I stayed up longer than I intended last night having a friendly natter on twitter. I came out wondering if the fireworks were going to happen. We live high up over looking Falmouth. All the fireworks can be seen from both our sitting room and bedroom windows so opening the curtains I waited to see what would happen. It had been raining all day and wind was blowing great splatters onto the windows.
There were some bangs but I think the huge displays may have been postponed. Instead something really odd happened. The boat that appeared to be moored just off the meadow below here started to hoot. It was a few small hoots at first, then other hoots came from all around the harbor. Some were token short hoots but some were longer statements. High pitched hoots, deep throated hoots, the sound travelled and reminded me of being greeted when our cruise ship entered port.
As a greeting to the New year it worked for me. I closed the curtains and put out the lights.
Falling asleep I could still hear the sound of gentle hooting as the boats up the river joined in.
And the fireworks will be a little late this year!
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Saturday, 31 December 2011
I've done New Years Eve!
I did used to be a party girl.....gosh yes....New Years Eve was once a complete day of baking. I would start early making pies, dips, things on sticks, and anything else I could think of....it was all good fun and the children helped....a bit..
By around eight in the evening I would have tables laid out with enough food for a small army and then guests started to appear....hundreds of them or at least thats what it seemed like. Dancing, singing, seeing in the New Year was a fairly raucous occasion in the small close where I lived....we would lead off in a congo all around the close, in and out of other peoples homes...with their permission of course....and everyone would end up at mine very merry and almost certainly on the way to passing out...Anyone still around at about three in the morning would get shepherds pie to see them on their way. Those unfit to drive slept where ever they could find a quiet spot...often with the dog.
I have done New Years Eve!
Now I look back on previous years but with no longing for it to come back.....at the time I loved it...I joined together all the different strands in my life on that one occasion, school colleagues, am dram bods, church types, neighbours, Uncle Tom Cobbly and all.....
It was all good fun and when I left to go off to live half way up a mountain I know that people complained bitterly but that part of my life had come to an end.
Tonight , still suffering from sea food poisoning we may not even drink much if at all....we shall be able to see all the fire works for miles around....over the water they look wonderful and the dog can't hear them any more!
We will watch the rubbish on the TV in time honoured fashion and I will have to be in bed fairly early to get to church in time for the eight am...
But thats all good....If I'd never done New Years Eve it might feel different but I have...and now I can feel glad for everyone else celebrating as I ponder what the next year might bring....
By around eight in the evening I would have tables laid out with enough food for a small army and then guests started to appear....hundreds of them or at least thats what it seemed like. Dancing, singing, seeing in the New Year was a fairly raucous occasion in the small close where I lived....we would lead off in a congo all around the close, in and out of other peoples homes...with their permission of course....and everyone would end up at mine very merry and almost certainly on the way to passing out...Anyone still around at about three in the morning would get shepherds pie to see them on their way. Those unfit to drive slept where ever they could find a quiet spot...often with the dog.
I have done New Years Eve!
Now I look back on previous years but with no longing for it to come back.....at the time I loved it...I joined together all the different strands in my life on that one occasion, school colleagues, am dram bods, church types, neighbours, Uncle Tom Cobbly and all.....
It was all good fun and when I left to go off to live half way up a mountain I know that people complained bitterly but that part of my life had come to an end.
Tonight , still suffering from sea food poisoning we may not even drink much if at all....we shall be able to see all the fire works for miles around....over the water they look wonderful and the dog can't hear them any more!
We will watch the rubbish on the TV in time honoured fashion and I will have to be in bed fairly early to get to church in time for the eight am...
But thats all good....If I'd never done New Years Eve it might feel different but I have...and now I can feel glad for everyone else celebrating as I ponder what the next year might bring....
I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year
'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'
And he replied, 'Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!'
So I went forth and finding the Hand of God
Trod gladly into the night
And so can we all this year and always.. Amen
Written by Minnie Haskins.
Friday, 30 December 2011
Ancient cure alls.
A friend yesterday remarked that as I'd been drinking hot milk and eating dry toast I might just as well as have pobs and be done with it! This made me laugh a lot. Pobs was the cure all back in the dim days just after the war when food was in short supply and doctors an endangered species before the NHS was introduced.
"She's very peaky...give her some pobs love" this was advice often followed.....and my mother's other big cure for everything was to beat up an egg, add warm milk with a spoonful of sugar and force it down my unwilling throat! Its sliminess and eggyness are still with me today!
I had two very different Grandmothers....the Lancastrian one was all in favour of pobs, whilst the Welsh one would brew up a potion from herbs gathered in the fields.....I have no idea which of these options worked best..I just swallowed down what was given me like a good girl!
Just around the corner from where I lived was Toad Lane, entirely innocent of toads of course...
But the original Coop had started there and the little shop had been kept intact . I spent quite a lot of time in there reading the tracts and showing people round it. There was a wonderful small paper they had printed themselves called "Nobbut a Penny" I read them all through more than once.
Across the road was the Unitarian chapel....it was beautiful and I loved it dearly. For a start they were never stuffy and girls were allowed to sing in the choir!
It was a different world we lived in then and not without its problems....and yet a chance remark took me straight back there...it was home and it was safe...until of course it all came tumbling down.
The street I lived in was called "Sir Robert Peel St" There is now a multi story block of flats built where it once was...such is life!
I cannot think that anyone who had ever lived there mourned its passing....sad but true!
"She's very peaky...give her some pobs love" this was advice often followed.....and my mother's other big cure for everything was to beat up an egg, add warm milk with a spoonful of sugar and force it down my unwilling throat! Its sliminess and eggyness are still with me today!
I had two very different Grandmothers....the Lancastrian one was all in favour of pobs, whilst the Welsh one would brew up a potion from herbs gathered in the fields.....I have no idea which of these options worked best..I just swallowed down what was given me like a good girl!
Just around the corner from where I lived was Toad Lane, entirely innocent of toads of course...
But the original Coop had started there and the little shop had been kept intact . I spent quite a lot of time in there reading the tracts and showing people round it. There was a wonderful small paper they had printed themselves called "Nobbut a Penny" I read them all through more than once.
Across the road was the Unitarian chapel....it was beautiful and I loved it dearly. For a start they were never stuffy and girls were allowed to sing in the choir!
It was a different world we lived in then and not without its problems....and yet a chance remark took me straight back there...it was home and it was safe...until of course it all came tumbling down.
The street I lived in was called "Sir Robert Peel St" There is now a multi story block of flats built where it once was...such is life!
I cannot think that anyone who had ever lived there mourned its passing....sad but true!
Thursday, 29 December 2011
Prescriptions?
Eating dry toast for two days now has reminded me of the time I had this problem after an anaesthetic. Four days after the op I was still not eating at all....so the anaesthetist arrived at my bedside...He was a lovely man who settled down for a natter before giving his opinion.....dry toast...and milk.....So today I have been doing just that...with a spoonful of honey in the milk! And its working, apart from the fact that there is nothing else at all that I could get down!
The lovely man came back to see me when I was ready to be released back into the community!
He told me that was I rather anaemic and that in the old days they would have given me a transfusion but as it wasn't too bad he had a prescription that would get my iron levels back up quite quickly...
I imagined more iron tablets, taken in pregnancy and not since. They had some most unexpected side effects so I was not keen.
"Oh no " he said with a twinkle....."You'll have no problem with this prescription.....Two things......Dark chocolate and red wine!"
Oddly I had no problem with that! And as far as I know have not been anaemic since. So I pass that one to you.....it works for me!
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Crab fights back.
After having crab at supper time last night I had a massive reaction during the night. No sleep. Projectile vomiting. Etc
My first trip to the bathroom in daylight revealed that someone had been stabbed several times with bright red splashes everywhere.
Fortunately by morning the decor had turned to greenish yellow.
I am still in bed. OH thinks he's in charge but it's actually the dog who would drag me out now if he could.
Sorry for the gruesome detail. I may never eat crab again.
I am drinking water in small sips. Later I could graduate to dry toast. Two other times in my life this has worked for me. Morning sickness and after anaesthetic !
Let's hope after crab works in the same way'
Waste no sympathy on me. Up to last night I was absurdly happy with everything. I will bounce back. Have no fear!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
My first trip to the bathroom in daylight revealed that someone had been stabbed several times with bright red splashes everywhere.
Fortunately by morning the decor had turned to greenish yellow.
I am still in bed. OH thinks he's in charge but it's actually the dog who would drag me out now if he could.
Sorry for the gruesome detail. I may never eat crab again.
I am drinking water in small sips. Later I could graduate to dry toast. Two other times in my life this has worked for me. Morning sickness and after anaesthetic !
