UK's hottest day of the year

An incredibly hot day today - reaching 29 degree Celsius according to the temperature gauge in my car.  I spent the morning at home dealing with paperwork and after a quick stop off at the Lord Nelson to see Sara and have a glass of refreshing lime and soda, drove into Salisbury.  It was Rio's birthday today and so I dropped off a card and some money at Tasha's for him and then went into the city centre to bank some more Calendar Girls' money, pay the printers and attend at the offices of a firm of solicitors to deposit and collect documents in one of my cases.  Apparently it was later recorded that today was one of the hottest September days in the UK ever - I can well believe that as it seemed hotter than a July day!  This evening I phone Klynn, who I've not seen much of over the last few eeks, and invited him to join me for a beer or two at the Lion's Head.  We met up at 9 p.m. and spent a very pleasant 3 hours or so chatting and catching up on each other's news. Since starting my training for LLM, I have hardly seen him in church either because he is attending elsewhere or I am somewhere else in the Team.  I need to catch up on some of my reading following all the excitement and distractions of this week.  Hopefully I can spend an hour or so on my "Art of Theological Reflection" book tomorrow morning before Tom and I go off to Southampton.  I am looking forward to the match against Watford following our poor showing at the last two away games (only one point from a possible 6).  We remain top of the League but must do well to retain that position tomorrow.

A quieter day - but not too quiet!

A quieter day today although I had a substantial amount of work to catch up on including three days of blog writing, reading some important documents as well as listening to some evidence for one of my cases.  We counted up the money from yesterday's Calendar launch and this afternoon I banked just under £2,500 into the Calendar Girls' bank account in Andover.  An incredible amount of money already - after one single day! It was really hot today - reaching 28.5 degrees Celsius as I drove back from Andover.  Tonight we held a well-attended house group which concluded, after studying another two chapters of Hebrews with sharing bread and wine as friendship, fellowship and remembrance of Christ.  A lovely evening.  Still warm as I write up this blog with the cats coming in and out of the house at frequent intervals.

Calendar Launch at the Salisbury Racecourse

A massive day for Sara today.  I was up early to go up to Salisbury Racecourse with Mike from the shop to erect his marquee for the Winterslow Calendar Girls' launch reception at the race meeting that afternoon.  It promised to be a very hot day but the ground was drenched with dew as we worked feverishly to get the thing put up before we had to return to Winterslow.  We succeeded in getting back to the village at 10.30 a.m.  Sara and some of the Calendar Girls left to set out the reception area and I had a some work to do as I had a telephone conference with a client at 11 a.m.  I followed Sara up at around 12.45 p.m. properly dressed for entry to the Bibury Enclosure.  The reception was already in full swing with the press and sponsors already there.  Photographs were taken and Sara and the girls gave several interviews including a live interview with Sara.  I also gave a short interview to Spire FM as this whole thing had been my suggestion in the first place!  John Glen the MP for Salisbury arrived at 1.30 p.m. and spent most of the afternoon  giving interviews, photo shoots and talking to people.  He showed a real genuine interest in the project and gave it his 100% support.  From the sale of calendars and donation alone, today, the girls raised well in excess of £2,500 with much more money promised. The final count is still on.  I am afraid that my luck with the horses didn't follow suit although I did have an each-way place and a win on the last race which just about covered my afternoon's betting - a result in itself I guess.  I helped to dismantle the marquee at the end of the day and must say I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got home.  It has been a very busy and emotional three days - on top of a trip to Liverpool.  I am quite behind with my work and studies at the moment and this hot weather is not helping.  a marvellous result of the Calendar Girls though.  They all worked together well - such a spirit of co-operation and fun!  Well done to them all - especially Sara.

Celebrations

My birthday today. Presents from the children and the Russells as well as some money from Mum.  Spent much of my day in Salisbury where I went to Sarum College library to pick up some books which I had ordered and then on to Bookers to buy sparkling wine and other drinks for tomorrow's Calendar Girls launch at Salisbury Racecourse.   This evening the whole Huffey Clan came over (there were 13 of us in total" to celebrate my birthday, our wedding anniversary and Lee and Christy's engagement!  We also celebrated the reunion of  Lee with Tasha and our families generally.  Sara cooked a beef in Guinness stew followed by some rather good Stilton and Brie which I had bought at the Cash n' Carry.  A really lovely evening but quite tiring.  Adam also skyped us from Thailand to join in with the celebrations.  The biggest birthday celebration for me since my 50th.  The weather is also getting hotter and hotter this week and the night sky was lovely and clear tonight.

Sight-seeing in Dorset

Our 13th wedding anniversary was celebrated with a lovely day out with Sara, Lee, Christy and Tristan to Wardour Castle and Shaftesbury  where we ate a lovely pub lunch at "The Two Brewers" which I can thoroughly recommend for its moderately priced food and excellent real ales including the Cornish brew, Doom Bar beer.  Lee had that whilst I had a rather interesting brew called "Jimmy Riddle" the colour of which was reminiscent of the "genuine article". Back home, I got out my little "N" - Gauge railway for Tristan to see but I think that Lee was just as captivated by it!  Tonight I attended my second tutorial at the Diocesan Education Centre where we explored further the concept of theological reflection.  Much work and reading ahead.

