Stonehenge Chapter Night

A day in Salisbury today meeting with my barrister colleague, Michael, who is advising us on a potential big case. I also spent a pre-arranged hour in the morning with our new HR Director discussing future plans for the interaction between the lawyers and the HR Business Partners. All in all quite a successful day. In the afternoon I read some last minute papers which arrived in connection with the court case on Thursday in the Isle of Man. Our friend Stu, who left us in January, came back to the office for his retirement drinks and it was good to see and talk to him. He seemed much more relaxed and happy having just returned from a business trip to Hong Kong for his new employers. I left the party a little early (I'll probably see him again tomorrow when he repeats the party at Dorking) and got changed to go to the Royal Arch Masonry Stonehenge Chapter meeting where I was to be balloted for membership. It was a good meeting, much more informal than in Sussex despite all the "top brass" being there. Following their installation ceremony I was successfully balloted for membership and formally became a joining member. I am looking forward to a long fruitful relationship with the Wiltshire Royal Arch Freemasons as I am giving up Sussex membership. The food was excellent and the company good - with several people I know from Sarum and the Province. I arrived back home around 10.30 p.m. which Sara actually thought was early - I had clearly managed her expectations as to my return time. No spooky occurrences today. A portable toilet has appeared in the drive of our next door neighbour - presumably for the workmen who are about to build a substantial first floor extension to increase the size of the two small bedroom over the existing double garage. No doubt there will be much dust in the weeks ahead.

Earthquake in Italy today

A cold fresh morning today. I picked up Anthony at Grateley on the way into Dorking - the temperature being only 3.5 Degrees Celsius. Anthony was not very talkative and so I listened to the radio for most of the way in. We learned that there had been a large earthquake in Italy just north of Rome centred on the ancient city of L'Aquila which had destroyed many of its lovely ancient buildings. It was recorded at 6.3 on the Richter Scale making it a "Strong" earthquake. During the morning programme the estimated dead numbered about 30 but by the evening this had risen to over 100 with tens of thousands homeless. The toll is likely to rise. The office was very quiet today (as was the traffic) and I spent part of the morning with our international lawyer debriefing her on the issues in the Isle of Man as she is going over to Douglas for the court hearing on Thursday in my stead. At lunchtime I went down to the gym for half an hour which I spent on the treadmill returning to the office to eat my lunch of a chicken baguette and yoghurt. I returned home via Winchester listening on the radio to more news from Italy. People were still being dug out of the rubble. After listening to David Mitchell's The Unbelievable Truth on Radio 4 it was then time for The Archers (Matt Crawford has been confronted by erstwhile business partner, Steve Chalkman, with a view to "persuading" Matt to stop co-operating with the police - "How is Lilian by the way?" ). For those of you who are not Archers' fans this storyline will mean absolutely nothing! It is very exciting for us SCPs (Sad Country People)! It started to rain on the way back and by the time I was writing this blog, around 10 p.m. it has turned very wet outside. Sara had another spooky experience today. Apparently she was sitting in the dining room talking to our friend Maggie on the phone when she suddenly heard water rushing out of a tap. On going into the kitchen she found the hot water tap at the sink fully turned on with hot scalding and steaming water gushing out of the tap. Nobody else could have turned it on. Yet another spooky occurrence again in the kitchen and close to where the boiled egg disappeared. Sara is now sitting opposite me crunching peanuts from a huge bag I bought at Tesco's in Four Marks on the way home tonight - supposedly as a snack to keep in the car on the way to Minehead. Where has the diet gone? Where have the peanuts gone? Will she blame the ghost?

Palm Sunday

The beginning of Holy Week started with a procession from the Rectory to All Saints with palms and palm crosses. The Rev. Roger Sharpe led the procession as the minister today - always a very popular figure at Winterslow. Mary looked splendid in her chorister's uniform and wore it with great pride - her first such procession. Sara took the Junior Church today and got the children making more palms from paper and bamboo sticks. Cynthia asked me, after the service, to give the intercessions at a special Communion service (her very first) she is conducting after having been priested on 27th June 2009. I felt quite flattered and accepted readily. As we had left my car at the School we walked back to it from church over the fields - such a pleasant walk on a fine Sunday morning. Tom had taken himself off much earlier wanting to jog back home over the fields so he was a little distraught when we arrived back nearly half an hour later. We were only back for about 15 minutes before we set off for North Baddesley to meet up with the Russells (our children's godparents) at The Water Margin Chinese restaurant. We had their extensive Sunday luncheon buffet which was absolutely excellent - in fact I had forgotten just how good their food is and was delighted that I had suggested it as a venue to meet up. We had a large circular table with a lazy susan and by sharing all the food had a lovely intimate meal. Everyone was impressed by the meal. After exchanging Easter eggs, they proceeded on their journey to Worcester and we returned home. I mowed the front lawn and cleaned the car whilst Sara prepared a lovely tea. Tom became happy and then distraught. The happiness caused by finding that his Xbox live worked using a long lead lent by Klynn to connect his Xbox to our router (this will save us £40-£50 on buying a wireless dongle) but distraught to find he has misplaced the software card to initiate it. He is able to initiate it for 30 days with a free trial but as we've paid £40 for the software card we need to find it soon. This wasn't the only strange disappearance today. A boiled egg Sara left on the kitchen window sill for my lunch tomorrow vanished, a doll's crotched hat turned up on the top of the kitchen bin and Sara distinctly heard the rattle of a teaspoon in her mother's cup when she made tea this morning in the kitchen. Today marked the 21st anniversary of Gillian's death too! Sara has also felt her mother's presence in the past when she has been in the kitchen. Did Tom leave his software in the kitchen too I wonder? Early night tonight - well maybe not quite so early as hoped - it's past 11 p.m. already!