Let's hope after crab works in the same way'
Waste no sympathy on me. Up to last night I was absurdly happy with everything. I will bounce back. Have no fear!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
Breaking into sea food
We did have fun here yesterday. I took the advice I was freely offered by all and sundry and went for simple.
The sea food looked good on a platter but we realised that some serious eating tools were needed.
David went off to the garden shed and appeared with some interesting looking implements. He then boiled them.
We had problems actually opening up the oysters. As well as the lobsters and everything else on the platter. And they make it look so easy on Masterchef!
We did have great fun though. And there's still some left for today!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
The sea food looked good on a platter but we realised that some serious eating tools were needed.
David went off to the garden shed and appeared with some interesting looking implements. He then boiled them.
We had problems actually opening up the oysters. As well as the lobsters and everything else on the platter. And they make it look so easy on Masterchef!
We did have great fun though. And there's still some left for today!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, 26 December 2011
Lobster plain or dressed?
Boxing Day used to be a day for eating things up left over from the the big day. Now, as a priest I work on Christmas Day so my first real test of cooking skill is always on Boxing Day. We had a wonderful turkey dinner yesterday at the local when we ate too much and drank quite a lot too so what we should have today is a bit of a problem. In the past we have had roast beef or a duck, but this time we thought very hard about what food we most enjoy and came up with sea food...
One of our lovely church wardens has a thriving business selling what he catches at sea so I ordered lobster, crab, mussels etc....and this morning I am looking for recipes for thermidor......mmm
We will have moules in a cream sauce for a starter but I've never made thermidor before.....if its too complicated the lobsters may have to stay simple!
I love cooking and in the past have spent a great deal of time making cakes and pies and biscuits but now I don't. A further complication is that for the last three years we have gone away soon after New year so I've had to throw out loads of stuff and this year is going to be different! In theory.
The only present that might be difficult to eat up is a giant box of chocolates from school....but if we apply ourselves manfully to the task we might just manage it!
We shall have help. My son is coming for lunch today which will be a great treat. To cook for those you love is one of life's great pleasures......and he remembers the days when cooking was a great family occasion especially in the years when we went vegetarian... One day of every school holiday was given up to the great bake up....The kids loved it and so did I ...
I went on with it for quite a long time but when my daughter left home and I still kept making the cakes and pies, me and the dog had to eat them and we got fatter and fatter until I stopped baking altogether...
So now I am just putting off the moment when I find out whether its lobster thermidor or just plain old lobster......
My son says he'll be happy with a crab sandwich so thats all right then!
One of our lovely church wardens has a thriving business selling what he catches at sea so I ordered lobster, crab, mussels etc....and this morning I am looking for recipes for thermidor......mmm
We will have moules in a cream sauce for a starter but I've never made thermidor before.....if its too complicated the lobsters may have to stay simple!
I love cooking and in the past have spent a great deal of time making cakes and pies and biscuits but now I don't. A further complication is that for the last three years we have gone away soon after New year so I've had to throw out loads of stuff and this year is going to be different! In theory.
The only present that might be difficult to eat up is a giant box of chocolates from school....but if we apply ourselves manfully to the task we might just manage it!
We shall have help. My son is coming for lunch today which will be a great treat. To cook for those you love is one of life's great pleasures......and he remembers the days when cooking was a great family occasion especially in the years when we went vegetarian... One day of every school holiday was given up to the great bake up....The kids loved it and so did I ...
I went on with it for quite a long time but when my daughter left home and I still kept making the cakes and pies, me and the dog had to eat them and we got fatter and fatter until I stopped baking altogether...
So now I am just putting off the moment when I find out whether its lobster thermidor or just plain old lobster......
My son says he'll be happy with a crab sandwich so thats all right then!
Sunday, 25 December 2011
Sermon recall.
The congregations in Cornwall are always swelled at Christmas...The people who own houses here come back for this week and of course the local hotels are full too so we have many people in church who are strangers . Here on the Roseland we have a fairly loose cluster of churches and I am privileged to visit them all from time to time. Last night I did Midnight Mass in a small church nearby.
There was a good lot of people there and afterwards I stood to shake hands by the door as they left.
One lady said as she went....."I've told everyone about the last time I heard one of your sermons.....you talked about your dog....giving his biscuits to the birds. Is he still with you?"
I reassured her that he was ancient but quite well and then she left, wishing me a Happy Christmas as she went. .
Afterwards I joked that it was just as well I hadn't used the same sermon as last year until the churchwarden reminded me that it was two years since I last did the late night mass there.
How extraordinary that felt ! Someone remembered what I'd said in a sermon two years ago ! That is truly amazing not least because I don't remember it at all!
Of course my husband brought me back down to earth this morning when I told him the story.
"I bet she didn't remember about the God bit though"
That's what husbands are for! I suppose!
There was a good lot of people there and afterwards I stood to shake hands by the door as they left.
One lady said as she went....."I've told everyone about the last time I heard one of your sermons.....you talked about your dog....giving his biscuits to the birds. Is he still with you?"
I reassured her that he was ancient but quite well and then she left, wishing me a Happy Christmas as she went. .
Afterwards I joked that it was just as well I hadn't used the same sermon as last year until the churchwarden reminded me that it was two years since I last did the late night mass there.
How extraordinary that felt ! Someone remembered what I'd said in a sermon two years ago ! That is truly amazing not least because I don't remember it at all!
Of course my husband brought me back down to earth this morning when I told him the story.
"I bet she didn't remember about the God bit though"
That's what husbands are for! I suppose!
Saturday, 24 December 2011
Christmas Sermon
I hope I'll be forgiven for using tonights sermon in the blog....but it says everything I want to say today!
I’ve never actually understood the term being born again. Its something my son said to me when I told him I was going to be ordained....Clearly thunderstruck he muttered something which it was as well I didn’t hear before he said
“Oh Well.....Have you been born again then? “
This made me laugh. Christian claptrap was the term that came to mind, followed by
“Well not really, I’ve always been a Christian!”
I found trying to explain to people just what was happening to me very difficult...it was like being an interpreter for someone else...and I found all the modern Christian language very difficult... I just knew that the call I had had first when I was a teen ager had finally been recognised
When I was a girl I found Billy Graham very worrying. The girls in my class had all been to Manchester to hear him preach and came back full of it .....
I just found the whole thing deeply embarassing and this stayed with me as an adult as well....I am just not evangelical at all Im afraid.
.Some of you here will remember my journey to this point because it all started here in Cornwall...and what many of you will not know is that the actual priesting was done here, in the church.at Gerrans
Soon after women were admitted to the priesthood there had been some trouble with demonstrators at the cathedral so it was decided that each priesting would be done in our own churches..
On the due date the Bishop arrived with the archdeacon and all the other clergy from the Roseland were robed in the rectory and it was a beautiful warm summer evening. The first priesting here since the reformation.
Part of the service is the laying on of hands....all the clergy gather around the candidate and lay their hands on the head.....it is a symbolic gesture meant to pass on the the apostolic succession..
I was astounded to discover that there were at least ten C of E priests here but also two non conformist ministers, and a Roman Catholic one too, all of whom joined in with the laying on of hands.
It was at that point I think that I became born again....a real feeling of being accepted into something enormous and the joy hit me....I emerged grinning like a Cheshire cat and have not really stopped till this day. ...
Its that feeling that I hope to pass on to you tonight....
The Christ child came into the world and brought with him the joy, the peace and the love....Love came down at Christmas...
We know that Jesus lived and died and that the two conditions were part of one whole.
Its not just the birth of Christ that we celebrate today but our own. Every Christmas as the story is reenacted we are to some degree born again with Him...
WE pray that each heart might be a manger, and each home a Bethlehem....thats what we have to aspire to.....to be receptive and to be able to cherish the Christ child....He is born in us every year...at this time...and just as he is reborn every year so can we be too......there I’ve said it.!
Another Christmas miracle!
Friday, 23 December 2011
Fiona's story.
With todays clutch of cards come the news of the death of an old friend...She was very old so it was not a surprise or even very sad....I suspect she was ready for it. It does though leave me free to tell her story.
She was a young girl during the war and she met a wonderful looking young man home on leave. After a whirl wind romance they married at the end of the week and had one night of wedded bliss before he went back to his regiment. She was very innocent and very unworldly at that time.
She had only learned his name by looking at the wedding certificate after he'd gone.
She said, "I just called him hugs." She didn't know how to pronounce it as Hughes....so Hugs he remained forever.
She confided in me at one stage that she had never expected to see him again....so many young men did not come back.
She had returned to her life in London, meeting other young men and actually having a marvellous time by her own account.
After the war she got a communication from the army. Hugs was coming home. It had been three years since they married...what he'd done with his leaves she never knew.
At this point in the story she had gazed at me with consternation.
