Bishop Tim

There is a meeting this afternoon with the new Bishop. It is for women to voice their views and get his views on various aspects of the church. I am going but I am also hoping that the militant ones in our midst don't feel the need to go into verbal battle. I have never been a convincing feminist even in the old days of bra burning! I had a very militant colleague when I was teaching who used to embarrass me frequently by jumping on every passing band wagon. I was very pleased when women were allowed into the church at last but this is a battle we have now won. When suffecient women have acquired the experience required I am sure that female bishops will be appointed.....so we have won...mostly by just getting on with the job. Many of the people here who hated the idea of women priests have come round now they have seen us in action. I have only one man left who will not take communion from me. So we have won the battle, no need to get on our soap boxes which is what happened last time we all met. In my youth I could never have believed that I would in old age be the voice of reason...but thats the way it is! Its a weird world!

Techno!

We do really only appreciate all our gizmos when they stop working for some reason. My first job this morning was to get David back on the internet after a day of not getting any emails. Sorted. Then I tried to do my usual Tesco shop on line. This is an absolute must on busy weeks so I was not pleased to keep getting an error message on the final bit. That one took a phone call to Tesco to sort out and they did have the grace to admit it was their website at fault so thats done now too but I did contemplate changing to Sainsburies half way through! I hope nothing else in my armour of tech miracles goes wrong before now and the weekend!

Busy time

After a busy weekend I now have a very busy week. We had an old friend visiting today and it was great to see her walking without pain! Last time she came it was very bad for her but the miracle of surgery has helped a lot. An ex PE teacher she broke her back in an accident at school and now walks with a calipor plus a waking stick .

I have a choir practise tonight. It's not much fun but I missed the last two so I do have to go. We are singing the Evensong at Pentecost which is only two weeks away!.Its only the start of the week and its already pressured!

Weddings

We are now deep into wedding territory. Ken has two today! I start next week with my first wedding for this year, followed by a Christening on Sunday. One of my brides from last year is bringing her baby back to church for the baptism which is always lovely! As its the first Spring Bank holiday everyone is arriving at the same time! I have ashes to bury on the Monday, a governors meeting earlier in the week and more meetings that I will do my best to avoid! The trip to Singapore looks a long time ago now!

Windy weather

As always when there's blossom on the trees its now quite windy! I did the midweek service in St Mawes this morning and the whole place is very busy indeed. The big caravan site is open and everyone has arrived to take advantage of the glorious weather. Getting along the road by the harbour took around 15 minutes , we needed the traffic warden! Robin arrives shortly, his first trip down here since his third transplant last year!

Summer almost

The good weather continues and we are looking very bonny. My stepson Robin is down here this week after a very bad year last year. I am busy right now but the fact that after his third kidney transplant he is still able to get down here is quite remarkable. He is staying in portscatho but we shall see each other soon.

Glorious Sunday

The sun is still shining despite the smoke plume that's stopped air traffic. We have flowers now on many of the fruit trees so we have watching the weather after last year when the wind blew it all again.
The all age service was a great success despite the lack of children who were all on the water, their sails visible from the church windows. All the ancients read the pieces with great vigour and drama!

Roofs

I am not in the best mood this morning to take two services in church with or without children. Yesterday I found that my house in Portscatho had had a leak....its only a little leak and only when the winds blowing! That was what my son who is still up in the north told me! I rang up to find out what was happening and my daughter in law was a bit vague and said she'd tried to get it fixed but the builder had let her down. Hmmm Time to go and have a look! I was met by a scene of chaos! Water marks were on precious furniture. There was a crack in the ceiling and tiles in the sitting room had been displaced. The whole house had been invaded by teddy bears! David counted around 40! I was too shocked to count! Off I went to talk to my friend the builder! The bottom line here was that she had told him not to go ahead with it if it was too expensive! I set off and in ten minutes had got hold of the appropriate people. A ladder was put up and there is a hole in the roof! I will of course pay for the whole thing including anything that needs to be done in the loft.....but I am now feeling as though I have given someone a present which they have then trashed. Not a good place to be in on Sunday morning!

Glorious days

A whole week of truly glorious weather has been great! The garden is looking wonderful and I have ordered more stuff to come from the Duchy nursery. Not only are their plants very good indeed but the packaging is easy to dismantle and get rid of...unlike some packing I could mention. Breaking into containers is a problem now my fingers are not as strong as they were. I sometimes attack the packages with knives and scissors and screams rend the air! Even jam jars and those plastic containers with impossible lids defeat me and then I have to get help from the strong one! I have been out to do the watering tonight. A summer treat with a glass of Pimms as I go...Heaven here on earth.