Back to Church in Toxteth Park

I woke early again this morning and made a cup of tea before writing up my blog and reading my devotionals.  Both Tom and Malcolm were much later getting up and we had to walk quickly to get to church on time.  Today was "Back to Church" Sunday and at Christ Church, Toxteth Park, a special service of Morning Worship had been designed outside the liturgical calendar.  The gospel reading was from John and was the Lame Man at the pool.  The service was led by Annette with an excellent sermon by Chris who has promised to send a copy to me.  After coffee and a chat at the back of the church, we strolled back to Malcolm's flat for half an hour or (time to pack up our bags) and then went and had lunch at Maranto's - a traditional Sunday roast for Malcolm and myself and a burger for Tom.  We walked off lunch by having a pleasant stroll in Sefton Park where the autumnal colours are striking at the moment.  Tom and I finally left Liverpool at 3.30 p.m. but hit an enormous traffic jam on the M6 near Junction 20 (yet another accident).  I drove off the motorway and drove down the A50 and through Stoke-on-Trent (passing close by both Port Vale's and Stoke City's grounds) to rejoin the motorway at Junction 15.  It was fairly plain sailing after that finally arriving back home at 8.45 p.m.  Feeling quite tired tonight.  Apparently Sara and I are taking Lee et al to Wardour Castle tomorrow as Tristan wants to see a real English castle.  Must research it a bit tonight before we go off tomorrow.  Tonight, Sara is trying to complete the Parish Magazine.

A trip to Burnley - or a drop of claret

I was awake this morning at 6 a.m. but then dozed off until about 8.30 a.m.  I left Tom to sleep on (until 10 a.m.) whilst Sara was doing his paper round for him back in Winterslow.  Malcolm and I visited the Lancashire Farmers' Market on Aigburth Road where we tried some interesting sausages and bought some excellent Lancashire Tasty Cheese which I will really enjoy eating when I get back to Wiltshire tomorrow evening.  Tom and I set off for Burnley at  around 11.30 a.m. arriving in that Lancashire mill town at about 1 p.m.  The journey up was very easy with relatively clear motorways the whole way up.  We managed to get parked in a side street only about three minutes walk away from Turf Moor Football Ground.  There were already quite a large number of football supporters milling around including many from Southampton.  A short walk into town found us a very pleasant fish restaurant and despite warnings about unfriendliness from Malcolm and others, we found the people very friendly indeed.  It is clear, however, that football is a very important part of the lives of the population up here.  We got into the ground in good time for the match and sat in the David Fishwick Stand on very old wooden seats which must have been there in the days that I used to visit Turf Moor to follow Burnley.  The game was fast and furious and Burnley played extremely well - especially in the first half.  Saints' passing was poor and they lost possession many times.  There seemed to be more attempts on the Southampton goal than the other way round. At half-time the score remained 0-0.  Early into the second half, despite an improved performance from Southampton, Burnley scored.  It was to be only until ten minutes before the end that Schneiderlin scored the equaliser for Saints.  Saints had other opportunities to score but could never quite convert.  The final result being 1-1.  At Preston, where Malcolm had gone, the score was Preston 2 - 0 Tranmere Rovers.  Middlesbrough could only managed a goalless draw at home to Ipswich so tonight Southampton remain on top by a single point.  The traffic was heavy getting out of Burnley and we returned to Liverpool via Bury, Manchester and M62.  This evening we met up again with Geoff and Alma and had a really lovely evening at the Red Fort Indian restaurant in Lark Lane.  always such great company and the evening zoomed by.  Went to bed about 12.30 a.m.

Another Trip to Liverpool

Up early today to deal with some Complex work, sort out some essential paperwork and pack to go away to Liverpool this afternoon.  It was nice for Sara and I to have a morning together in the house, even if we were in separate rooms doing different things.  Sara worked in the Lord Nelson at lunchtime and a a treat to myself after completing all my tasks at home, joined her for a light lunch and a glass of lime and soda.  I picked Tom up from his school at 3.15 p.m. and we then drove the 240 miles or so up to Liverpool taking a different route from normal.  Instead of driving up to Swindon and joining the M5 at Gloucester, we went up to Oxford.  This was probably a mistake as a seven car shunt on the A34 just north of Newbury slowed us down considerably and the radio informed us of more trouble on the M40 near Bicester.  We cut across country to Chipping Norton and then up to Warwick to join the M42 south east of Birmingham and then up to the M6 across Spaghetti Junction.  After Birmingham the the M6 was fairly kind to us and we made good progress arriving in Liverpool at around 8.15 p.m. - a 5 hour journey in total.  I've certainly had worse.  A short trip down to Steve's chippy and then an evening of chatting with a relatively early night - before midnight.  I was incredibly tired tonight - I guess due to a late night last night, a busy morning and a long drive this afternoon/evening.  Off to Burnley tomorrow.