"Jean, I couldn't even remember what he looked like....I hadn't forgotten him of course but I knew nothing at all about him...apart from his name and I even got that wrong"
She was terrified.....what had she done? Tied herself to a stranger...who was coming home and expecting to be welcomed by his loving wife.
In the event it had not been quite like that. He didn't know what to expect either and was returning to his wife for lack of anything better to do....
They arranged to meet under a clock at Waterloo.....You couldn't make this up ....
She wasn't sure she would even recognise him...
She had waited, several times determining to just walk away......to forget the whole thing.....a quickie divorce and the whole thing would be a casualty of war...
They met, kissed shyly and went to talk over a drink or two......by the end of the evening they were friends but that was all....they arrange to meet again and that started their courtship proper.
When eventually they decided to live together they were still not sure if it would work.
Celebrating their 40th anniversary with them it was clear how much in love they were..but she told me they had had some very difficult times over the first year or so..... but had persevered...
Hugs died some time ago now....Fiona now has joined him.
Many war time romances must have started like theirs but its difficult to imagine a happier ending. They had weathered the storms of life with great courage, a sense of humour and an ability to laugh together...you can't want better than that.
She was a young girl during the war and she met a wonderful looking young man home on leave. After a whirl wind romance they married at the end of the week and had one night of wedded bliss before he went back to his regiment. She was very innocent and very unworldly at that time.
She had only learned his name by looking at the wedding certificate after he'd gone.
She said, "I just called him hugs." She didn't know how to pronounce it as Hughes....so Hugs he remained forever.
She confided in me at one stage that she had never expected to see him again....so many young men did not come back.
She had returned to her life in London, meeting other young men and actually having a marvellous time by her own account.
After the war she got a communication from the army. Hugs was coming home. It had been three years since they married...what he'd done with his leaves she never knew.
At this point in the story she had gazed at me with consternation.
"Jean, I couldn't even remember what he looked like....I hadn't forgotten him of course but I knew nothing at all about him...apart from his name and I even got that wrong"
She was terrified.....what had she done? Tied herself to a stranger...who was coming home and expecting to be welcomed by his loving wife.
In the event it had not been quite like that. He didn't know what to expect either and was returning to his wife for lack of anything better to do....
They arranged to meet under a clock at Waterloo.....You couldn't make this up ....
She wasn't sure she would even recognise him...
She had waited, several times determining to just walk away......to forget the whole thing.....a quickie divorce and the whole thing would be a casualty of war...
They met, kissed shyly and went to talk over a drink or two......by the end of the evening they were friends but that was all....they arrange to meet again and that started their courtship proper.
When eventually they decided to live together they were still not sure if it would work.
Celebrating their 40th anniversary with them it was clear how much in love they were..but she told me they had had some very difficult times over the first year or so..... but had persevered...
Hugs died some time ago now....Fiona now has joined him.
Many war time romances must have started like theirs but its difficult to imagine a happier ending. They had weathered the storms of life with great courage, a sense of humour and an ability to laugh together...you can't want better than that.
Christmas Eve Eve.
Today is starting to feel like Christmas Eve....except theres still another one tomorrow!
Today is the day I am cooking the ham. My medium sized ham delivered by Sainsburys turns out to be huge so it is going into the oven fairly shortly...I just hope enough people turn up to eat it before we go away in January!
First I am wrapping parcels! I am not good at this at all.
My first intimation of this was when at 15 I worked as a Saturday girl in Woolworths! I was put onto the hardware section where lots of nails, curtain rails etc had to be wrapped.. The supervisor told me at the end of the first day that she had never ever seen such poor parcels...they were very untidy and she showed me how to do them properly.....it was this I am sure which made sure I never again followed her instructions once I'd escaped her department .
I do try but they always end up looking squashed and very untidy with loads of sellotape to hold them together...
I also do not open things well. I have seen people take off the wrapping and smooth it carefully before putting to one side to use again.
None of that here I'm afraid.....I plunge in, tear the paper off in order to get the first sight of whats underneath...then throw it away!
There are just some talents I don't have!
As well as parcels and cooking I have also got to start the Christmas sermon for this year.
At this stage there is always a very naughty thought about recycling an old one....but I do fight this ....its got to be fresh and topical I think....unless desperation sets in!
Blogging is simply putting off the moment when the parcelling begins. So once more into the breach dear friends!
Today is the day I am cooking the ham. My medium sized ham delivered by Sainsburys turns out to be huge so it is going into the oven fairly shortly...I just hope enough people turn up to eat it before we go away in January!
First I am wrapping parcels! I am not good at this at all.
My first intimation of this was when at 15 I worked as a Saturday girl in Woolworths! I was put onto the hardware section where lots of nails, curtain rails etc had to be wrapped.. The supervisor told me at the end of the first day that she had never ever seen such poor parcels...they were very untidy and she showed me how to do them properly.....it was this I am sure which made sure I never again followed her instructions once I'd escaped her department .
I do try but they always end up looking squashed and very untidy with loads of sellotape to hold them together...
I also do not open things well. I have seen people take off the wrapping and smooth it carefully before putting to one side to use again.
None of that here I'm afraid.....I plunge in, tear the paper off in order to get the first sight of whats underneath...then throw it away!
There are just some talents I don't have!
As well as parcels and cooking I have also got to start the Christmas sermon for this year.
At this stage there is always a very naughty thought about recycling an old one....but I do fight this ....its got to be fresh and topical I think....unless desperation sets in!
Blogging is simply putting off the moment when the parcelling begins. So once more into the breach dear friends!
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Tired? Yes but full of joy!
Christmas? Almost here.
I was thinking this morning on how much easier it seems this year! And its mostly because Christmas Day falls on a Sunday...Every other year we have services tumbling over each other in the lead up to the big day.
I was reminded of my first Christmas in this parish. I had been ordained as a priest at Petertide. Within a week of being licensed here in September the parish priest went off long term sick. The rural dean told me to just carry on as though it was an interregnum, change nothing but stick to the agreed program!
This was no problem until we got to Christmas. In my diary was a frightening proposition....
Two crib services, one here and one in my last parish.
Midnight mass.
8am
9.30
11am
Six services within 24 hours....Add to that the incidentals like carols in the castle, the switching on of Christmas Tree lights, end of term assemblies etc and you get a frightening picture.
A dear friend from my last parish who happens to be a worship leader offered to do the crib service there for me....
An ancient priest here offered to do the nine thirty.
The rest were still mine plus it was the first Christmas with my new husband. I had to break the news to him that no turkey would appear till Boxing day.
By the time I'd done all the rest of the services I was very tired....but I was also very very happy!
I had done what I should have been doing all my life....I was bringing the joy of the Christ child into the hearts and souls of the people who were crowded into the churches...
Presiding at a Christmas communion is always special but that first year, confronted with long queues of people was a bit daunting but also very special....I was not alone in the sanctuary. I definitely had a helper even though no one else was aware of Him...
We do get tired at Christmas but we are also privileged people to be able to do all that we do....
This year I have a midnight mass and then the 9.30 ....and then we will open our presents before going to the local hotel for our Christmas lunch.
Now you know why I am a very happy woman.
I was thinking this morning on how much easier it seems this year! And its mostly because Christmas Day falls on a Sunday...Every other year we have services tumbling over each other in the lead up to the big day.
I was reminded of my first Christmas in this parish. I had been ordained as a priest at Petertide. Within a week of being licensed here in September the parish priest went off long term sick. The rural dean told me to just carry on as though it was an interregnum, change nothing but stick to the agreed program!
This was no problem until we got to Christmas. In my diary was a frightening proposition....
Two crib services, one here and one in my last parish.
Midnight mass.
8am
9.30
11am
Six services within 24 hours....Add to that the incidentals like carols in the castle, the switching on of Christmas Tree lights, end of term assemblies etc and you get a frightening picture.
A dear friend from my last parish who happens to be a worship leader offered to do the crib service there for me....
An ancient priest here offered to do the nine thirty.
The rest were still mine plus it was the first Christmas with my new husband. I had to break the news to him that no turkey would appear till Boxing day.
By the time I'd done all the rest of the services I was very tired....but I was also very very happy!
I had done what I should have been doing all my life....I was bringing the joy of the Christ child into the hearts and souls of the people who were crowded into the churches...
Presiding at a Christmas communion is always special but that first year, confronted with long queues of people was a bit daunting but also very special....I was not alone in the sanctuary. I definitely had a helper even though no one else was aware of Him...
We do get tired at Christmas but we are also privileged people to be able to do all that we do....
This year I have a midnight mass and then the 9.30 ....and then we will open our presents before going to the local hotel for our Christmas lunch.
Now you know why I am a very happy woman.
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Classy food!
Nothing shows up class differences more than Christmas...Each family has its own rituals...often fiercely protected and up held in the face of all the odds. Nothing is so class orientated as food.