Anguish for Saints' and Mariners' Fans

Today was the monthly Men's Breakfast meeting which today was hosted by Chris and Lesley. As they live only 50 yards from us I didn't go to the usual morning prayer service but went straight to Chris's after I'd raised the Saints flag on the pole. There were about a dozen of us and we were treated to bacon and sausages with baps, fruit juices and cereal and coffee and tea. After the breakfast buffet, we sat down to discuss the question of Creation v. Evolution - the discussion being led by one of our group who has just written a book (about to be published) dispelling Darwin's theory of evolution principally by arguing that Darwin's theory has not been scientifically proved entirely any more than the biblical account of creation has been disproved. His theory suggests that there was some kind of re-creation on Earth which fits in more with the biblical idea. We had a number of scientists in our group and I have to say some of the micro biological and nano physics arguments were quite beyond me as I tried to search back in my memory to secondary school messing about with fruit flies and paleontology. It is a huge subject and I got the distinct impression that the majority accepted Darwin's theory but with the view that the whole idea and process of evolution remains in God's hands. After such an erudite discussion it was back to the more mundane task of mowing the back lawn - second cut of the year. The rest of the family returned home from the gym just as I was finishing off the lawn. Tom and I then set off for Southampton to watch the game against Charlton. It promised to be a sell-out with the prices having been reduced. It was a crucial match against the bottom of the table club and an opportunity to go above the relegation zone. There were flags and balloons galore - supporters and Southampton people had come out to give encouragement to their team. It was unfortunate that the team members themselves didn't display quite the same passion. It was an exciting game with Saints saving a penalty and five goals being scored but unfortunately three in the back of Saints' net to produce another lost game (2-3). We were all disappointed and it is now looking less and less likely that Southampton will avoid the drop. Our fellow season ticket holders confirmed that they would continue to come even if we do go down and feel confident that we will avoid a 10 point deduction. They also took the view that there was a silver lining as the club could now find a single buyer following Rupert Lowe's company going into administration. Grimsby managed an away draw (1-1) at Shrewsbury but unfortunately both Bournemouth and Chester won their games resulting in Grimsby now being only one point above the drop zone. Back home I mowed the grassy bank and had a bath whilst Sara cooked a chicken curry. We watched the 100 Scariest Moments from the Movies whilst I also wrote up this blog.

Alpha and Omega No. 2

A very fulfilling day today. Sara cooked bacon butties today and after consuming one (actually a couple of bacon slices between hot buttered toast) it was off to Dorking. The journey was quite good today apart from a slow part through the contraflow on the M3 and I arrived in the office just after 9.00 a.m. At lunchtime I took myself off to the gym and spent about 30 minutes there (yes I know that wasn't long) on the treadmill and exercise bicycle. I wasn't very adventurous but felt righteous nevertheless. I had had a lovely hot power shower afterwards - a real luxury at midday and a complete break from the desk. I had a quick lunch of a tuna mayonnaise brown baguette whilst ready a couple of pages of Nicky Gumbel's Searching Issues. Although I had intended to leave the office by 5 p.m. it wasn't until 5.30 p.m. that I got away giving Anthony a lift to Andover Station. Anthony told me what an awful week he had had mainly around his medical problems. The traffic was bad and I soon realised that I was not going to get back to Winterslow in time for the 7.00 p.m. prayers at the beginning of the last night of the Alpha Course. I did arrive at 7.30 p.m in time for an excellent supper of curry and noodles. Some chocolate cake and chocolates also arrived which I had to decline. Tonight, instead of watching a Nicky Gumbel tape we had Nils and Elizabeth talking about The Church and How do we tell others? Both talks were entertaining and informative with Nils starting off with an excellent joke about a woman who placed a sticker in the back window of her car reading "Honk if you love God". I'll tell you the punch line when I next see you. The evening ended with you usual discussions and questions and we all agreed to meet up again for a social event in May. A few of us stayed behind (Nils and Elizabeth included) for further discussions with one of the previously unchurched members of the group. It is clear that the Alpha Course has caused a major change to her life and it is important to ensure that her faith remains fed. It seems such a pity that we have now reach the Omega of the Alpha Course! I arrived back home much later than anticipated to find Sara watching The Jagged Edge starring Glenn Close. It makes a change from Desperate Housewives (Sara informs me that she had now seen all of the first series on DVD). Tomorrow is going to be a difficult day for us Saints fans. The game against Charlton could be the Club's last game ever if it goes bust in the next couple of weeks.