Day off in Winchester

I had a day booked off work today but this did not prevent me from having an early morning telephone discussion with a client.  Lee, Christy, Tasha and family were due to come over to ours at 9.15 a.m. but didn't arrive until 10 a.m.  After a hurried coffee, Sara and I led them, in my car, to Chandlers Ford for a tour down "Memory Lane" to the old house where Sara and Lee had been brought up and a walk by the Lakes where Christy's son, Tristan, managed to lose a shoe!  It was recovered but very wet.  After a short drive around Chandlers Fords we went into Winchester for a fish and chip lunch and then a tour of the city centre (to buy a replacement pair of shoes for Tristan!) and a visit to the Castle and Cathedral.  Sara went back home with Tasha and family (there being children to pick up from school) and Lee, Christy, Tristan and I toured the Cathedral and had tea on the refectory.  After a short stop to buy Sara a wedding anniversary present (it will be our 13th in a few days time), I drove us all back to Winterslow for tea and cake.  Tristan found and enjoyed playing with Tom's old railway set and some of my old Dinky toys which I still have.  Sara took them back home.  We had a good House Group tonight - although I was feeling really very tired after all the traipsing around Winchester.  James and Sophie stayed behind to give me an updater on how the PCC meeting went on Wednesday.   Nothing for me to do thankfully.  James has been appointment to the Team Council and Sophie co-opted on to the PCC.  Fell asleep quite readily tonight.  A busy day tomorrow with a drive up to Liverpool in the afternoon.

Family Re-Union

I was up early today and at my desk as I had a telephone conference scheduled with a client at 8.00 a.m.  As it happened, the client didn't phone me until 8.45 a.m.  Following this conference I drove over to Whaddon to attend the Mid-Week Eucharist and then on to Elizabeth's to attend my first Full Clarendon Team Staff meeting as the junior member of the ministerial team.  A very interesting meeting ending with Midday Prayers.  Following that, I drove into Salisbury to bank some cheques and on the way back to Winterlsow called in on Tasha and family to greet Sara's brother, Lee and Christy who are over from the United States for a week.  An incredibly fantastic  and important re-union. We spent some time together at Tasha's before I returned home to deal with some more work for one of my clients in Surrey and sent off some important mail in the post.  Tonight I missed the Parochial Church Council meeting and, with Tom, attended the Third Round League Cup tie at St. Mary's (Saints v. Preston North End).  Another home win (this time 2-1) was notched up by Southampton continuing their amazing undefeated home run.  How long can it last?  Must admit that going to see Saints win against Preston was better than any PCC meeting!  Sipping a welcoming Barcadi and Coke as I write this.

Reaching for the Sky?

Another day mainly at home today.   Both Sara and I spent most of the day indoors this morning.  I dealt with a pile of correspondence and read through some of my course material as well as preparing for tonight's Sarum Lodge GPC meeting in Chandlers Ford and preparing for the Clarendon Team Staff meeting at Whaddon tomorrow.  Sara picked Tom up from school at 1 p.m. today and took him to the fracture clinic at Salisbury General Hospital.  The prognosis on his arm is that it is healing well but that he must refrain from any further football (playing it, not watching it!) for another 5 weeks.   Later this afternoon, Mary and I watched Reach for the Sky again which we had seen quite recently.  Mary had an extremely good recall.  Whilst talking about Mary, I realise that I haven't yet recorded that she has been appointed Vice-Captain of her House at school.  I was also Vice-House Captain in my time of my school and the name of my house was, prophetically, Salisbury!  Tonight I went to Chandlers Ford to chair a meeting on the future of our lodge in Salisbury.  Lack of new members coming in and losing older members means that the lodge cannot be sustainable for much longer.  We brainstormed a few ideas which I will take to the Province to see whether they can become a reality.  If they can, then the Lodge could be up for some exciting and innovative times ahead. 

Back to School!

The weekend seemed to be over in a flash and another Monday morning has suddenly appeared.  No appointments today until I attend my first LLM tutorial this evening at the Diocesan Learning Centre in Salisbury.  Sara was also at home all day today too.  I spent a good deal of the day in the office answering emails and writing letters.  Yesterday I tried to stay away from the computer as much as possible but needed to catch up today.  I completed the blog and sent a copy to Mum in the post.  A short walk to the post office today to buy stamps and coffee was my only trip out until this evening.  Sara managed to advertise Mary's old bedroom furniture on the Internet this afternoon and it was sold, dismantled and collected by a buyer from Salisbury within about three hours.  We can now go ahead and buy Mary a new bed and homework desk.  The first tutorial went well this evening.  There are nine of us in total in the tutor's group and I think we will work well together.  Still a little daunting when we look to see just how much work is involved but we are assured it will all become very clear once we get into it.  We did an exercise in reflection and talked around the subject of theological reflection and practices.  Back home after the tutorial, I talked to Sara's Dad and Andrea on the Skype video link.  An exciting week ahead with Sara's brother from the USA visiting Salisbury to see us and Sara's niece and family. 

Saints do it again!