When we were young to have a chicken for Christmas dinner was the treat of the year. Now we have to scratch our heads to come up with something different from what we have all the year round.
My husband's family are always generous and their parcels are already in situ under the tree. We shall not get round to opening them till after the Christmas morning service...by which time it will be too late, many things will have been duplicated!
This morning I have been giving the fridge a thorough clear out. I am ashamed to say that at the top and back there lurked ancient Stilton still in jars, remnants of pate, scraps at the bottom of jars which mean absolutely nothing to me....so they've all gone now.
The worrying thing is that we really had no idea what to have for Christmas this year....we have a roast dinner every week...and in any case we go out for Christmas lunch to one of the local hotels.....cooking after preaching is not a good idea!
We analysed carefully what we enjoy most and came up with sea food...lobster, crab, prawns...Last year I made the mistake of ordering a whole lobster and spent most of Christmas trying to work out how to get into it! A platter of sea food is now on its way for our Christmas day which is everyone else's Boxing day!
I quell all the guilt that tries to take over when I remember all those who are really suffering this year...but I don't entirely succeed....especially when in my fridge is an abomination!
My husband's son has given his Pa a large jar of Foie Gras. There it sits, reproaching me every time I shove it to the back...
Class divisions are very obvious on these occasions but I try to be tolerant at Christmas...its just a pity that the people stuffing the poor geese can't do the same!
When we were young to have a chicken for Christmas dinner was the treat of the year. Now we have to scratch our heads to come up with something different from what we have all the year round.
My husband's family are always generous and their parcels are already in situ under the tree. We shall not get round to opening them till after the Christmas morning service...by which time it will be too late, many things will have been duplicated!
This morning I have been giving the fridge a thorough clear out. I am ashamed to say that at the top and back there lurked ancient Stilton still in jars, remnants of pate, scraps at the bottom of jars which mean absolutely nothing to me....so they've all gone now.
The worrying thing is that we really had no idea what to have for Christmas this year....we have a roast dinner every week...and in any case we go out for Christmas lunch to one of the local hotels.....cooking after preaching is not a good idea!
We analysed carefully what we enjoy most and came up with sea food...lobster, crab, prawns...Last year I made the mistake of ordering a whole lobster and spent most of Christmas trying to work out how to get into it! A platter of sea food is now on its way for our Christmas day which is everyone else's Boxing day!
I quell all the guilt that tries to take over when I remember all those who are really suffering this year...but I don't entirely succeed....especially when in my fridge is an abomination!
My husband's son has given his Pa a large jar of Foie Gras. There it sits, reproaching me every time I shove it to the back...
Class divisions are very obvious on these occasions but I try to be tolerant at Christmas...its just a pity that the people stuffing the poor geese can't do the same!
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
The winter fuel allowance.
This is weird world we are living in! I mean seriously weird! Yesterday I got a letter telling me that my £200 winter heating bonus was in my bank account. I don't check the numbers as often as I should so I was amazed to find it had been there for a couple of weeks...
I know that my husband also has a winter fuel allowance so I assumed that a mistake had been made....we couldn't take two for one household!
I rang them up and explained the situation ending cheerfully with
"So I would like you to take it back please.....shall I write you a cheque? "
The young lady was clearly nervous and started to ask me personal details as a check that I really was who I said I was.
After I answered everything correctly she then went off to talk to someone .
"Well the good news is that it is yours, you are entailed to it and we can't take it back."
This actually stunned me. What sort of a world are we living in where someone doesn't want their fuel allowance and can't put it back in the state pot ?
Since then I have spoken to several well heeled people around the parish who have also tried to hand the money back to the state with the same results.
So, this morning I am going visiting. I have four cheques for £50 pounds in my pocket. I know who needs it most.. but this sort of redistribution of wealth is not quite what the socialist manifesto was all about.
I am not really keen on assuming the mantel of Lady Bountiful... but I can do it if I have to!
I know that my husband also has a winter fuel allowance so I assumed that a mistake had been made....we couldn't take two for one household!
I rang them up and explained the situation ending cheerfully with
"So I would like you to take it back please.....shall I write you a cheque? "
The young lady was clearly nervous and started to ask me personal details as a check that I really was who I said I was.
After I answered everything correctly she then went off to talk to someone .
"Well the good news is that it is yours, you are entailed to it and we can't take it back."
This actually stunned me. What sort of a world are we living in where someone doesn't want their fuel allowance and can't put it back in the state pot ?
Since then I have spoken to several well heeled people around the parish who have also tried to hand the money back to the state with the same results.
So, this morning I am going visiting. I have four cheques for £50 pounds in my pocket. I know who needs it most.. but this sort of redistribution of wealth is not quite what the socialist manifesto was all about.
I am not really keen on assuming the mantel of Lady Bountiful... but I can do it if I have to!
Monday, 19 December 2011
The wicked Fairy at the manger.
Presents at Christmas are always difficult. The general rule of thumb being something you'd like if it was given to you. The problem then is that sometimes its quite hard to part with the gift!
The habit of gift bearing started with the Kings and the Shepherds....their response to a wonderful event was to give the baby some very unlikely presents, but times have changed!
The more recent tradition at any Christening is of Godparents bearing gifts, chosen carefully to last the baby throughout life. Even today people give silver cups, and spoons etc...
Fairy Godmothers gave qualities....such as happiness, truthfulness, generosity and beauty.
Sometimes though a Fairy God mother turns out to be a baddy...The wicked fairy condemns Sleeping Beauty to sleep for eternity....
This poem by U A Fanthorpe is a strange one... But worth persevering with I think.
The habit of gift bearing started with the Kings and the Shepherds....their response to a wonderful event was to give the baby some very unlikely presents, but times have changed!
The more recent tradition at any Christening is of Godparents bearing gifts, chosen carefully to last the baby throughout life. Even today people give silver cups, and spoons etc...
Fairy Godmothers gave qualities....such as happiness, truthfulness, generosity and beauty.
Sometimes though a Fairy God mother turns out to be a baddy...The wicked fairy condemns Sleeping Beauty to sleep for eternity....
This poem by U A Fanthorpe is a strange one... But worth persevering with I think.
The Wicked Fairy at the Manger
My gift for the child
No wife, kids , home.
No money sense. Unemployable.
Friends yes. But the wrong sort...
The work shy, women, wogs
Petty infringers of the law, persons
With notifiable diseases
Poll tax collectors, tarts,
The bottom rung
His end?
I think we’ll make it
Public, prolonged, painful.
Right, said the baby. That was roughly
What we had in mind.
Sunday, 18 December 2011
A Left wing priest?
Yesterday I got a Christmas card from an old friend who said after the seasons greeting.
"PS Your blog gets more left wing everyday!"
Me? Moi? Surely not....I am not aware that I say much about politics except in passing in here but I went on to have a chuckle about what he would say if he read some of the bishops blogs!
Politics and religion have always been uneasy bedfellows since Thomas a Becket was killed in his Cathedral!
To have views on current affairs though is I think part of the human condition..We, the clergy are all here to care for other people...and what bothers them bothers us too! We are not insulated from the results of some political decisions . We see it everyday, even in St Mawes.
We have all travelled through life with different experiences to shape our thoughts and actions...and it is these experiences which make us either right or left wing or quite possible an amalgam of both as in my case...
What does make us cross is unfairness.....and when you see that parts of the population are being treated differently from others it tends to make us worry for those who are suffering.
I was brought up in poverty. Every time there was a discussion about our future the sentence most used about me was.
"Our Jean'll go int mill." There was no debate..it was a given that I grew up with. Passing for the grammar school changed all that.
The wonderful 1944 Education act, set up by a Tory, Rab Butler was a marvellous piece of legislation and succeeded in lifting brighter children out of poverty and into the light of education.
Once at Grammar school life was bumpy....I wore second hand clothes, was always scruffy, lacked the right footgear and was despised by the fee paying girls who saw only the poverty and never the spirit.
Politics were part of my growing up, my communist parents saw to that but my religion was the core, the source for me of all belief..
Starting with my grandparents Welsh Baptist chapel, and then my own Unitarian chapel followed by the new Anglican church on the slum clearance housing estate...God was always there,
Teaching in Sunday school, singing in the Methodist choir, were all vital to my growing up years....so my experience is very different from either of my husbands...or friends for whom much of this is news...
We are all different...because we have led different lives, with different influences...If we've experienced poverty at first hand we are always going to be sympathetic to those who are still in that trap.
It doesn't always mean that we are left wing though.... It just makes us people who care.
"PS Your blog gets more left wing everyday!"
Me? Moi? Surely not....I am not aware that I say much about politics except in passing in here but I went on to have a chuckle about what he would say if he read some of the bishops blogs!
Politics and religion have always been uneasy bedfellows since Thomas a Becket was killed in his Cathedral!
