Mystery and Mysticism

An incredibly busy day today - and a very long one too.  Most of today was spent at Sarum College on the first of this academic year's Ministry's formation days. The day started with morning worship in the chapel followed by four session on Anglicanism.  We studied the 39 Articles of Faith, the Canons of the Church of England, something of the history of the church and its diversity.  The basic study was essentially to understand the origins and structure of the church in which we will be ministering.  As prospective ministers we need to have a clear understanding of what it is to be an Anglican.  On the way home I listened to the final minutes of Southampton's match against QPR.  A brilliant win for Saints - 1-3!  Although it doesn't lift Southampton out of the relegation zone it lifts them off the bottom and gives them a fighting chance of getting out of the bottom zone before Christmas. tonight, Grimsby town are on top of the Conference League.  If they can stay on top it will be a miracle but miracles do happen!  I think their only way of ensuring promotion back to league football is for them to have the top spot at the end of the season.  The two Welsh teams, Wrexham and Newport County, look strong too.  This evening Sara and I hosted another murder mystery party; but this time not in our own home but at James and Sam's.  With James having his broken leg we decanted all the food, drinks and crockery to their house.  Andrew, the curate, and his wife Sarah joined us for a really fun evening.  It was strange to see a man of the cloth dressed in a turban!  The greatest fun was when one was unsure as to whether the person one was speaking to was in or out of character.  A really fun evening - and another late one! 

Calendar Girls Celebration Party

Today was quite a milestone as it formally marked the end of the Winterslow Calendar Girls' two years of work.  It is two years ago since the whole concept of the calendar began with a trip to the Mayflower Theatre and it also heralded the last page of the Calendar before the Christmas finale.  All those involved, girls, sponsors, photographers etc. were invited to a buffet supper at Linda M's tonight.  Around thirteen or fourteen turned up for a most enjoyable night of great food, drink (including champagne) and great companies and storytelling.  I was a bit sceptical about going at first as I didn't think I would enjoy it - with so many women - but it was good fun and Sara and I were the last to leave I think.  The Calendar has done more than just raise £17,000 for the hospital, (although that is a wonderful achievement in itself) - it has brought together so many people in the village who didn't really know each other and has been such a major talking point throughout the community.  It was a wonderful thing to be involved in this.  Now everybody is asking what the next project is going to be!    There is an assumption that it will be a male calendar.  Well maybe, but not next year.  too many other things going on in my life next year.   

More Reflections

This morning was taken up with my monthly meeting with Nils as part of my ministry training.  We discussed spiritual growth and reflection and reflected on my own journey since since this course - some really good points came out of the talk.  This afternoon I attended a meeting with my university portfolio mentor at Great Wishford which put my mind at rest on a number of issues relating to my progress and marks.  all satisfactory but I must work on completing the two "long thin modules".  Tonight we hosted the house Group where we undertook a couple of scripture sharing exercises which I learnt on my "Living the Christian Life" module.  This again went down well with the Group members.  Paul, a member of our group (not the apostle!) suggested that we should study the Book of Job for next term.  I will have to see whether any course material is available for this book.

Freemasonry and Freedom

I attended Mid-Week Eucharist at Whaddon this morning which was taken by Andrew. Stanley Trickett, who had written the book "From Freemasonry to Freedom" also attended but I didn't have the opportunity to speak to him about his book - something which I must do when I next see him as there are quite a few points upon which I would like to take issue. I spent this afternoon at Sarum College and managed to complete 1,100 words of my essay on The Peace.  I hope to get it finished by the end of the week.  Ironically, this evening was spent down at Freemasons' Hall in Salisbury interviewing a prospective new member for the lodge who seemed to be quite satisfactory. 

Pub Theology Again

Another quiet day at home today.  This morning I completed the insurance claim forms for our stolen money and BlackBerry.  I spent the afternoon reading the Canons of the Church of England and the 39 Articles of Faith as a prerequisite to beginning my next module - "Being a Licensed Lay Minister" - apparently we are going to have a quiz on canonical law on Saturday.  They certainly make interesting reading and food for reflection.  Tonight we held our second Pub Theology session. There were only four of us this evening primarily because those others who wanted to come had previous engagements.  We expect this to be slow in starting and are not at all discouraged. The conversation and topics were interesting - especially our discussion on the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury and our hopes and aspirations for the new one, Justin Welby.  Roger provided lasagne and chips for our supper this evening. 

Down Memory Lane - Pork Butchers is King's Lynn

A cold and wet morning started today.  Difficult to get up and I felt it would be lovely just to stay all day in a warm bed.  How I hate these cold, damp and dark mornings.  They really do make you feel like staying at home.  In fact I did, for most of the day - stay at home that is (not in bed).  Sara visited James and Sam this morning whilst I hunted for the currency conversion papers for the insurance claim.  In so doing I cleared away a lot of redundant paper from my study.  It wasn't until Sara returned at lunchtime that I remembered that the paperwork was in Sara's car which she had taken with her!  We made an appointment this morning to see Mary's Head Teacher as the School has refused permission for her to come to Spring Harvest next year.  We shall be appealing this - especially as St. Edmund's is a Church of England School!  I also visited James this afternoon and took a box full of DVDs which we can spare on loan.  We chatted for about an hour and Sam and I reminisced about pork butchers in King's Lynn.  Eventually I had to phone Mum in Grimsby to remember the name of the popular pork butcher's shop where we bought haslet. it was Fredrick Dale's of 31 Purfleet Street.   Sam couldn't remember it and I believe it might very well have closed and been pulled down before she was born or at least when she was still a small girl.  Her family favoured Van Pelt's in Norfolk Street.  Tonight the children played Monopoly and I worked in the study.  No television today which is good.   Today has simply slipped away so quickly and I feel so behind in everything.  Each evening I have the good intention of getting up early and working for a couple of hours before breakfast.  Maybe I'll try that tomorrow! 

Remembrance Sunday

A bright but cold day today.  I decided to attend the Remembrance Day service at West Dean this morning instead of Winterslow.  The service was conducted by the churchwarden, Alan, who as an ex-Naval officer led the service with great dignity and gravitas. We stood for the two minute silence around the war memorial in the Churchyard where I discovered that two of the names remembered from the village both died on HMS Hood when that ship exploded in its battle against  Bismarck.  Quite a story.  We departed quietly with no refreshments afterwards.  I called on Sophie briefly and had a coffee with her.  This afternoon I went into Andover for some shopping from Tesco and also to deposit all the padding and protective covering from our new sofa bed at the recycling station.  With James incapacitated with his leg and wrist in plaster, Thom took his place in the "Last of the Summer Wine" pub quiz team at the Lion's Head.  For the first time in a year, we failed to win - coming a poor second it has to be confessed.  Mick Gong had set the questions which were heavily biased towards a good knowledge of popular music and groups - boy bands, girl bands etc.  We were lucky to come second.  James might have added a few extra points - especially with the anagrams - but I still we would not have won.