A long and fulfilling day today.  I woke up early with Tom going off on his paper round with Sara (who is currently helping him due to his injured arm) and then went off to East Grimstead to attend the BCP Early Morning Eucharist being taken by Elizabeth (whom I haven't seen for some time).  A very small congregation there - just six of us (two of whom, myself included) were from Winterslow.  I returned home and ate the remains of last night's smoked haddock for breakfast.  Sara and Mary went to the All Saint's Parish Eucharist and I went into Salisbury to attend the more evangelical CityChurch service to listen to their in-depth talk on "Gospel Advance".  Quite a contrast to the East Grimstead service - there being at least 100 people there.  I left before coffee (so didn't have time to chat to anybody this morning) to get back in time to pick up Tom to go to Southampton.  Sara and Mary spent the afternoon down at the Recreation Ground where the Winterslow Calendar Girls were putting on a BBQ for friends and families.  Sara's niece and family also attended especially as Tom and I would not be there to support them as we would be at St. Mary's supporting the Saints in their re-scheduled fixture against Birmingham City.  When we arrived in Southampton the weather turned really nasty with thunder, lightning and torrential rain resulting in both of us being absolutely drenched before we got to the stadium.  We had to sit in our seats rather wet watching the torrential rain falling on the pitch.  Saints were superb again beating Birmingham 4-1 to go back up on top of the table.  They look so strong and comfortable in their football and it was pleasing that all four goals were scored by different players (Lambert, Da Prado, Lallana and Chaplow).  We are now looking forward to the cup tie against Preston North End on Wednesday and the away game at Burnley next Saturday.  It's wonderful to think that Saints are now 21st in the whole league - with only the 20 Premier League clubs above them!

Challenges Ahead for Church and Team

No football matches to attend this morning - Tom's injury prevents him from playing for Clarendon Juniors and Saints' match against Birmingham has been postponed until tomorrow as Birmingham have been involved in international matches this week.  I attended Morning Prayer at All Saints with Nils and Andrew and then went off to the recycling centre at Amesbury to unload the car of all the junk collected from the garage clear-out yesterday.  When I got back, Sara was just on her way out to take Mary to ballet and to do some more errands in Salisbury, including visiting our friend Jan who is in hospital.  The weather turned really nasty this afternoon with thunder and lightning and a torrential rain storm.  I had intended to clean the car and walk up to Richard's for the Winterslow Parish Standing Committee Meeting but drove through the rain instead.  A very long meeting this afternoon which was also attend by two members of the clergy, Nils and Cynthia.  Winterslow PCC is facing quite a number of challenged especially with Linda and myself being formed for ministry which means we cannot be deeply involved in the administration of the parish - in Linda's case, not at all as she has moved to St. Thomas's Parish in the city of Salisbury.  This is leaving more and more work for fewer people as the younger element, in particular, have increasingly busy lives and the older members feel they now need a break.  The church here in Winterslow needs, I think, to refresh itself and look at other ways of doing things - perhaps cutting down on some of the things it already does.  The football results went well for Saints today with Brighton losing at home to Leicester.  Although Middlesbrough did win it does mean that if Southampton do beat Birmingham  tomorrow, they'll definitely go back on top of the table.  Cowdenbeath ("my Scottish team") had a great 0-4 win away but Grimsby clocked up another defeat - this time against newly relegated Stockport County.  Ended the day watching the Million Pound Drop for the first time.  This reminded me that I need to start thinking about getting the October pub quiz together.  An early night.

Garage Makeover

Yet another early start this morning.  This time to attend Ambassadors' Breakfast Club at the Grasmere House Hotel.  A good attendance today with Ed giving a foretaste of the Salisbury Business Expo which is due to be held in the City Hall on my birthday.  I have note put my name down to man the stall but will try and go along.  On the way home I stopped off at Staples for some stationery supplies and was delighted, on reaching home, to find that a good client of mine had paid their bills. This necessitated a short trip into Andover in the early afternoon to pay in some cheques.   This afternoon, after drafting an important agreement for a client, Sara and I cleared out the garage and I filled my car with more rubbish to take to the Amesbury dump.  It was very satisfying to clear out so much rubbish - but there is still plenty more to go.  Tonight Richard came round to sort out some business and to share a coffee and a bottle of beer with me.  I had a nice soak in the bath this evening and went to bed early - to write this blog entry and to read my devotionals for both today and tomorrow.  I shall make another early start to tomorrow - Morning Prayer followed by the trip to Amesbury to empty my car of the rubbish.

Back to the Rose Bowl

Up very early this morning to attend my Driver Awareness Course at the Rose Bowl.  I arrived at Hedge End early and had a bacon butty and coffee at Sainsbury's.  There were 19 of us on the course which lasted until 12.30 p.m.  Well worth attending and quite enjoyable.  I was able to catch the last 15 minutes of the Hampshire v. Warwickshire LV County Championship match.  Hampshire have already, unfortunately been relegated to Division 2 but they had made up the deficit and were batting well.  Carberry had made 92 not out at lunchtime.  I stopped off at the Town Quay in Southampton on my way home for a light lunch and took some photographs of the MV Ventura which was in dock at the Ocean Terminal.  This evening I led the second of the House Group studies on Hebrews.  A lively and interesting discussion about keeping the Sabbath.  Went to bed quite late.