Politics again

The news yesterday was that my friend will have to face the courts over his financial misdoings. Ironically he and two others have got legal aid! This is so obviously not right that the papers went to town on it but the bottom line was that if found guilty he could face up seven years in prison.
This was not the end to his career that any of us could see. It is just as well that his mother died before knowing of it. Another thing to bear in mind is that he always had two houses one in lancashire and another in France. His mother left him her house and he also had another one in London. He is not hard up! How on earth can he qualify for legal aid.

Ancient. Not modern.

Study

In my study I have what is possibly the ugliest sofa in the world. It is bottle green as is the carpet and is huge! I tried to get rid of it when we moved but very sensibly no one would take it. The problem is that it is very comfortable. All my old people and wedding couples sink into it with joy. Often they can't get out! It is big enough to provide a bed for casual visitors and I have recently stopped trying to get some one to take it away. So I am having it recovered! With a light new cover it will at least be liveable with. The new cover maker is an old friend and she's coming tomorrow. The problem is that my very ancient dog loves it. He sleeps on it for much of the day and night. Do they do covers in golden retreiver colours?


-- Post From My iPhone

Sunday

I have done the half past nine service in St Mawes with a lovely congregation, the weather is glorious, the sun warm, the blossom just peeping out and now I
am cooking a duck before going off to do evensong at 4 o clock! Alleluia!

Friday morning

I love Fridays like this. I have my cleaner coming which would be good if she had time to clean. I have my gardener coming which would be great if he gardened. I have my cleaner's partner coming to talk about important matters! Add to that mix Tesco direct will also appear with half a ton of shopping.... and I have two sermons to write! But the sun is shining! The blossom is appearing and David will disappear into the summer house to get out of the way of everyone else. So it's not all bad!

Suns up!

At last we have sun! The sudden transformation of the world outside from bare to lush is taking place even as I write! The fruit trees are showing their first tentative flower buds! Just please Lord don't let them knocked off this year! We had a lovely day in Modbury yesterday visiting David's son Tim and his wife and daughter. They have started a very upmarket shop with all sorts of goodies in it. Above the shop is a cafe/bistro where we had a great lunch and above that they have recently opened a good as new shop with some very good makes and a sofa for bored husbands to read the days paper on ! In there I found the perfect Henley hat! Navy blue silk with a huge brim and large flower. That makes two Henley hats I now possess! All we need now is the weather to stay good.

Election

We are now in a run up to an election and for the first time ever I have no idea who to vote for. Nor do I really care! I was shocked yesterday to find that one of my friends who was elected to parliament in 97 has been not only cheating the system but has involved his family in the deceptions! His mother I found had died last year without anyone telling me and I can only be glad that she hasn't witnessed his fairly spectacular fall from grace. He has been suspended for over a year and is not standing again. I think he may even have to face the courts. What on earth are we coming too? None of the parties have anything to offer which I can respect any more. I have always followed the debates in the run up to an election but this year I am too disillusioned to want to do that even! If people like my friend can start off with wonderful ideas for how to better society and to bring fairness to all people and then can end up lining his own pockets then who can be trusted Elections Bah!

Easter

Easter was for me full of joy. All our services were lovely and I did the 8am at St Just on Easter morning. It was amazing. Around 50 people were there including 6 children and about ten young men who had walked around the headland. They were all full of the spirit apart from the usual grouser who informed me of a sin of omission! I had not moved the stone from the tomb! I was leaving that for Ken for the next service but he walked up and took the stone away! I hope the church warden put it back for the next service!

Weddings

In the last month there has been a steady procession of couples wanting to get married. The latest couple arrived this morning and we have now sorted out all the legalities and who does what. It's a part of this job which is most enjoyable and I hope to be able to it for a while yet. This mornings couple have parents from here so we are able to it legally using the new rules They are both lawers and were amazed to find that an Anglican priest is also a registrar. I reassured them that it would be legal and would last a life time. With any luck.


-- Post From My iPhone

Microphones

Last Sunday at St Mawes I put on my microphone as always and remembered to switch it on...which does not always happen. Came home and forgot all about it. My husband who is the churchwarden came home from setting up the church last night to ask if I'd got the mike in my pocket as it was no where to be found in church. There it was in my alb pocket so I handed it over meekly. Later he asked if I'd taken out the battery at some stage. I hadn't. So he put it in....but the fact is that I'd done last weeks service without a mike and no one noticed or complained!

Maunday Thursday

The sun did come out briefly this morning and we are back to horendous storms this afternoon. I am preaching tonight at the service where we strip the altar. I am not sure about washing feet. Wearing tights is not the best thing if you have to produce a bare foot! Tomorrow we put the cross up in the harbour as usual. I do hope it's dry for the ceromony.