Playing with Credit

A colder day today.  The main object of today was to complete my sermon for tomorrow morning and I spent some time in the morning in getting something down on paper.  I also strolled down to St. John's Church to see if there were any Parish Magazines there yet but couldn't find any.  I called in on Klynn and Susan and gave Klynn our tickets for the Saints v. Chelsea game on New Years Day.  We had a long chat over coffee and chocolate mints.  This evening, after having re-read and made some alterations to my sermon, we played a new board game which I had bought for Christmas Day which didn't get played.  It is an American form of Monopoly called Charge Large but more complicated as it allows people to purchase properties and companies on credit.  Quite a good game to help the children understand the need to be cautious with credit. I went to bed quite early this evening reading my Rick Warren book.  Up early tomorrow to take Thom to the shop to help sort out the Sunday papers.

Back to normal - Sort Of!

I have just realised this morning that this is the 1601st post on this blogsite - how time has flown!  Back to work today with a visit to the Drop-In Centre on chaplain duties.  Really very quiet today with left-over turkey ham made into a pie for the service users (and staff - myself included) with mashed potatoes, carrots and Brussels spouts.  That at least sorted out my lunch for me.  Whilst in Salisbury I also tried to sort out Thom's new phone - registering it on my Sure Signal box but will need to ring their customer care line direct from my mobile. I also visited two banks to put Thom's paper round tips in his account and also some money into my own.  This afternoon was spent at home working through some ideas and research for my sermon on Sunday - I am preaching at the Team Eucharist service in Alderbury.  Tonight Sara and I went to an evening drinks and canapé pary at Klynn and Susan's.  It was a beautifully clear night and I ended up explaining to a variety of other guests what stars could be seen - and in particular, and surprising them, by telling them that the brightest object they could see was Jupiter - high up in the constellation of Gemini.  We stayed until about 11 p.m. when we walked back by torchlight.  A lovely evening and much enjoyed by all, I think.

Boxing Day Movie Fest

Sara got up very late this morning - 10 a.m. and the children also laid in for a while apart from our great nephews who were up and watching TV and playing on the Wee quite early.  I was up first and organised breakfast for them and they stayed with us until mid-afternoon.  We snacked on ham and left-overs from yesterday.  Sara's niece called with her friend to pick up the boys mid-afternoon.  I have to confess that I spent most of the afternoon in our bedroom watching two Star Wars movies, two Carry-On films and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  An day of chillaxing knowing that I would be working on Friday.  Sara finally joined me at around 10 p.m. and I watched the Cardiff v Southampton game on TV - a marvellous 0-3 win for Saints which consolidates their position in the top half of the Premier League table.  Nothing really to report today as I spent all of it at home - not venturing out.  The weather tonight turned really unpleasant again and I had to dismantle the flag pole yet again as it was leaning precariously in the heavy wind.  Back to work tomorrow and must also get money and arrange airport car parking for our Marrakech trip.  After a really hectic Christmas period we need to relaxation in the Sun.  This awful weather is really not helping matters and continues to make us feel quite lethargic.

Christmas Day

We arrived back from the cathedral at around 1.30 a.m. and then watched "Men Behaving Badly" on the TV for an hour - we didn't actually get to bed until 3 a.m.  The children didn't wake too early, thankfully, but we were all up by 7.30 a.m.  I made tea for Sara and myself and put some brandy in mine - we don't have any whisky for our traditional whisky cuppa.  We all open our stocking presents and then went downstairs for breakfast - bucks fizz and ham and egg - followed by the big present unwrapping session.  Mary was delighted with her iPad and Thom with his new iPhone.  Just before midday, we drove into Salisbury and visited the drop-in centre and met the volunteers, staff and a few residents.  The volunteers were busy preparing the Christmas Lunch for the residents and odd homeless person who would be dropping in for lunch.  It took me back to the Christmas of 1995 when Sara was peeling Brussels sprouts in the building next door and it was her actions that day which led to me ask her out to lunch - a date which led to our marriage and wonderful relationship over the last seventeen years. We picked up Sara's niece and children at around 1.30 p.m. and drove them back in two cars to Winterslow.  I cut some wood and lit a large wood fire and the grand nephews opened their presents. We ate around 4.30 p.m. and the day was exceedingly hectic with the five children running around.  We were both quite exhausted after Sara's niece left with three of the children leaving two of the boys behind to stay overnight.  Went to bed feeling incredibly tired.