Visit to St. Edmund's

I spent most of this morning accompanying Mary on a tour of St. Edmund's Church of England School and Sports College where she may decide to go as her secondary school.  I was very impressed indeed with the school (which is an all girls school) and it exuded friendliness and efficiency with some great resources in ITC, Music, Sciences, Home Economics, Sport and Resligious Studies.  The RS teachers were particularly good.  I have no doubt that Mary would bloom in such an environment.  Her friend Izzy's parent took her back to Winterlsow School and I delivered a letter in the centre of Salisbury before returning home.  I dealt with the mail and emails this afternoon and mowed all three lawns as well as writing up my Night Sky article for the Parish Magazine.  The rubbish/reclycing goes out tonight so I also gathered that together before cooking a king prawn curry for tonight's supper for Sara and myself.  Sara is attending an LPA meeting tonight.  Mary has hurt her leg/groin (probably a ballet injury) and is not  feeling too good.  she has taken herself off to bed early tonight.  Tom is in his room and I think I'll have a lazy night in front of the TV for once followed by an early night.

A visit to the Vatican (on Sea)

I woke up early this morning and realised that I had had less than five hours sleep - more like 4 hours.  I read my devotionals with a mug of tea following which, after a quick shower, Peter and I sent to Blatchington Road to buy some shelving studs for Mary's wardrobe and to have some breakfast a Wheelies.  After breakfast we returned to Peter's where I packed up my car (afterwards finding that I had left my overnight wash bag) and set off back to Wiltshire.  As I passed through Goring-on-Sea I noticed that the Church of the English Martyrs was open and so I pulled in, after having to return via a roundabout, to have a look at the famous on unique (in the world) reproduction of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling.  When I had lived in and practised law in Brighton, I had had a client, Annie Goodman, who had designed the stained glass windows for this modern Roman Catholic Church and had invited me to go and see the painting of the ceiling which, then, was about a third completed.  I had always wanted to go back and see the finished product.  It was well worth the wait.  It is absolutely amazing.  It is two-thirds scaled down from it original Vatican counterpart and the artist, Gary Bevans, has been very careful with the perspective to ensure that the slightly curved roof and walls replicate the Sistine Chapel.  Gary had no formal training as an artist and used a system of painting by blocks.  I saw him actually on scaffolding doing it in the late 1980s.  The result is absolutely awesome.  I had a chat with the custodian and joined a coach party to whom he was giving an explanation.  The church also has a wonderful etched window dedicated to the English Martyrs and a beautiful chapel dedicated to Saints Thomas More and John Fisher.  I lit a candle in that chapel.  I am so pleased that I stopped off.  For a quarter of an hour or so I could have been in the Vatican.  The church is lovely and light and airy.  I arrived back at 3 p.m. having listened to a great play on Radio 4 which depicted the relationship between Churchill and Sutherland when the latter was painting the notorious portrait presented to Churchill by both Houses of Parliament on his eightieth birthday.  This evening I finalised and sent out the summonses and other documents for the Sarum Lodge meeting and dealt with some important letters.  It is nearly midnight as I write this but feel compelled to go on and finish my article for the parish magazine before going to bed.

An evening in Hove

High winds verging on hurricane force were forecast today and it was certainly blowy but nowhere as bad as imagined.  It had rained in the night and the wind had been strong.  Tom went off to school with his arm in a sling but otherwise in good spirits.  After breakfast, I went over to Rosemary's to attend her bible reading fellowship study group which lasted until 12 noon.  Sara went off to Wilton where she thought she was attending a meeting of the breast cancer nurses and giving a speech.  She found the venue deserted and subsequently discovered that the date was next month, not this.  Not her fault as the organiser had inserted the wrong month in the scribbled note given to her.  This afternoon I drove over to Brighton.  The weather was bright and sunny and although still a little windy (the sea looked quite rough).  I stopped off at Rustington for a pot of tea and to do some banking before driving on to Hove.  I had an early supper cooked by Peter (cottage pie) and then we walked the mile or so to Benfield School for a meeting of Civic Lodge's GPC which I chaired as the Master-elect.  It was a long meeting - not ending until 9.30 p.m.  We managed to get a lift to The Stanley Arms from the secretary, Tim, and Peter, Roger and myself spent an hour and a half supping some locally brewed light ale (from Plumpton).  I slept in the conservatory tonight although I didn't actually go to bed until well after 1 a.m.

