Nursery

I finally went to get some bedding plants this morning. I should have remembered that it was a Bank holiday. The young girl was on her own and people were coming from every angle. She tried to get help by ringing the owner. "we've just lost a sale." was her opening gambit. I blocked the shop with a trolley full of geraniums,busy lizzies etc. People just pushed past me as she struggled to cope with the adding up. Help finally arrived in the shape of the owner's mother who, seeing the problem took herself off for a good natter outside. The girl finally worked out what I owed them and then a new problem came with the machine. Cash finally changed hands. A chorus of "good morning vicar" sent me on my way. It took all morning!



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iPad

Having had a couple of days to play with this extraordinary new toy I realise it's main delight is the clarity of the pictures. My photos look wonderful in large bright colours and then there are the films and videos. I found one or two not previously seen and although the download time is long you can use the rest of the aps whilst you are doing it..they do not cost the average price of a seat at the cinema! The key board is also wonderful. I can see it without my specs and my fat fingers hit the right letters with no trouble at all. I apologize to all my friends who didn't know I was now a nerd but it really is going to be useful! In previous years I have sat in the back of the car scribbling on bits of paper to write my sermons ,then on the tiny iPhone. This thing has a word processor which is as good as the one on my computer..in fact its the same one. The screen has also been developed to be used outside easily. Since I got it though the sun has been firmly in so theres been no chance to test it. I'll let you know.


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Busy morning

It was manic for a while this morning. Everyone came at once. The cleaner, the loose cover maker, Tesco Direct, the organist, the treasurer. the phone rang a lot too and David went to sit in the summer house for some peace and quiet! It must be the start of a bank holiday!


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iPad

My new toy arrived this afternoon. It is wonderful. A large iPod touch. All the games are huge and the keypad is so large I can see it without my specs! It's very light and very neat. Also easy to set up and use. The worst problem was remembering my various passwords.


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Dunkirk

Today and for the rest of the weekend my husband is scanning the airwaves for news of the return to Dunkirk. It is the first time he has not taken part in it. His boat Wanda was one of the original little ships to take the soldiers from the beach.
He was the commodore of the Little ships society for years and organised the return over the busiest shipping lane in the world. This year he is at home as are many of the men who have taken part in tribute to the courage of the men who risked their lives. Pray that the weather remains steady. Some of those little ships are a long way past their best. As are their owners!


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Small wedding

We had the bare minum at today's wedding. The bride and groom had lived together for over twenty years. They wanted a quiet wedding with no fuss. And they got it. I took the service. My husband gave the bride away. Another sweet man was the best man. And that was it! Our verger stayed the back of the church and several visitors arrived and stayed to watch. It was very low key but full of laughter and joy. Just as they wanted it !

Also strange

I got a cheque today from the Sharples club! Now this is seriously weird. It's an investment club named for my first husband David. I of course was in it and still am a sleeping member. I joke about this in my role as priest of this parish. It's God meeting Mamon! So this morning I got a cheque for the sale of some stock in china! The club decided it was unwise to rein vest right now so we have all had a share out! It's been a strange day all round. It will pay for my new toy though. An ipad. Coming tomorrow!


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Strange

Weird stuff this blogging. It appears that people I don't know read it. I suppose that is the rough idea. But it's still strange I was careful who I gave the blog address to to start with. Now I get stuff from outer space almost. The far reaches of the ether have included me as a resource on their sites. We live in a rapidly changing world!


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Good news or bad news

On the way home last night we had a small accident. On a very tight lane David gingerly edged past a car which stopped just after a passing place. The driver should have gone back but she was standing her ground. As we thought we were clear there was a grinding sound. David jumped out and so did the woman shouting and screaming at him. He was wonderful. Get it fixed and send me the bill he said. She was still very angry and he gave her his address and phone number. We came home and thought no more about it.
Very early this morning the phone rang. It was she. And it was obvious that she had been wound up. The man who saw the whole thing took a photo and said he thought you'd been drinking she said. David said in perfect truth that he'd been in church. That took the wind out of her sails. I called her back. The penny dropped slowly and only when I said I had lived quite close to her did she realise who I was. At that point the conversation took on a different tone. I reassured her that he had certainly not been drinking. Not even communion wine.
She told us where she was taking her car and it was where we are known. David drove our car down and told them to send her bill to him.
The good news in case you were wondering was how fast she changed her position when she realised we were not tourists. The bad news is that my darling husband will pay for both cars to be repaired. I am proud of him and his innate good manners. A lesson. Albeit an expensive one to us all.