To have views on current affairs though is I think part of the human condition..We, the clergy are all here to care for other people...and what bothers them bothers us too! We are not insulated from the results of some political decisions . We see it everyday, even in St Mawes.
We have all travelled through life with different experiences to shape our thoughts and actions...and it is these experiences which make us either right or left wing or quite possible an amalgam of both as in my case...
What does make us cross is unfairness.....and when you see that parts of the population are being treated differently from others it tends to make us worry for those who are suffering.
I was brought up in poverty. Every time there was a discussion about our future the sentence most used about me was.
"Our Jean'll go int mill." There was no debate..it was a given that I grew up with. Passing for the grammar school changed all that.
The wonderful 1944 Education act, set up by a Tory, Rab Butler was a marvellous piece of legislation and succeeded in lifting brighter children out of poverty and into the light of education.
Once at Grammar school life was bumpy....I wore second hand clothes, was always scruffy, lacked the right footgear and was despised by the fee paying girls who saw only the poverty and never the spirit.
Politics were part of my growing up, my communist parents saw to that but my religion was the core, the source for me of all belief..
Starting with my grandparents Welsh Baptist chapel, and then my own Unitarian chapel followed by the new Anglican church on the slum clearance housing estate...God was always there,
Teaching in Sunday school, singing in the Methodist choir, were all vital to my growing up years....so my experience is very different from either of my husbands...or friends for whom much of this is news...
We are all different...because we have led different lives, with different influences...If we've experienced poverty at first hand we are always going to be sympathetic to those who are still in that trap.
It doesn't always mean that we are left wing though.... It just makes us people who care.
Saturday, 17 December 2011
Dogs and their names.
The arrival of all the Christmas cards from long lost friends is with every year that passes, increasingly sad. News of death, and of appalling illness visited on those you love is always heart breaking.
But this morning through the post came a card from one of my best friends in Essex......She has a new dog!
After my husband died my dog walking friends took me in hand and coped with tears. long silences, the occasional outburst and all the other signs of bereavement.
There were four women and five dogs....all different shapes and sizes. Crispin is the last of that generation, all the others are now happy memories...
Jen has always had dogs but with the death of her last one came the determination never to put herself through the trauma of losing one again...She has kept to it for a few years but the new dog has now arrived and its made me ridiculously happy to get its photo along with the Christmas card.
Jen was a history teacher and has a weird way of giving her dogs names.
The first one I knew was Win, a lovely old mongrel who lived till she was around 15. Her name was Winston Spencer Churchill, always shortened to Win unless she was in trouble when she got all three shouted very loudly!
The next dog was also a bitch. She was a gloriously elegant long legged Vymarana, all long ears and blue eyes...and great fun! Her name was Otto Von Bismark...shortened to Ottoline...She and Crispin were great friends as young dogs...he got wet and flushed out the game that she picked up delicately....they made a great team.
The new dog, a large golden puppy which could be either sex and possibly a labrador...has another good name. She is called Sigismunde Lonestart.....or Ziggy for short!
I am beaming all over my face this morning....A dog brings so much to us...and now I can stop worrying for my friends dogless state....Life is complete again!
But this morning through the post came a card from one of my best friends in Essex......She has a new dog!
After my husband died my dog walking friends took me in hand and coped with tears. long silences, the occasional outburst and all the other signs of bereavement.
There were four women and five dogs....all different shapes and sizes. Crispin is the last of that generation, all the others are now happy memories...
Jen has always had dogs but with the death of her last one came the determination never to put herself through the trauma of losing one again...She has kept to it for a few years but the new dog has now arrived and its made me ridiculously happy to get its photo along with the Christmas card.
Jen was a history teacher and has a weird way of giving her dogs names.
The first one I knew was Win, a lovely old mongrel who lived till she was around 15. Her name was Winston Spencer Churchill, always shortened to Win unless she was in trouble when she got all three shouted very loudly!
The next dog was also a bitch. She was a gloriously elegant long legged Vymarana, all long ears and blue eyes...and great fun! Her name was Otto Von Bismark...shortened to Ottoline...She and Crispin were great friends as young dogs...he got wet and flushed out the game that she picked up delicately....they made a great team.
The new dog, a large golden puppy which could be either sex and possibly a labrador...has another good name. She is called Sigismunde Lonestart.....or Ziggy for short!
I am beaming all over my face this morning....A dog brings so much to us...and now I can stop worrying for my friends dogless state....Life is complete again!
Friday, 16 December 2011
Vengeance.
Vengeance is mine says the Lord....or does he? The God loved and feared in the Old Testament might have said it through the mouths of the prophets but the God of the New Testament tells us to turn the other cheek....and to love our enemies....
Vengeance is a dish best eaten cold..... I forget who said that but I'm sure one of you will tell me!
Taking your revenge on someone who has wronged you might be very satisfying in the short term but these things have a habit of bouncing back often when you least expect it and most of us are not made for long term anger....for most of us, something happens we don't like or are hurt by. We live with it for a little while and then shrug it off. To keep a hurt going for a long time requires stamina and a stubborn conviction of your own rightness. But it is very self destructive.
Most human beings halt at the point of hurting them selves.....there is a sort of emergency button buried in our genes which says STOP when we are starting to hurt ourselves.
In my daughter this button was missing.....she had no sense of personal danger at all. But for her being utterly fearless was a bad thing not a good thing....
I have met one or two other people in life for whom the button also seems to be missing...
Its very sad when you see people hurtling headlong into a course of action that will ultimately cause their destruction...
Revenge is I imagine satisfying on a short term basis but over a long period of time will result in the disintegration of personality which in some is all too apparent.
In this period of goodwill and joyful anticipation of things to come...it would be great to be able to resolve all difficulties, and to actually love each other as He has loved us....
Also in our genes is the need to be happy, to be content and to be fulfilled....harming other people is never going to do that for us...
Sorry for preaching.....Amen
Vengeance is a dish best eaten cold..... I forget who said that but I'm sure one of you will tell me!
Taking your revenge on someone who has wronged you might be very satisfying in the short term but these things have a habit of bouncing back often when you least expect it and most of us are not made for long term anger....for most of us, something happens we don't like or are hurt by. We live with it for a little while and then shrug it off. To keep a hurt going for a long time requires stamina and a stubborn conviction of your own rightness. But it is very self destructive.
Most human beings halt at the point of hurting them selves.....there is a sort of emergency button buried in our genes which says STOP when we are starting to hurt ourselves.
In my daughter this button was missing.....she had no sense of personal danger at all. But for her being utterly fearless was a bad thing not a good thing....
I have met one or two other people in life for whom the button also seems to be missing...
Its very sad when you see people hurtling headlong into a course of action that will ultimately cause their destruction...
Revenge is I imagine satisfying on a short term basis but over a long period of time will result in the disintegration of personality which in some is all too apparent.
In this period of goodwill and joyful anticipation of things to come...it would be great to be able to resolve all difficulties, and to actually love each other as He has loved us....
Also in our genes is the need to be happy, to be content and to be fulfilled....harming other people is never going to do that for us...
Sorry for preaching.....Amen
Thursday, 15 December 2011
Thermal knickers.
I've been searching through drawers looking for thermals! It is very cold again here, particularly in the wind. But we are not used to such weather in Cornwall. I have I fear become an effete southerner!
It was pretty cold when we lived in Lancashire but on moving to North Wales we discovered a whole new level of cold......
We had a beautiful house made up of three cottages joined into one...Each of the rooms downstairs had huge inglenooks that you could walk into but no fires! The oil central heating was efficient but very expensive to run and we were fairly hard up for a while so it was time to start layering! At least three layers of woolies were necessary every day right through the first winter...
I went shopping for thermal underwear and got us all kitted out, though the wisdom at the time of getting a teen age girl into thermal knickers was questioned!
She refused to wear a vest for a while but the cold persuaded her far more eloquently than I could.
When after three years my husband got a promotion to London we had to move again.
The first removal van got stuck in snow on the moving day so we camped out for a few days in our cold house whilst the snow cleared up a bit!
Naturally we were as insulated as possible with several layers and that was how we travelled to Essex. Looking like rotund eskimos we must have cut a dash when we booked into a hotel as we waited for our furniture to catch us up.
That evening over dinner we all had very red faces as we slowly got hotter and hotter....
Essex was a tropical climate compared to North Wales...we did not wear the thermals much after that ....but I am sure that somewhere lurking at the bottom of a drawer there is bound to be a thermal vest....and possibly even a pair of woolly knickers!
It was pretty cold when we lived in Lancashire but on moving to North Wales we discovered a whole new level of cold......
We had a beautiful house made up of three cottages joined into one...Each of the rooms downstairs had huge inglenooks that you could walk into but no fires! The oil central heating was efficient but very expensive to run and we were fairly hard up for a while so it was time to start layering! At least three layers of woolies were necessary every day right through the first winter...