Remembering 9/11

We have been threaten with a hurricane today coming from the Atlantic and although the weather in the night was wet and windy, nothing much to worry about.  Today sees the 10th Anniversary of the terrible events in the USA on the 11th September 2001.  I hoisted the USA flag this morning which was then lowered to half mast at 1.47 p.m. (US EST 8.47 a.m.) - the time that the first plane struck the World Trade Centre.  Sara took Tom to hospital late this morning and so I was the only one of the family to attend church (All Saints Winterslow).  Cynthia gave the sermon on the topic of, appropriately enough, forgiveness.  The service was reasonably well attended (about 40 or so).  Back home, I wrote up yesterday's blog and then watched some of the ceremony from Ground Zero on TV.  As Sara, Mary and Tom were all out (Mary staying over with her friend Allie) I cooked a late lunch/early dinner - roast chicken with roast potatoes, stuffing (although I forgot the stuffing) carrots, sugar snap peas and runner beans.  Tom and Mary came back around 4 p.m. with Tom having his arm in a sling - he is off PE, football and other sports for 4 weeks so he will not be attending football practice or playing in any matches for a while.  At 5.30 p.m. I picked up Richard from his home and drove over to Whiteparish to support Alan who was taking his first service as a trainee LWL.  Tonight was a simple BCP Evensong and his talk was on the power and need of prayer.  Tom went over to his friend, Doug's to do some homework together and I met up with Sara, Mary and Tom in the Lion's Head for tonight's quiz.  Our team tonight consisted of myself, Tom, Richard and James.  We didn't win tonight - there being a tie for first place between two teams on 81 points each (we got 80!).  Klynn's team won the tie.  We did very well as though we were only second by only one point, there were a quite a few points between us and the team below us.  Never mind.  Next month we can't win either as we are setting the quiz for the Calendar Girls' charity - Stars Appeal Breast Cancer Fund.  Sara and I watched the Oliver Stone film about the World Trade Center collapse and the rescue of two of NYPA police offers trapped in the rubble of the North Tower.  What a terrible day that was.

Football Injury

Another miserable rainy day this morning.  After doing his paper round, I dropped Tom off at Barry's Field for him to play in the Clarendon Juniors fixture against Lee Filters (Clarendon lost 0-4).  I then took a lot of rubbish left over from the builders as well as some domestic refuge to the recycling plant at Amesbury.  I returned to Barry's Field to find that Tom had been injured in the first minute of the game and it looked as though he might have fractured his left arm.  He refused to go to the hospital  and decided to stay at home, keeping his arm still and dosing himself up with paracetamol.  Sara was out with Mary so I left him at home and went into Southampton on my own to attend the Saints v. Nottingham Forest game.  It was a hard game for Saints but they managed a 3-2 win to remain second in the table (Brighton and Middlesbrough both won also).  It was a good and exciting game and the two goals scored by Forest were essentially as a result of poor defending.  At half-time the teams were 2-2 and it was Saint's tighter defence in the second half that won through.  On my way back home I called on John Clough in Chandler's Ford to discuss Sarum Lodge affairs - the Master Elect has decided he does not want to proceed with his installation which is causing me some problems.  I also delivered a Provincial tie to John.  Tonight Mary had a "sleep-over" at her friend Allie's and Tom went to bed quite early leaving Sara and I to enjoy watching the movie "Dave" and eating some rather good cheese which I bought in Chandler's Ford today.

Preparing for Serious Study

Up early again this morning after quite a late night - in fact I didn't get to sleep until well after 1 a.m.  Tom was doing an extra paper round again this morning so Sara got up early to take him to the shop.  After a shower and a bacon butty, I attended Morning Prayer at All Saints with Nils (there were only the two of us today).  When I got back, about half an hour later, Sara asked me to proof read the Sponsorship page for the Calendar.  This I spent about twenty minutes doing before setting off for Salisbury where I used the Park and Ride facilities.  I spent the rest of the morning on errands - banking, shopping and visiting the post office before meeting our friend Anthony for lunch at Anokaa's where we have met before and they do a really good, and value for money, Indian buffet.  Highly recommended if you are ever in Salisbury over lunchtime.  Instead of coffees afterwards, we retired to the Boston Tea Party and chatted over a couple of pots of excellent English tea.  We parted at the corner of Crane Street and I went into The Cathedral Close to visit the bookshop and library at Sarum College.  I spent an hour and a half in the library researching the books I needed for my first module, either borrowing them or ordering them and connected my netbook up to Sarum College's Wi-Fi system.  I visited Staples for some student stationery on my way home this evening.  Tonight I dealt with emails, phone messages and wrote up this blog.  Sara and Tom with Mary's "help" have started to sort out his new room.  Sara has started to put some of the crate from my study into her new study.  I need to go through these and then re-organise my study over the next few weeks.  I'll be so pleased to have a new desk and some more space for serious theological study.  It is quite clear from a quick skim of the books in the College's library that there is some pretty heavy study ahead and some difficult concepts to grasp.  I keep reminding myself that if Sara's brother, Adam, could achieve a high level of study, so can I.  I just need to get back into the psyche of being a student again. 

More Paperwork

Tom was up early this morning to do an extra paper round and Sara was going out walking with Jane; so they were both up and about before 7 a.m.  Any thoughts of a lie in for me were dashed when I was summoned downstairs to retrieve Ginny who had slipped out of the front door.  Mary and I went looking for her and she was soon located in a tree at the front of the house.  She then ran off up towards Saxon Leas but soon came back.  In fact, Ginny has been in and out of the house all day and is now quite used to using the cat flap.  Leo has yet to venture out.  Sophie came round this morning to transact some Calendar business with Sara and they both went out into Salisbury to hand out invitations to the launch party.  Peter arrived shortly after 9 a.m. to complete the work on Mary's wardrobe and to fit the laminated flooring in Sara's study.  I attended a meeting at the Rectory with Nils to draft my Training Contract for LLM.  This sets out what is expected of me during the first year of training from my incumbent. It's amazing just how much paperwork is now involved. This afternoon I dealt with some Complex work before preparing for our House Group.  This was well attended this week with seven of us present (Sara joined us later to make it 8 as she had taken Tom to football practice in Alderbury).  We continued our study of Hebrews.  I worked quite late into the night afterwards to check through a list of documents for a client.