Christmas Eve

That hectic day before Christmas Day has arrived with its accompanying frantic wrapping of presents and icing of the Christmas cake - not to mention remembering to take the turkey out of the freezer!  Sara worked hard today in the kitchen preparing as much as she could in advance of the arrival of her niece and five children tomorrow.  Thom and Mary spent most of the day in their rooms or watching TV.  This evening, Sara, Mary and our friend Linda M and her son Joe, joined us at Salisbury Cathedral for the First Eucharist of Christmas - often known more commonly as Midnight Mass.  A truly magnificent service as only the cathedral can put on with fantastic organ music, including the Toccata and Fugue from Vidor's Symphony for Organ at the end.  This is always a wonderful way to start Christmas Day and we are so lucky to have this wonderful cathedral so close to us.  A great feeling of what Christmas is all about and plenty of incense to fill the nostrils with a sacred feeling for the celebration of the coming of Christ into the world.  Happy Christmas

Everyone!

Bad Storm and Flooding

What an incredibly appalling day, weather-wise, today.  The day started wet and windy and didn't get any better - in fact this evening we experienced gusts of wind at 70 mph which took out one of our fence panels behind the shed but, mercifully, left everything else intact.  The day was gloomy and I spent the morning in the office working exclusively on a tribunal case for a client - writing letters and emails connected with it and reading the pleadings from the other side.  Nothing much new and pretty much as expected.  The children spent the day either in their rooms or watching TV and none of us ventured out until this evening when, with good intentions, I set off to attend the carol service at West Grimstead Parish Church (I had promised the congregation that I would pop in when I preached there last week).  To start with the journey was fine - some small pieces of debris from the forest trees on the road - but just after I turned off at East Grimstead I was confronted by what I can only describe as a river - being unable to turn round I slowly drove through what must have been a foot of water.  I made a note not to return that way.  I actually arrived at West Grimstead but found the road under the railway bridge had been closed by the police - there must have been about four feet of water under the bridge.  This necessitated in me having the turn round and go back to Winterslow via Farley - the alternative route would have been through West Dean which would have meant me having to drive through the "river" again and I had heard on the radio that the railway was badly flooded there too - so much so that no trains were running between Romsey and Salisbury.  I arrived back home at around 7.15 p.m. and decided I was staying in.  The wind and rain pelted the house all evening and until about 3 a.m.  It does leave one feeling incredibly miserable.

Autumn Days

Massive apologies to all you regular readers of this blog.  Unfortunately, ever since my return from Grimsby and Cleethorpes I have been feeling somewhat "under the weather" - not helped by the appalling weather which we have been having recently.  Following my return we celebrated Mary's 13th birthday with her and Sara going to a wonderful performance of The Nutcracker ballet at Andover.  She also had three friends staying over - all sleeping together in the lounge - just think of it - four teenage girls in one massive sleepover!  The house looked as though we had had a rave!  Things have been hectic with trying to balance the writing of hundreds of Christmas cards, reading and writing theological essays, preparing and delivering a sermon at West Grimstead and also preparing and leading the Christmas Carol service at Alabare Place - a great success by all accounts - the actual service lasting about 30 minutes with mince pies etc. afterwards.  Sara and I also joined the rest of the Clarendon Team ministers for a really enjoyable Christmas lunch at the Milford Hall hotel in Salisbury.  I arrived for the lunch having spent the morning at Alabare's new headquarters on Churchfields Estate where the Bishop of Salisbury blessed the building.  I was truly bowled over by the wonderful facilities including a Quiet room and resources for the chaplains which I can use if I wish - I might certainly do so too.  Every day it seems we've had high winds and torrential rain.  A trip to West Dean with our curate, Andrew, to attend a house group meeting ended up as a major expedition after we encountered a massive tree across the road in Tytherley Road.  This required a large detour around West Tytherley.  We had a good meeting in the end and it was a wonderful opportunity to observe somebody else leading a house group.  During this period I also ventured up to Guildford to assist a friend/client with an appeal against employment sanctions brought against him.  This meant two train journeys each way and when we arrived at the venue for the appeal it was to discover that the person chairing the appeal was not available due to his wife's ill-health.  This appeal will now be postponed until January 7th when I will go up to Guildford again.  As I write this Thom and I have been to watch the Southampton v. Tottenham Hotspur game which ended in a 2-3 defeat for the Saints but still leaves them in 9th spot in the English Premier League.  This evening Thom and I watched the all important New Orleans Saints v. Carolina Panthers.  What an exciting game that proved to be with the Panthers winning by a touchdown in the last 56 seconds of the game to win 13-17!  An amazing win which has secured them a place in the Super Bowl Play-Offs. Thom was really excited although didn't see the final touchdown as he had walked out for a comfort break thinking that the game was all over with a new Orleans win!   Well there has been much going on and again I am sorry for all of you (and in particular you Andy Haylor (our friend at St. Mary's) as I know that you enjoy the blog and I did promise to give you a mention!  I will do my best to keep you all up to date.  I also have 2 assignments to complete for my University course.  I just need to get going and feel incentivised!  I think my photograph encapsulates the weather well - a wet miserable autumn.