I went shopping for thermal underwear and got us all kitted out, though the wisdom at the time of getting a teen age girl into thermal knickers was questioned!
She refused to wear a vest for a while but the cold persuaded her far more eloquently than I could.
When after three years my husband got a promotion to London we had to move again.
The first removal van got stuck in snow on the moving day so we camped out for a few days in our cold house whilst the snow cleared up a bit!
Naturally we were as insulated as possible with several layers and that was how we travelled to Essex. Looking like rotund eskimos we must have cut a dash when we booked into a hotel as we waited for our furniture to catch us up.
That evening over dinner we all had very red faces as we slowly got hotter and hotter....
Essex was a tropical climate compared to North Wales...we did not wear the thermals much after that ....but I am sure that somewhere lurking at the bottom of a drawer there is bound to be a thermal vest....and possibly even a pair of woolly knickers!
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
The Christmas play!
The school nativity play last night was lovely...and the message was not to discriminate by colour....the story was about a blue star shunned by its peers until it was befriended by the Star of Bethlehem. Baby Jesus was, as always a bit part player...done extremely well by the slightly pink plastic doll!
It brought back so many memories that I was quite misty in places....
Every Christmas I wrote a play....and we did it at the local theatre....rejoicing in the name of Summerseat Players. I rehearsed the carols with the help of my musical daughter who at around seven could play any instrument and any tune.... She could even transpose the carols higher or lower because as her teacher said...."She doesn't know its hard to do so she just does it"
One year the play had several children in it plus adults and we rehearsed it in the couple of weeks before Christmas. Naturally the children knew their lines from the beginning whereas equally naturally the adults didn't.
On the great night I was stage manager , props and producer all rolled into one and took up my place by the curtains to swish them too and fro at appropriate moments.
All went well. Carols were sung, readings done, the moment arrived for the cast of the play to get onto the stage. My daughter put down her flute and became a cast member.
All went well until one of the adults forgot his lines....there was a longish pause until another adult put the next line in.
My daughter sprang forward and said
"That's my line not yours." She then took up centre stage and said the line again.
Never did get the hang of working in the theatre bless her.
All productions at Christmas are at best precarious events but the best things is that the audience has gone to see their own child prodigy perform and it doesn't really matter if things go wrong.....its all part of the fun.
So when occasionally it all goes pear shape...its even greater fun! Enjoyed by all....especially parents and grandparents.
It brought back so many memories that I was quite misty in places....
Every Christmas I wrote a play....and we did it at the local theatre....rejoicing in the name of Summerseat Players. I rehearsed the carols with the help of my musical daughter who at around seven could play any instrument and any tune.... She could even transpose the carols higher or lower because as her teacher said...."She doesn't know its hard to do so she just does it"
One year the play had several children in it plus adults and we rehearsed it in the couple of weeks before Christmas. Naturally the children knew their lines from the beginning whereas equally naturally the adults didn't.
On the great night I was stage manager , props and producer all rolled into one and took up my place by the curtains to swish them too and fro at appropriate moments.
All went well. Carols were sung, readings done, the moment arrived for the cast of the play to get onto the stage. My daughter put down her flute and became a cast member.
All went well until one of the adults forgot his lines....there was a longish pause until another adult put the next line in.
My daughter sprang forward and said
"That's my line not yours." She then took up centre stage and said the line again.
Never did get the hang of working in the theatre bless her.
All productions at Christmas are at best precarious events but the best things is that the audience has gone to see their own child prodigy perform and it doesn't really matter if things go wrong.....its all part of the fun.
So when occasionally it all goes pear shape...its even greater fun! Enjoyed by all....especially parents and grandparents.
Monday, 12 December 2011
Volunteers
A while ago one of my acquaintance took on a job no one wanted. He was very keen and took a lot of trouble to get things right. He worked on this project for some time until another man became interested. The first man showed him much of what the job entailed....he spent quite a lot of time with him hoping that the enthusiasm would rub off....
The two men worked together for quite a long time until a third man arrived who wanted to learn how to do the job. The first man was by this time getting old and he had spent quite a lot of his own money replacing worn out parts and buying more up to date ones...
He had a short fuse though and was not a very social animal so some of his explanations bordered on the snappy. He suffered fools badly.
This was though how he spoke to most people.....those of us who knew him accepted it as part of his character...
The third man though resented some of his remarks and the day came when enough was enough.
"Your sacked " he said, "I'll take over from now on"
The first man was stunned....he had been thinking of doing less anyway....he had achieved what he set out to do and might have welcomed a rest....this however made things different...
"You can't sack me" he said, "I'm a volunteer"
Those words have cheered me up more times than I could ever have imagined over the years....
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
The two men worked together for quite a long time until a third man arrived who wanted to learn how to do the job. The first man was by this time getting old and he had spent quite a lot of his own money replacing worn out parts and buying more up to date ones...
He had a short fuse though and was not a very social animal so some of his explanations bordered on the snappy. He suffered fools badly.
This was though how he spoke to most people.....those of us who knew him accepted it as part of his character...
The third man though resented some of his remarks and the day came when enough was enough.
"Your sacked " he said, "I'll take over from now on"
The first man was stunned....he had been thinking of doing less anyway....he had achieved what he set out to do and might have welcomed a rest....this however made things different...
"You can't sack me" he said, "I'm a volunteer"
Those words have cheered me up more times than I could ever have imagined over the years....
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Ho Ho Ho etc.
I got up this morning with the sudden realisation that it was Christmas......and that I had a dozen things to do before breakfast. Naturally its taken me till almost lunch time before doing them all....
I did manage to get my grandson's birthday card in the first post but its been downhill all the way since then....
The first visitor found me trying to book a Christmas delivery date for Tesco .
She said loftily "Oh you've left it very late this year." And I had.....the best they could manage was the Wednesday before Christmas.....but that will do!
The second visitor found me sorting out the Christmas bidding prayers and blessings which being on the old computer had to be sent by email to the new one! He said much the same as the first one to the effect that I've left it very late!
Neither of them were wrong!
Why? I knew it was Advent Three yesterday therefor logic says its just one more Sunday till D day....but it still came as a shock!
Part of the answer is that we have been too busy planning the next trip....We have now printed off the e tickets and the luggage labels and booked various wonderful things and this has taken up most of our minds.......it was almost as big a shock to my husband as it was to me when I announced that the school Nativity was tomorrow followed by the Christmas dinner at school on Wednesday and then they break up on Thursday!
This more than anything else made it serious!
There is not a mince pie in the house....we have not discussed the bird...or indeed the fish...I cannot remember a time when it all arrived in such a rush....but hey its Christmas......and I love it.....Ho Ho Ho etc...
I did manage to get my grandson's birthday card in the first post but its been downhill all the way since then....
The first visitor found me trying to book a Christmas delivery date for Tesco .
She said loftily "Oh you've left it very late this year." And I had.....the best they could manage was the Wednesday before Christmas.....but that will do!
The second visitor found me sorting out the Christmas bidding prayers and blessings which being on the old computer had to be sent by email to the new one! He said much the same as the first one to the effect that I've left it very late!
Neither of them were wrong!
Why? I knew it was Advent Three yesterday therefor logic says its just one more Sunday till D day....but it still came as a shock!
Part of the answer is that we have been too busy planning the next trip....We have now printed off the e tickets and the luggage labels and booked various wonderful things and this has taken up most of our minds.......it was almost as big a shock to my husband as it was to me when I announced that the school Nativity was tomorrow followed by the Christmas dinner at school on Wednesday and then they break up on Thursday!
This more than anything else made it serious!
There is not a mince pie in the house....we have not discussed the bird...or indeed the fish...I cannot remember a time when it all arrived in such a rush....but hey its Christmas......and I love it.....Ho Ho Ho etc...
Sunday, 11 December 2011
A spider in bed.
Having been up early to do the 8am communion I left my husband in bed to wave me off....one of the best bits of his week! On return I went upstairs to make the bed and found we had had company during the night. Under his pillow was a large spider!
I am not phobic about spiders.....but I definitely don't like them...Its a combination of the way they move so quickly and how they manage to trap things for lunch! Their larders with dead things dangling are the stuff of nightmare.
During my brief flirtation with Buddhism I went through a non killing period....my home became a haven for every sort of horrid insect! When we were trying to sell the house we were startled to find how many spiders lived in the glass porch! They were putting prospective buyers off and had to go!
Now I don't kill much but there are exceptions such as snails and greenfly outside and spiders inside.
Thank goodness the spider under the pillow this morning was already squashed when I uncovered it but I found myself devoutly hoping that it had not crawled over me to get to him....even if it was very cold last night!