Up a tree without a paddle?

Although I didn't venture out of the village today, nor used my car, I seemed to have had a full and exhausting day.  I woke early - a habit I am now trying to get into - and walked the mile to All Saints Church to attend Morning Prayer with our Rector and Curate.  A lovely tranquil time of the day for reflection and prayer - and how I needed it today!  I called in at the village shop on my return home to pick up my morning newspaper and buy some bread rolls for breakfast.  Sara and I had a cooked breakfast together and it seemed nice and quiet with the kids both back at school.  However,  I spent nearly all day in the study working through some Complex work and dealing with some Masonic issues as well as answering the phone which never seems to stop ringing these days.  I also had quite a list of other smaller yet niggling things to deal with which meant that quite a few emails needed to be written. Sara and I let Ginny out today for a wander around the garden which she enjoyed.  However, at one point she shot vertically up a tree and then had great difficulty in descending.  She became quite agitated and I was on my way to get a ladder when she dropped herself onto the fence between gardens and dropped onto the neighbour's side.  I eventually got her back after going round to the neighbour and lifting her back on to the fence.  She then high-tailed it back into our house.  Phew!  This afternoon Sara went off to visit one of our friends in hospital and was away all afternoon.  In the meantime I had more phone calls -especially in connection with the will I am trying to sort out and a crisis at my Salisbury lodge where the proposed master-elect no longer wants to go through the chair.  This has left me with a constitutional crisis - literally - and as secretary in falls upon me, with help from the Province, to try and resolve the issue.  That necessitated several phone calls too.   Sara is also having some crises of her own over the Calendar!   Tonight I really wished that I had retired to grow runner beans and watch Countdown instead of lead the incredibly busy life which we both do.  I did manage half and hour of reading my novel at teatime before the phone burst into life again.  Hang the diet, a cold beer from the fridge beckons!

Stonehenge Chapter

Terrible wind and rain for most of the day today.  I took down the Sussex flag this morning as judging by the sound of its flapping it would only be a matter of time before it ripped in the wind.  Sara was out again all morning attending a Ladies that Latte meeting followed by a meeting with the Calendar's designer Alex.  The builders arrived this morning too to finish off the work in Sara's study and deal with some other snagging and small bit and pieces.  I spent most of the day working in the study.  Mary had a couple of friends over this afternoon one of whom managed to get paint on her cardigan from Sara's study door - despite warnings.  Tonight I attended a meeting of Stonehenge Chapter.  Expecting to have a quiet night sitting watching the ceremony of exaltation, I was press-ganged into taking the role of Second Assistant Sojourner.  At least it wasn't too onerous and did not require me to say anything - just look wise!  A good meal afterwards - steak pie, ice cream and peaches and cheese and biscuits.  This evening the weather was kinder and although still a little windy it was relatively dry.

A Rosy evening in Brighton

I didn't get up too early this morning as I knew that I would be having a late night in Brighton today.  I dealt with some correspondence this morning and Sara went into Salisbury - so I saw very little of her.  Early this afternoon I drove over to Brighton stopping off at Peter's to drop in the shelves from Mary's wardrobe which need re-sizing.  Peter was not there but I did see his mother-in-law briefly who thought that I was Peter.  After this call I drove into the centre of Brighton and parked my car in the North Road NCP.  Tonight I was attending my second meeting of Rose Croix, the Christian Masonic Degree, to watch an enthronement and perfection.  The meeting was well attended with over 40 dining.  This was an opportunity to watch the ceremony in which I had been perfected in January.  The Inspector General for Sussex was present as were quite a few senior members of the Order.  I was presented with my Supreme Grand Council Certificate as part of tonight's ceremony.  Dinner tonight consisted of egg mayonnaise, grilled fresh salmon with seasonal vegetables and creme caramel.  My dining companion this evening was a former Methodist Superintendent currently living in Chichester who regularly visits friends in Alderbury.  What a small world it is!  The meeting and dinner were quite long tonight and I didn't leave Brighton until around 10 p.m. getting back to Winterslow just before midnight.  As I approached Wiltshire it started raining heavily.  Forecasts for tomorrow are very heavy rain.  Typical with the One Day International being staged at the Rose Bowl!