A day in Grimsby and Cleethorpes

Woke up at 6 a.m. this morning, realised that I was in Grimsby and promptly went back to sleep.  I awoke again at 8.15 a.m. and made tea for Mum and me.  After a lovely breakfast of smoked haddock and poached egg I drove into Cleethorpes planning to buy 5lbs of sausages from Petit's only to find that the shop was closed!  I bought a birthday card for my sister Heather, wrote it and posted it together with other cards and letters at the Cleethorpes Post Office.  From there I drove to Auntie Mim's via the other Michael Barratt's (my cousin) dropping in a card.  Mim was her usual lovely self and we passed a very pleasant hour or so chatting about family matters and she kindly wrote something in my licensing book which Sara is compiling.  After a very light lunch of ham rolls, Mum accompanied me as I drove around Grimsby delivering some more Christmas cards. We stopped off at the Post Office on Convamore Road for Mum to pick up her pension money and I was dismayed to see that St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church was closed and dilapidated.  Tonight I returned to Michael's to pick up a family heirloom - a wonderful canteen of cutlery which had been a wedding gift to Michael and Leone from his Uncle Jack (my grandfather's elder brother).  He was anxious that it should pass to the next generation and then on to Thom.  It is about 100 years old.  Tonight, also, I took Mum to the Trawlerman pub in Cleethorpes for one of their excellent £3.99 carveries - lovely turkey and beef that melted in the mouth.  It was then back to Carr Lane to watch the Royal Variety Show.   

King(s) of the Jungle

Another early start to the day but feeling quite unwell with a heavy cold and not looking forward to the long journey up to Grimsby today.  Thom had a double paper round to do today and I was up, showering and packing for the journey.  Sara ironed me a few shirts and completed the wrapping of the Christmas presents to take up.  Unfortunately by the time we had finished all the tasks it was nearly 10.30 a.m. and Sara and Mary were too late to go off to St. Paul's as originally planned.  I quickly cleaned the car and packed it up before leaving at around 10.45 a.m. for the 250 miles journey up to Humberside.  I had a really great journey without any delays.  The only ones I had were of my own making - stopping at Tesco in Andover for a couple of items and fuel and at Morrisons in Grimsby for some flowers for Mum.  I made a couple of phone calls before arriving at my mother's at around 4 p.m.  In actual travelling time the journey took around four and a half hours - a really good time and a relatively easy journey.  A relaxing evening watching reality TV - Dancing, X-Celebrity and Jungle.  The former two I only glanced at as I was reading the local newspaper and doing the puzzles in it.  I was interested to see who would win Jungle and was not at all surprised that it was Kian.  He and David Emmanuel both deserved the honour and two nicer members of the original twelve couldn't really be found.  Had a relatively early night tonight going to bed at 11 p.m.