Thursday's Spirit

Another incredibly busy day in Salisbury - meetings scheduled for the whole of the day. Unfortunately, although I had good intentions, I didn't get up until just before 7 a.m. today. I had planned to have another early morning swim but realised that it would be too late to get that in and get a parking space at the office. Without any breakfast, and after just the usual cup of tea, I drove into Salisbury after ensuring that the refuge collection bins were out. Nothing really remarkable today with me never leaving the office. Even lunch was a few company-paid for sandwiches - nothing remarkable with hardly enough to go round. How things have changed! I was determined to have my swim so immediately after work went to the Five Rivers Leisure Centre again and spent 30 minutes in the main pool followed by a refreshing shower. I also booked an induction course at the gym for Thursday 16 April. A really enjoyable diversion after such a stuffy day. Getting home at 7.15 p.m. I had just enough time for a hot cross bun for supper and phoned the Water Margin at North Baddesley to organise a table for the lunch buffet for Sunday for us and the Russells who will be passing through on their way to Worcester. House Group this evening was at Klynn's with just him, me and Rosemary. We discussed last week's film, The Grand Canyon, and Klynn prepared some good notes as to why there were, indeed, several Christian messages within it. After Rosemary had gone Klynn brought out a bottle of excellent whisky and we drank a couple of glasses each. We discussed the state of the world's economy and the future prospects for Southampton Football Club whose parent company announced that it had gone into administration today. The Football League will consider, on Tuesday, whether this constitutes the administration of the football club itself with a resulting 10 points deducted either this season or next. Either way, it would mean League 1 football next season. It seems to me that even if it didn't constitute administration of the club itself, the cutting off of money from the parent company would lead to the inevitable downfall of the football club which would cease to exist. Southampton without a league football club is unthinkable and very worrying. No wonder we've heard nothing about renewing our season tickets this year. I will see what our fellow fans think of the situation when we go to the game against fellow strugglers Charlton on Saturday.

King Solomon's Temple

Today was the second day of three this week when I am working just down the road in our Salisbury office. As I missed out on my swimming last night I had set the alarm for 5.30 a.m. and after a brief 20-minute lie in I got up just before 6 a.m. and made tea as usual and hoisted the St. George's flag as England are playing Ukraine in the World Cup Qualifier at Wembley tonight. I set off for the Leisure Centre arriving just before 7 a.m. and spent half an hour swimming - a very relaxing start to the morning and quite a lovely one with the large red Sun climbing up in the morning sky. I had a nice warm shower afterwards and felt glowing. I arrived at the office at 7.50 a.m. and got myself a bacon bap and a coffee. The day was filled with meetings and I got quite a lot done although I had something of a headache at the end of the day. I had lunch with Sara (I had to pay for her again!) and then went for a short walk into town to get some cash and some lavender pillow spray from Boots which I find helps me get off to sleep at night after a busy day. I also bought a birthday card for my friend Mike Billington in Manchester - he always ribs me about forgetting it - which meant I also had stop off at the post office for stamps. This evening I went to my lodge (Sarum) which was well attended with quite a number of visitors from Hampshire. We had an excellent lecture by David Skinner from Hampshire & IOW Province entitled The Logistics of King Solomon's Temple in which he explored whether of not the Biblical descriptions as to the mode of and material used in the construction of the Temple at Jerusalem could have been logistically possible. Some incredibly interesting and detailed facts and theories came out including the view that the tin used to mix with the copper to make the bronze pillars at the entrance to the Temple came from Cornwall. He also showed how it could only have been possible to construct the pillars themselves in half cubit segments. He provided us each with an interesting map of the Holy Land at the time of the building showing where the clay plains of Zeredathah and Succoth were situated (allegedly where the brass pillars were cast), the situation of Tyre within Phoenicia and some interesting facts about the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. The evening ended with an excellent dinner of mushroom soup, roast lamb, lemon tart and cheese and biscuits. I met a number of members of Stonehenge Chapter which I hope to join next Tuesday. A lovely evening. I returned home to find Sara watching.......Desperate Housewives! By the way, England beat Ukraine 2-1 to continue their unbeaten run in their Group.