Tonight will be the first night of spider watch....I am not sure how long it will last but I will check every nook and cranny before retiring!
I am not phobic about spiders.....but I definitely don't like them...Its a combination of the way they move so quickly and how they manage to trap things for lunch! Their larders with dead things dangling are the stuff of nightmare.
During my brief flirtation with Buddhism I went through a non killing period....my home became a haven for every sort of horrid insect! When we were trying to sell the house we were startled to find how many spiders lived in the glass porch! They were putting prospective buyers off and had to go!
Now I don't kill much but there are exceptions such as snails and greenfly outside and spiders inside.
Thank goodness the spider under the pillow this morning was already squashed when I uncovered it but I found myself devoutly hoping that it had not crawled over me to get to him....even if it was very cold last night!
Tonight will be the first night of spider watch....I am not sure how long it will last but I will check every nook and cranny before retiring!
Saturday, 10 December 2011
Two Tory husbands!
I don't either talk politics with my husband or disagree on much.....but that statement was in danger of coming adrift this morning when he was applauding Cameron on his euro stand! He was genuinely astounded that I took a different point of view...and thats not the subject of this blog.....my political views are irrelevant to it!
Its whether or not you have to allow a disagreement over anything to become acrimonious!
We are never all going to agree with each other all the time.....it would be a dreadfully dull world if we did. We are all the sum total of our life experiences and therefor our views are always going to be varied and sometimes if violently expressed, disruptive.
My first husband David was an arch Tory and in order to watch the election results we had to do it in separate rooms...other wise by morning we were not speaking!
The present David is also a Tory though not arch...he does see that sometimes they are wrong and on the whole we agree to just not talk about it all much and we even managed the election results in reasonable harmony!
When we do disagree though we have two options......we can quietly bury the subject and never mention it again or we can sit down and talk it through without resorting to personal abuse.
And we do always manage it...we have never fallen out over anything either of us feel strongly about...and are always amazed at just how much common ground exists between us...if we take the trouble to look for it.
So why can't this happen in real life?
Why do people take it so badly if you reveal that you don't agree with a particular proposition?
I recently said to someone that I didn't always have to agree with everything he put forward but it didn't mean I don't support him personally....
I suppose having now been married to two men with totally opposing views to mine I have learned the art of negotiation. Or of just dodging the issue if things get heated.
In any community there are bound to be opposing views on everything.... If its a small community everyone knows what everyone else is thinking...or they think they do...Too often we leap in to try to resolve a problem and only make it worse....and by the next day everyone knows....
I am now an old woman who has lived in various places, doing several jobs and making lots of friends as I went along......they nearly all hold views that I do not share but they are either unaware of this or just tolerate my peculiarities with good grace....
We have to try to live together in harmony. We have to learn to turn the other cheek.... and I have had plenty of practice since God sent me two husbands with totally opposing views.....
It's a funny old world as Margaret Thatcher once observed....but don't get me going on that one!
Its whether or not you have to allow a disagreement over anything to become acrimonious!
We are never all going to agree with each other all the time.....it would be a dreadfully dull world if we did. We are all the sum total of our life experiences and therefor our views are always going to be varied and sometimes if violently expressed, disruptive.
My first husband David was an arch Tory and in order to watch the election results we had to do it in separate rooms...other wise by morning we were not speaking!
The present David is also a Tory though not arch...he does see that sometimes they are wrong and on the whole we agree to just not talk about it all much and we even managed the election results in reasonable harmony!
When we do disagree though we have two options......we can quietly bury the subject and never mention it again or we can sit down and talk it through without resorting to personal abuse.
And we do always manage it...we have never fallen out over anything either of us feel strongly about...and are always amazed at just how much common ground exists between us...if we take the trouble to look for it.
So why can't this happen in real life?
Why do people take it so badly if you reveal that you don't agree with a particular proposition?
I recently said to someone that I didn't always have to agree with everything he put forward but it didn't mean I don't support him personally....
I suppose having now been married to two men with totally opposing views to mine I have learned the art of negotiation. Or of just dodging the issue if things get heated.
In any community there are bound to be opposing views on everything.... If its a small community everyone knows what everyone else is thinking...or they think they do...Too often we leap in to try to resolve a problem and only make it worse....and by the next day everyone knows....
I am now an old woman who has lived in various places, doing several jobs and making lots of friends as I went along......they nearly all hold views that I do not share but they are either unaware of this or just tolerate my peculiarities with good grace....
We have to try to live together in harmony. We have to learn to turn the other cheek.... and I have had plenty of practice since God sent me two husbands with totally opposing views.....
It's a funny old world as Margaret Thatcher once observed....but don't get me going on that one!
Friday, 9 December 2011
A sheep dog for Christmas.
I am in school this afternoon making the Christingles with the children. As we get closer to Christmas I often read them a poem or two and they like them nearly as much as the grown ups do!
The poems by U A Fanthorpe are a rich source for me......all read with the authentic Lancashire accent of course...
The poems by U A Fanthorpe are a rich source for me......all read with the authentic Lancashire accent of course...
The Sheepdog .
After the first bright light
And the talking bird
And the singing
And the sky filled up wi wings
And then the silence
Our lads sez
We’d better go then
Stay Shep, Good dog, stay
So I stayed wi t sheep
After they cum back
It sounded grand, what they’d see
Camels, kings and such
Wi presents....human sort
Not the kind you eat
And a baby. Presents were for him.
Our lads took him a lamb
I had to stay behind wi sheep
Pity they didn’t tek me along too
I’m good wi sheep
And the baby might have liked a dog
After all that myrr and such.
I hope you all like this one about the sheepdog. It has a wonderful ring of truth about it!
Thursday, 8 December 2011
The joys of Sat Nav
We do have fun here....particularly with people who follow sat nav directions.
These machines can be wonderful....and I have many times been delivered to the right place at the right time by virtue of following all the instructions by bossy women whose favourite line seems to be..
"Now, make a u turn when possible. "
LIving here though does provide some glorious moments when other people, unfamiliar with the area follow the instructions to the letter.
Our last house was on the cliff just above the town. There was a very steep narrow lane leading up from the sea wall. I once stood on our balcony to see the archdeacon desperately trying to get to the top of it because his sat nav was telling him too. I ran down and gave him the right directions which started with....Go back down the lane but you'll have to reverse....there's nowhere to turn! He needed a stiff drink when he finally arrived....he got coffee!
The other major problem now we live right outside the village is that the post code covers a large area...three farms and two cottages all down bumpy lanes so they often take the wrong turning. The man delivering solar panels to us this morning had arrived late last night and had slept in his van.....parked on someone else's drive!
Another hazard for the unwary is the ferry....the car ferry that links us to Truro does not work at night...so for those who are travelling in the dark they arrive at the ferry to find they have a very long wait for it to open....most elect to go the long way round by road sooner than sit and wait there all night.
Our sat nav is wonderful....it just just doesn't know about all the new roads built in the last year or so, so we only switch on when we are well clear!
Apart from that they do make life easier than it used to be when going to strange places......though I have to say that as the navigator most times in my husband's car I find following the map directions on the iPad easier to cope with!
Sat navs in cars do though now make it possible to travel hopefully and to arrive in good heart! Mostly!
These machines can be wonderful....and I have many times been delivered to the right place at the right time by virtue of following all the instructions by bossy women whose favourite line seems to be..
"Now, make a u turn when possible. "
LIving here though does provide some glorious moments when other people, unfamiliar with the area follow the instructions to the letter.
Our last house was on the cliff just above the town. There was a very steep narrow lane leading up from the sea wall. I once stood on our balcony to see the archdeacon desperately trying to get to the top of it because his sat nav was telling him too. I ran down and gave him the right directions which started with....Go back down the lane but you'll have to reverse....there's nowhere to turn! He needed a stiff drink when he finally arrived....he got coffee!
The other major problem now we live right outside the village is that the post code covers a large area...three farms and two cottages all down bumpy lanes so they often take the wrong turning. The man delivering solar panels to us this morning had arrived late last night and had slept in his van.....parked on someone else's drive!
Another hazard for the unwary is the ferry....the car ferry that links us to Truro does not work at night...so for those who are travelling in the dark they arrive at the ferry to find they have a very long wait for it to open....most elect to go the long way round by road sooner than sit and wait there all night.
Our sat nav is wonderful....it just just doesn't know about all the new roads built in the last year or so, so we only switch on when we are well clear!
Apart from that they do make life easier than it used to be when going to strange places......though I have to say that as the navigator most times in my husband's car I find following the map directions on the iPad easier to cope with!
Sat navs in cars do though now make it possible to travel hopefully and to arrive in good heart! Mostly!
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Banking angst!
David and I have planned to get into Truro this week.......I have a bit of banking to do and he needs a hair cut....I did offer to give him a quick trim but the scathing look I got convinced me it was not a good idea.....