Saints hold City to a draw

Up very early this morning to a grey drizzly day and a drive to take Thom to the village shop to pick up his newspapers for his round.  I must confess to driving in my pyjamas being fully sure that in the darkness nobody would spot this!  Breakfast consisted of bacon and sausage rolls and I spent the morning on some Complex work before Thom and I left home for Southampton  at the Saints match against Manchester City.  We arrived in Southampton to find our usual free parking space taken so had to drive to Brighton Road and park in the deserted garages which we have been told we can use.  We walked briskly from Brighton Road to our normal chippy where we were greeted as the regular customers we are.  The proprietor was wearing a Saints shirt and now has a season ticket.  Over the years he must have made thousands of pounds from Southampton football matches so I guess the least he can do is support the club.  We enjoyed a great match.  although Saints went down in the 10th minute a wonderful goal from Osvaldo just before the end of the first half secured Saints going in at half time on equal terms with the "mighty" City.  Southampton had a much weakened team thanks to several injuries and especially an inexperienced goalkeeper.  However, they managed to keep the ball out of their own net but equally, despite many close shaves, couldn't get in in City's net. Full time 1-1.  For most of us that was nearly as good as a win - to hold the team in third place to a draw was quite an achievement.  Tonight Saints remain eighth in the table.  Due to our longer walk back to Brighton Road, much of the traffic had dissipated by the time we regained the car and we drove out of Southampton fairly traffic free.  We stopped briefly at Romsey for some cat food and were home by 6.30 p.m.  I showered and changed and drove into Salisbury for the festive dinner at the New Inn for staff and volunteers at Alabare Place.  I met Cliff Topping a famous artist who gives at lessons at the Centre as well as another art teacher who is also an LPA at St. Thomas's.  As Alabare Place  is within the parish where he ministers he and I, as the chaplain, need to meet to discuss roles and responsibilities.  A really enjoyable evening which included good talk and a three course meal - prawn cocktail, roast beef etc. and lemon cheesecake.  I am coming down with a terrible cold and felt really grotty as I went to bed tonight.  I've got a long journey up to Lincolnshire tomorrow where I am staying with Mum for a couple of days - back down to Wiltshire on Tuesday afternoon when I am leading the carol service at Alabare Place.

Alabare Carol Service Preparations

Early morning start at Ambassadors' Business Breakfast with Hugh Vivian talking about the use of "silence" (and active listening) in the business environment.  Very clever presentation with the first two minutes being a silent PowerPoint presentation.  This meeting was followed by a quick trip into town for some more Christmas shopping and a cup of coffee at Waitrose where I met our old friend Louise in the coffee queue.  She is still trying to move house.  We exchanged pleasantries and then I drove to Alabare Place where I was on chaplaincy duty as usual.  Not many in today but it still seemed to be quite hectic.  Had long conversations with a couple of the drop-in guys and also spent quite a bit of time finalising the annual carol service with the manager.  We've got four lessons and four carols - a cut down version of the traditional 9-Carols service.  I think that we have now finally "cracked" it.  I also had a telephone attendance with one of my clients in preparation for an employment tribunal in March.  Andrew, the curate, and I went for our long overdue beer together and we spent a pleasant evening with him telling me all about his recent experiences in the Sudan.  It's amazing how little we in the west know of the situation down in the south and the sparseness of medical care.  The Diocesan Medical Link is a vital resource in the combatting of disease.  Andrew has many more stories to tell which he will be doing to different audiences over the next few months. Fascinating stuff.

Nelson Mandela "Madiba", RIP

A blustery day today with terrible winds and tidal surges along the east coast threatened over the next twenty-four hours - similar to those experienced in the dreadful tidal surges of 1953.  Much damage in Scotland already and Norfolk and the low Fens expected to have it really bad.  I went shopping in Andover this afternoon to get some additional items to take up to Lincolnshire and picked up Thom on the way home.  This evening news broke that Nelson Mandela had died in his home in Johannesburg at the age of 95.  The whole world is in mourning for him but there are also wonderful celebrations for the life of a great politician and human being.  A remarkable man who has left his mark, not only on South Africa, but as a symbol of what can be achieved peacefully with the right attitude.  I shall fly the south African flag at half-mast for the next few days as a symbol of personal respect and affection for this great man.  Having read Desmond Tutu's book "God is not a Christian" recently, I really can connect with what was achieved in bringing about the dismantlement of the Apartheid system.  It is interesting that only five days ago I mentioned him at the St. Paul's bible study meeting as a modern day "Joseph".  RIP, Nelson (Madiba) Mandela.

