at the 20th Century (leaving out Vatican II which we’ll cover next week).
Tuesday 5 March
2013
Walked to Morning Office at All Saints Church, Winterslow this
morning. A pleasant walk as the
temperature has risen a little although there was a hard frost on the ground
this morning. As Andrew was away today
there were only two of us in attendance, Nils and myself. This afternoon I had my eyes tested. The opticians took detailed photographs of
the inside of my eyeballs – not a very pleasant thing to see and left me feeling
quite queasy! – and my right eye appears to have a little scaring – possibly from
viewing a bright sun at some time. My
prescription has not changed much except for the right eye. After the eye test I arrived at Freemasons’
Hall, Crane Street, to listen to a dramatised
lecture by Mike Lee on the Royal Arch story.
The Royal Arch executives from Wiltshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Somerset
were all there. Each province takes it in turns to host this event once every
four years. Quite interesting. There were about 80 Royal Arch Masons present
and the dining room was full up for the dinner afterwards. We ate pate and toast, roast beef with pepper
sauce and cheese and biscuits. A most
enjoyable evening indeed.
Wednesday 6 March
2013
Sara did her usual stint at Morning Star and I went to Whaddon to attend the Mid-Week Eucharist
and the Staff Team meeting afterwards which was devoted almost entirely to the
arrangements for Holy Week. There are so
many issues arising out of these special events which need to be actioned. For the first time, Holy Week is to be
entirely a Team affair. The meeting went
on until 1 p.m. and I briefly called in at Matalan to buy another black long
sleeved shirt before driving home. Sara
and I were going to see the film “Lincoln”
this afternoon but as I was also attending Sarum Lodge tonight we took separate
cars. Sara has started, in earnest, to
sort through the books in the family room and I called in at Sarum Books and
delivered two crates of old books – some dating back to my O-Level days! Sarum lodge had an attendance of 14 tonight –
much different from last night’s event at Freemason’s Hall. Bryant Sanders gave
three excellent orations about the first degree ceremony as well as a discourse
on the two pillars at the entrance to King Solomon’s Temple. We had another excellent dinner – soup, roast
pork, crème brulee and cheese and biscuits.
We also had some Yorkshire puddings which had been destined for last
night’s table (with the roast beef) but were forgotten. They were eagerly devoured by the Sarum
diners with their roast pork.
Thursday 7 March
2013
I journeyed over to Frome this morning to deliver Complex’s
book of accounts to our accountants in that town. We need to have a clear idea of how much Corporation
tax we will have to pay following last year’s work. After simply dropping the books off, I then
drove the six miles to Westbury to have coffee and cake with Ashley and discuss
the sermons we are both giving on Sunday.
We exchanged some ideas which I think will help us both. I went into Sarum College this afternoon to
put together the service for Mothering Sunday which I am taking at West Dean. This
evening I led the fourth week of our Lent Group study of C.S. Lewis. Around a very warm wood fire, we had a really
good discussion about the meaning of pain and happiness and the use of our gifts. Two of our group had decided to attend the
second of Jeremy Davies’ Lenten talks at Pitton, but there were still five of
us to keep the House Group going.
Friday 8 March
2013
I spent most of today in Sarum College finishing off the
work on preparing for Sunday’s service – particularly writing the sermon which
is over 1,800 words! I finished work at
around 5.15 p.m. and went over to the cathedral with another student to enjoy
Choral Evensong. Tonight Sara and I chilled
out by watching the Nicholas Cage film National
Treasure : Book of Secrets which we both enjoyed.
Saturday 9 March
2013
This morning, I called in briefly at Pitton Village Hall,
where Pitton Parish were holding a Table Top Sale. It was quite a small event but I did have an
opportunity of having a chat with one or two people – notably Mandy and
Nils. I then drove on to Farley and
spent an hour and a half at the Team Choir practice being led by Jeremy
Davies. Some difficult passages for the
basses of whom there were only two of us!
This afternoon was spent with Thom watching the football results coming
in – Southampton managed a 0-0 draw at Norwich but Grimsby lost 1-3 at home to
Kidderminster which is a body blow to their automatic promotion hopes. They
really needed to win that game. I went
into Salisbury this evening to pick Mary and her friend Lucy up from her house
off Devizes Road for a “sleep-over” at our house topping up the car with fuel
on the way home. A quiet evening in with
me finishing off the service for tomorrow and then watching another Poirot
episode with Sara.
Sunday 10 March
2013
I woke early this
morning (5.45 am) and took Thom to the shop to pick up the newspapers for his
round. In fact, on Sundays he earns a
little extra cash by doing all the Sunday paper inserts. Made a cup of tea on my return and then went
back to bed for an hour. I drove over to
West Dean for 9 a.m. and Sara, Thom and Lucy followed on about fifteen minutes
later. The church was relatively warm and
I robed in the vestry and sorted out the service sheets and hymns with Alan B
and Jane H. There were 16 in the congregation this morning including my family
and Lucy. The service seemed to go well
and flowers were handed out to the female members of the congregation. There was no coffee afterwards this morning as
the church needed to be prepared for a concert being given that evening by a
Canadian Choir.
Sara took Lucy home and I returned home to prepare lunch –
baked chicken fillets with mango sauce, roast vegetables and woodland strudel
and ice cream to follow. As it is
Mothering Sunday I had a glass or two of wine with my lunch and this afternoon
watched the England v. Italy rugby game (England won 18-11). I phoned Mum this evening and she seemed
really cheerful although the drugs she is presently on are about to run out and
her doctor says he cannot get a fresh supply from anywhere. My niece Hannah also telephoned me to thank
us for her 18th Birthday card and money. Richard phoned this
afternoon to say that they had had £800-worth of oil stolen from their tank and
he fancied an evening in the pub – at least it would be warm in there! I wasn’t keen at first in going to the pub
but felt I ought to go to do my “pastoral care” bit! Pastoral care will be my next and last module
before I am licensed. As the pub had been busy with Mothering Sunday families,
Anton was closing at 10.30 p.m. which suited us both. My right knee is hurting tonight – I hope it’s
not arthritis. It’s also very cold tonight
too.
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