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Latest wedding

Thank goodness for some hot sun for the bride today. The church was packed and I sat outside waiting for her to walk from the lych gate. The bells rang out and several young people greeted me enthusiastically. In at least one case I remembered that I had married the young man three years ago! It was a proper St mawes wedding with masses of the locals appearing looking very smart. The bride arrived in an open Bentley driven by one of the village men equipped in his morning suit for the occasion. Even the tide was in! Perfect!

He made it! Having failed for two days crispin finally got onto the sofa.

Sofa 2

Having made the sofa dog proof to some degree it now appears that crispin can't get up there anymore. He tried several times today and then looked at me for help! This is a route I've travelled before with the last golden. I bought him steps to get him up in to the car! I am not planning to do the same for crispin. Here


is a pic of the renovated sofa without the dog on it!

Sofa

My old sofa had a complete make over this morning. It had once been bottle green which on a bottle green carpet did not look good. I have lived with it since David and I got together almost five years ago now. It sits in my office and is very comfortable indeed. It has held many grieving widows and hopeful young brides. Men don't trust it and often prefer a hard back. It had faded badly in the hot sun here so I have now had it recovered in a lighter fabric of leaves and flowers. It is beautful! Crispin sleeps on it so his lovey blanket is in place but it can now enjoy a new lease of life. According to a friend who happened to be here this morning David's first wife Nettie also hated it so I hope she approves of it now.


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Wedding two

It all went well until I asked the couple to stand before me. The actuall marriage was about to take place. Instead the father of the bride asked for an intermission. Slightly anxious I asked why. The brides father had sent her brother home for the bouquet. I started a whole new career as a stand up comedian!


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Wedding

We have another wedding tomorrow. A lovely couple with guests from all over the world. There are two bridesmaids and two pages. The boys are Greek with long black hair. Their mother is trying to explain me to them. There is no word for a female priest in Greek so every time I speak to them they fling up their arms to cover their faces and shriek. It's going to be an interesting day tomorrow.


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Funeral part two

A sudden rain storm completely drenched us all on the way to the church. Including the coffin with all its flowers! The verger had gone home to get his black shoes and failed to get back in time so I had rung my dear husband to hep us out and he got wet too! The sound cupboard had jammed so Glen Miller gave way to Handel's largo played on the organ! We did go out to "In the mood" so all was not completely lost! Then yesterday the whole country changed hands as we went into a coilition government! I am feeling fairly optimistic about this having seen the two leaders in action in the garden! Providing they both retain a sense of humour they seem to get on well enough!

Today is Ascension Day! Halleluia! We got the day off school for this in my younger days. Now I am just going off to church where no doubt there will be the usual suspects! Its love that makes the world go round mostly.

Beauty

I did the eight o'clock this morning at St Just. It is always a pleasure but this morning a particular one. Great banks of bluebells were in full flower as I parked my car. Bright azaleas stretched right down the bank by the turning circle. It has only been planted up for three years but now it looks a picture. The tide was out but ducklings were in the pond where the ducks have nested for the last few years. It was simply glorious. To appreciate beauty is I think the first step to becoming a spiritual being, and down there this morning the presence of God was tangible.

Election Day

We are going to vote after church today! I'd feel a lot better about it if I thought any of the parties were worth voting for! David and I will cancel each other out, both voting for a different party..but I got used to that being married to the first David. We were never able to sit in the same room to watch the election results or we would fall out! We are intending to stay up to watch the results come in but how long we can stay awake remains to be seen! The next few years are clearly going to be very difficult ones...so its worth a prayer or two!

Mushroom

Garden Centre

The sun invited me out this morning to go to the local nursery! I thought I was going to get some bedding plants but I was told that it was too early! In Cornwall, in May? Very weird! So I got a couple of plants to replace dead ones and some tree stakes which will make my gardener very happy and then I looked at the mushrooms! They are made of concrete I think but one is out there now looking ok. I recently put up some wind chimes and moved the sun dial so my husband is now getting a bit worried about what might turn up next! Any suggestions?

Singing

Singing in a choir is a wonderfully uplifting experience. It is not relaxing though! The newly formed Roseland choir has a very ambitious program. If we get it all right it will be a miracle. The choir master is an old friend who spent hours teaching me to read music years ago so we are now reaping the rewards from that. When I first started here there was a shortage of altos so I sang alto. Last year our only soprano had a very dangerous wobble so I sang soprano. Everyone else is confused. Moving from one to another is not allowed apparently. However needs must so there in the same choir is a baritone who now sings tenor so I am not alone. There is also a female tenor who used to song alto!
Between us we are making a very good sound so being adaptable clearly works.

Sunday

We had a large congregation for the Christening this morning. Quite a lot of children arrived plus two dogs. I said they could stay without seeing them. They were Rhodesian ridgebacks! They were well behaved and were clearly used to going to church and actually so were the children. So another booking was made on the spot! It stayed dry too.