Ferreting around in Liverpool

A nice relaxing day again in Liverpool. Woke at around 8.30 a.m. and Malcolm cooked kippers washed down with a mug of tea. The sun was shining brightly, although it was still chilly, and we walked up Lark Lane and Linnet Lane to Christ Church at Toxteth Park. There were about 25 attending the service which was conducted by the vicar, Rev. David Parry. It was a nice informal All Age Service with an illustrated sermon from David which had a very amusing incident. He had brought a rucksack of props for the service - a calculator, bottle of cooking oil, a towel all to illustrate the story of Jacob's Dream. He ask one of the women in the congregation to put her hand in the rucksack and pull out an item - his exact words were "put your hand in there and have a ferret" (meaning a rummage around). She let out an enormous scream thinking he had said "put your hand in there I have a ferret!" It created quite a lot of mirth. I stopped for coffee with Malcolm and had a pleasant chat to David, Chris (the lay reader and another solicitor) and to one or two others I know - and some I didn't. Malcolm and I went for a walk in Sefton and Prince's Park it being such a lovely sunny day and I took quite a lot of photographs of the park and its monuments including the "crystal palace" in the centre of Sefton Park. We had lunch at the Chinese restaurant in Lark Lane where they put on an "all you can eat buffet" for £8 per head. I left Liverpool at just before 4 p.m. and was back in Winterslow for 8.30 p.m. - the traffic having been fine apart from around Walsall again. I had a lovely bath and we went to bed early tonight. Another busy day beckons tomorrow.

My Birthday - Back to Church Sunday

My 56th birthday today. Woke up late this morning on Malcolm's couch in Liverpool. I knew that we were not due in church until 10.30 a.m. so I slept in a little. Eventually, at 9.00 a.m. got up, made tea and showered. We drove to Linnet Lane for the Back to Church Sunday service at Christ Church. This was a morning worship service with the Vicar, David Parry and Reader, Chris Topping, conducting the service without their robes and cassocks. It was an excellent service with good songs/hymns. quite informal and a truly excellent talk (sermon) from Chris. He has a great ability to engage the younger members of the congregation and I asked him to send a copy of his talk to me via email as I think we can use it at either a House Group or Rockface. After the service Tom and I drove over to the Mersey Retail Park at Speke to get him a new pair of football boots, shorts and rain jacket. That completed, we returned to Christ Church to join a farewell buffet lunch for Alistair, the curate, who is leaving to take up his own parish at Croxteth Park, Liverpool. He reminds me of a young Nils. We sent off back to Wiltshire at 2.00 p.m. and arrived back in record time at 5.35 p.m. - 3 hours 35 minutes from Liverpool to Winterslow and no speed breaking either. We were lucky to have a clear run all the way. I got some lovely birthday presents when I got back - an 1880 silver pickle fork from Sara, some war film videos from Klynn, a book on the Knights Templar from the Russells, and books on David Cameron, laying Better Golf and King Edward VIII from Sara and the children. Sara cooked a chilli con carne for supper and we watched a programme on the moon landings (fact of fiction) on one of our new Sky Channels. Sara is still unwell so it looks like a fifth night sleeping on a couch or temporary bed as her coughing is bound to keep me awake.