All Creatures Great and Small

I woke this morning to find it raining again.  Tom did his paper round first thing.  Sara had intended to walk to church and back but decided to drive instead.  She went to All Saints on her own this morning whilst Mary and I decided to drive "over the hill" to Whiteparish to attend a special pets' service at Brympton Riding School being conducted by Nils with Andrew in attendance.  Mary brought along Haley the Hamster to be blessed.  There were several dogs and horses present too - Haley being by far the smallest pet there.  The heavens opened as Nils stood out in the open to give his address and he was consequently soaked to the skin.  He carried on regardless without the use of an umbrella apparently enjoying the freshness of the rain.  The retiring collectino was for the Dogs Trust.  After the service we drove back to All Saints to join Sara for coffee at the back of the church (their service being much longer).  This afternoon I cut the grass on the bank after a light lunch of home-made spiced butternut squash soup.  This evening Richard and I went back "over the hill" to Whiteparish to attend the BCP Evensong at the church there.  This was being conducted by Zoe, a member of my own support group, as the first LWL practical training slot.  She did exceptionally well in leading the service and giving a talk in the form of a reading about the life of Socrates.  I think this also gave confidence to Richard to lead a BCP service.  We had old school-type hymns such as "He who would true valiant be" and I enjoyed the nostalgia of a 1960s church service like the ones I had attended at Old Clee.  It was also good to see so many for an Evensong.  After returning home and phoning Mum, Richard and I met up again in the Lion's Head for a pint or two.  I am very busy the rest of the week and he is off to Cornwall again so this will be the only opportunity to meet up this week.

A Fulfilling Day

After an early breakfast I started the day with Morning Prayer at All Saints with the Team Rector and Curate.  It is always a tranquil way to start off and following the half-hour service I drove into Salisbury to attend my LLM Training/Foundation Degree Induction Day at Sarum College.  I arrived early and had coffee with some ordinands who were also attending college today to take part in some child/vulnerable persons protective training.  We started promptly at 10 a.m. with introductions to each other and the course leaders followed by a session on surviving the heavy study and balancing study/life.  A good session led by an LLM in training.   We visited the library and shown the college's resources and were all registered as library users.  After an excellent lunch in the refectory, we walked the mile or so to South Wilts Grammar School for a session on using the online facilities available through Moodle and other resources. After walking back gain the day ended with some general discussions over tea.  It appears that six of us got through the Selection Conference in June as two did not appear today.  Those of us on the course swapped email addresses and other details.  We are from all over the Diocese - from north to south and east to west.  Only I, and one other, are local to the Salisbury area and will have the least travel to our tutorials.  After this long day at college I drove back through the Grimsteads and stopped off at Karryn's where Sara and Mary were having a "South African Afternoon/Evening with a typical South African "braai".  All the families attending, except the Barratts, were South African (i.e. at least one partner came from South Africa).  Quite a bit of Afrikaans was being spoken which sounded strange.  As we sat there sipping wine in the evening twilight we could have imagined we were in the Transvaal.  Tonight we were treated to the most wonderful sunset (see picture).  I stayed on until about 9 p.m. getting home shortly after Sara and Mary.  A very full and fulfilling day today.

A Day of Mediation (Home and Away)

Another early start today as I was on the 8.47 a.m. train to Exeter for a meeting at solicitors' offices to mediate on a will dispute.  I arrived early to ensure a car parking space and bought a newspaper which I read whilst drinking a coffee and eating a bacon roll at the station buffet.  My train arrived on time from London and kept perfect time all the way to Exeter Central where I disembarked and walked up to the High Street.  There I visited a couple of banks before arriving at the offices at 11.20 a.m.  My client arrived at 12 noon and we spent an hour and a half going through the papers before we nipped out for a light lunch at a small cafe I know near to the Employment Tribunals.  The other parties arrived late at nearly 3 p.m. and we thrashed through the papers for about an hour and a half until, eventually, we appeared to reach a suggested compromise which we are still working on.  Hopefully the dispute will be resolved soon.  I was back on the 5.30 p.m. train back to Salisbury getting back home at 7.45 p.m.  Tonight I dealt with some end of month accounts and wrote this blog whilst, occasionally, separating the warring cats.  They seem to be getting better towards each other but the odd issue arises which sparks them off again.  It seems that my mediation skills are be stretched today.  An early night, hopefully, as tomorrow is my Foundation Degree Induction Day at Sarum College after early Morning Prayer at All Saints.  Much to pray about!

Ginny's Escape

A bit of a lie in this morning and then down to the study for 9 a.m. dealing with paperwork which couldn't be done yesterday because of being out all day.  Richard called round for morning coffee at 10 a.m. to discuss some paperwork connected with Jonathan's flat in Bradford.  We also discussed the Team Council Meting agenda tonight.  This afternoon I went into Salisbury to complete some banking and to buy a ticket for my train journey to Exeter tomorrow where I have been asked to assist in mediating between siblings regarding a will.  I will be leaving on an early train and have set aside all of tomorrow for the trip and meeting. On my return from Salisbury I mowed the inside lawns.   Tonight we had a fright.  Sara took Tom to football practice at Alderbury and I stayed behind to have a shower after my gardening and to prepare for tonight's house group. Whilst I was vacuuming, Ginny escapes outside through my study window which I had forgotten to close following a warm day today.  She disappeared for about half an hour.  I left the window open as this was the only route which she would know to get back inside.  Paul arrived about 7.50 p.m. for house group and he helped me search for her.  After about twenty minutes she appeared from the next door neighbour's garden and jumped back inside through the open study window.  At least she wanted to come back despite being ambushed again and again by Leo. There were only four of us at House Group tonight - two of our number being at Team Council and another combine harvesting.  Writing this up feeling quite tired so please excuse any typos or grammatical mistakes.