Villa take three points off Saints

Sara took Thom to the bus this morning leaving me with some time to pray and reflect.  I spent the day at home whilst Sara was out working.  She has found a potentially new client for us through one of our former colleagues at FP.  Tonight I drove to Winchester to pick up Thom from college and we joined the heavy traffic down to Southampton for the game against Aston Villa.  It took us about an hour to drive the thirteen miles or so between the two cities.  I parked the car at our old car park near the Employment Tribunal offices and we walked to KFC in the main street for dinner.  We noticed quite a few Villa fans around in the city centre although, because it was so cold, there were probably many more we didn't recognise because we were all bundled up.  We arrived at St. Mary's with about 45 minutes to go before the kick-off and speculated about the transfer window with Andy.  Southampton played extremely well with 77% of the possession with several attempts on goal.  Aston Villa, on the other hand, had only about three shots at goal all of which reached their mark.  Gazzaniga, our third goalkeeper, simply didn't do much more than pick the ball out of the back of the net.  Despite all the possession and two excellent goals from Saints, Aston Villa went back to Birmingham with the three points.  Saints have now lost three games on the trot and tonight are eighth in the league table.  Thom and I returned home gutted and I really didn't feel at all cheerful when I went to bed tonight.  This is not the first time we've witnessed a 2-3 home defeat at the hands of the Villa.

Sara finishes the Alpha Course

I took Thom to the Wallops this morning returning for breakfast.  This morning I attended a Staff team meeting at Pitton and this afternoon worked at home with Sara picking Thom u from the Wallops.  Tonight I attended the Winterslow PCC meeting at St. John's when Peter Ostli-East came to facilitate a discussion on Mission in the Church as understood by the parish and by the Deanery. I found his presentation very sound and following many of my own ideas especially after having studied the topic and completed a University portfolio on it.  It is encouraging to feel that much of the theology and practice which I have learned have been translated into ideas which can be used.  It was a very long meeting and I didn't get home until 10.15 p.m.  In fact, Sara had arrived back home just ahead of me from her last session on the Alpha Course at St. Paul's.  They have been so impressed by her devotion and interest in the Course that they have now asked her to consider becoming one of their Assistant Leaders for the next course they are doing.  She is also enthused so much as to be signing up for their next more advanced course - Christianity Explored - on which I may probably join her.  I am already picking up some fresh ideas for our House Group.

More Ethics

These days are really short and with heavy cloud cover it never seems to be daylight.  I am definitely missing the Sun unlike Thom, who tells me that he likes long dark nights.  I went into Salisbury late this morning and had a constructive meeting with my University tutor - I still have two assignments to complete before Christmas on Christian ethics which I am finding a more difficult subject than I had anticipated.  Following this meeting I filled the car with fuel at Waitrose and bought myself some lunch an excellent Thai green curry.  Worked at home this afternoon preparing for two further meetings this evening - a rehearsal for Wednesday's lodge meeting (I am not attending it but need to hand over the secretary's paperwork for somebody else to do my job on the night) and then on to Sarum College for my last session on Christian Ethics - this time the ethics of love.

I shall miss my fellow students on this course but having completed the 10-weeks course I can now proceed to complete my assignments and portfolio.  This has to be my major work up until Christmas.  I arrived home at around 10.15 p.m. and watched "I'm a Celebrity" until bedtime.

 

Another great win for the Panthers

A bit of a lie in this morning.  Thom was up early to do his paper round but Mary was dead to the world.  Sara and I went to St. Paul's on our own this morning and were treated to another excellent talk from Brian Meardon who also officiated at the Eucharist. Sara introduced me to some of her leaders on the Alpha Course and we stayed behind for a quick coffee before going to Waitrose for some essential shopping.  This afternoon I returned to Klynn's for the interview for the Advent Calendar.  Lunch consisted of the pizzas bought at Waitrose and this afternoon I finalised the service and sermon for tonight's Evensong at Whiteparish.  I watched the first half of the Chelsea v Southampton game and when I left for Whiteparish, at half time, Saints were one goal up after a 13 seconds strike from Rodriguez!  There were seven members of the congregation for tonight's service but they seemed to get something from the service and my sermon and were very warm and welcoming.  It was a cold dark December's evening and I was not entirely surprised that so few had decided to venture out for Evensong in a fairly cold church.  Back home, I watched the Tampa Bay v. Carolina football game which Carolina Panthers won comfortably.  They seem to be on  a role.  It was lovely to sit down in a warm room with Thom and have a glass of Budweiser beer whilst watching some American football.  Carolina's wins (6-27) helped to sweeten the bitter pill of Southampton 3-1 defeat at the hands of Chelsea. I went to be quite early but watched "I'm a Celebrity" and read some more of Rick Warren's book.