The problem is that actually having a whole morning or afternoon out is proving difficult!
One of the more expensive parcels I ordered over the net is coming today....at first it was just today but now I have had a text message that gives me the hour to expect it.....this is wonderful because now in theory I can go out before or after .....
But I have to be psyched up for one of things I need to do.....and if I start now I'll peak too soon!
The spanish bank who took over my building society account has now made me cross. I want to close the account since they insist on not paying me any interest until I spend another 20 minutes with them...to discuss the options.....I did this last year and all I want them to do is stay with the same plan this year..no need to go in again...
But they insist that I have to talk to someone ! In the meanwhile they are not paying any interest at all! So next time I go in I am going to close the account..I want my money back to go where its appreciated!
We are not talking huge sums here ....a very small amount is involved but its now not the money...its the rudeness of assuming I don't know what I want!
I have a current account elsewhere and I am sure I can plonk the money with them without having to be subjected to the hard sell....
Another ex building society account tries occasionally to straighten me out but now take my word for it that I don't need their advice....They have given up on me so why do I have so much trouble with the Spanish lot?
As you can see I am now fully in attack mode...now would be the time to strike......but alas, I have to stay in to receive the parcel.....by which time I will be full of the spirit of Christmas....and will have gone soft again!
My first husband was a carpet bagger who set up all these accounts in the days of glorious privatisation. Little did he know how very annoying it would turn out!
The problem is that actually having a whole morning or afternoon out is proving difficult!
One of the more expensive parcels I ordered over the net is coming today....at first it was just today but now I have had a text message that gives me the hour to expect it.....this is wonderful because now in theory I can go out before or after .....
But I have to be psyched up for one of things I need to do.....and if I start now I'll peak too soon!
The spanish bank who took over my building society account has now made me cross. I want to close the account since they insist on not paying me any interest until I spend another 20 minutes with them...to discuss the options.....I did this last year and all I want them to do is stay with the same plan this year..no need to go in again...
But they insist that I have to talk to someone ! In the meanwhile they are not paying any interest at all! So next time I go in I am going to close the account..I want my money back to go where its appreciated!
We are not talking huge sums here ....a very small amount is involved but its now not the money...its the rudeness of assuming I don't know what I want!
I have a current account elsewhere and I am sure I can plonk the money with them without having to be subjected to the hard sell....
Another ex building society account tries occasionally to straighten me out but now take my word for it that I don't need their advice....They have given up on me so why do I have so much trouble with the Spanish lot?
As you can see I am now fully in attack mode...now would be the time to strike......but alas, I have to stay in to receive the parcel.....by which time I will be full of the spirit of Christmas....and will have gone soft again!
My first husband was a carpet bagger who set up all these accounts in the days of glorious privatisation. Little did he know how very annoying it would turn out!
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Bureaucracy gone bananas?
We are waiting in this morning for a surveyor to come and look at our roof! It is less than 8 weeks since the last one came....Putting solar panels up there seemed like a good idea...as did putting insulation down in our loft....We are all being entreated to go green, to conserve heat and to use renewable energy where possible. So why do they make it so complicated?
We have now got one row of solar panels up on the roof. They have been seen by a lot of people going by and we have had many enquiries...
We have watched the gauge telling us how much electricity we are generating going round and round even in this dull weather...so yes, in response to a sales call we agreed to another row of roof panels....
Since then we have been waiting for quite a long time to have a survey done! Its the same firm who did a survey last time...a few weeks ago!
Is this yet another example of bureaucracy gone bananas?
We have also tried to get our insulation sorted out.....we must lose a lot of heat through our roof but the bat people are adamant that we must not disturb the bats.....
My husband is going a round muttering about putting bats before people!
I am all in favour of looking after the bats...but in a drafty old farmhouse which has always had them I cannot imagine they would come to much harm to have rolls of foam covering their floors!
All the rules and regulations seem to be multiplying all on their own.....they are breeding and it will soon be against the law to disturb the law makers as they produce yet more traps for the unwary!
Its a weird life when on the one hand we are asked to conserve energy and on the other are told we can't without another survey and that we must on no account disturb the bats on our attic!
We have now got one row of solar panels up on the roof. They have been seen by a lot of people going by and we have had many enquiries...
We have watched the gauge telling us how much electricity we are generating going round and round even in this dull weather...so yes, in response to a sales call we agreed to another row of roof panels....
Since then we have been waiting for quite a long time to have a survey done! Its the same firm who did a survey last time...a few weeks ago!
Is this yet another example of bureaucracy gone bananas?
We have also tried to get our insulation sorted out.....we must lose a lot of heat through our roof but the bat people are adamant that we must not disturb the bats.....
My husband is going a round muttering about putting bats before people!
I am all in favour of looking after the bats...but in a drafty old farmhouse which has always had them I cannot imagine they would come to much harm to have rolls of foam covering their floors!
All the rules and regulations seem to be multiplying all on their own.....they are breeding and it will soon be against the law to disturb the law makers as they produce yet more traps for the unwary!
Its a weird life when on the one hand we are asked to conserve energy and on the other are told we can't without another survey and that we must on no account disturb the bats on our attic!
Monday, 5 December 2011
Internet gadgets.
Searching for presents on the internet is for the most part wonderful....it does save so much walking! But its only wonderful when it works! It is also a good way of getting very frustrated indeed!
Having browsed various sites for large men...David comes into that category...its annoying to find the item of desire is now out of stock in all the large sizes!
Also it has to be said I am not good at sizes......Changing everything from inches to centimetres did not help....so quite often things I've ordered without seeing them arrive much much bigger than I'd intended! I have a new policy this year for grand daughters....I am going to send them cheques! I am sure they would rather spend the money than receive what I have sent them in the past! Chunky jewellery, dubious smelly things, scarves etc.
At least I've never sent anyone socks!
Ah so maybe this year.......I could get away with it! Hmmmm
One year I bought my husband a toy aeroplane that would actually fly. First trip out to the garden it got picked up by the wind and it had its first and last flight all at once...
Gadgets are great.....but you have to be sure the recipient hasn't already got them!
Traditional gifts like books, records etc are now old fashioned....kindles and iPods have replaced them!
The present I bought David two years ago has stood the test of time.....its a small globe that floats free with no means of support....held in place by magnetic force.....its still there and its a very useful warning that our electricity has gone off as the globe thumps down!
All I need now is some inspiration......or it might have to be socks! Huge ones!
Having browsed various sites for large men...David comes into that category...its annoying to find the item of desire is now out of stock in all the large sizes!
Also it has to be said I am not good at sizes......Changing everything from inches to centimetres did not help....so quite often things I've ordered without seeing them arrive much much bigger than I'd intended! I have a new policy this year for grand daughters....I am going to send them cheques! I am sure they would rather spend the money than receive what I have sent them in the past! Chunky jewellery, dubious smelly things, scarves etc.
At least I've never sent anyone socks!
Ah so maybe this year.......I could get away with it! Hmmmm
One year I bought my husband a toy aeroplane that would actually fly. First trip out to the garden it got picked up by the wind and it had its first and last flight all at once...
Gadgets are great.....but you have to be sure the recipient hasn't already got them!
Traditional gifts like books, records etc are now old fashioned....kindles and iPods have replaced them!
The present I bought David two years ago has stood the test of time.....its a small globe that floats free with no means of support....held in place by magnetic force.....its still there and its a very useful warning that our electricity has gone off as the globe thumps down!
All I need now is some inspiration......or it might have to be socks! Huge ones!
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Vandals?
I am going to church with my husband this morning which is lovely because he can drive! He still goes to "his" church every Sunday whilst I dash around the Roseland. so it is great when I have a chauffeur!
It is sad but true that recently we have had some vandals around the village doing things like scraping keys along the sides of cars, letting down tyres etc......fairly small things but likely to cause some grief if its done to you!
People are wonderful.....I get phone calls now asking if I need a lift anywhere?
I always refuse with grateful thanks but it is very nice to know that a lift is there if I need it. The chances of anyone in a small village having their car vandalised when its out of season with few visitors is very small which makes it even more of a worry!
However the time when I lived in Essex and used to tie my bike up at the station most evenings whilst I worked in London has made me resilient to it all. In the under path in one place there were two rapes and one murder during my period of commuting. One poor man threw himself off the station bridge onto the cycle path I was using one night. After I'd gone thankfully!
Its made me fairly unimpressed with whats happening here.
Buts its still good to have a chauffeur occasionally . Bless him.
It is sad but true that recently we have had some vandals around the village doing things like scraping keys along the sides of cars, letting down tyres etc......fairly small things but likely to cause some grief if its done to you!
People are wonderful.....I get phone calls now asking if I need a lift anywhere?
I always refuse with grateful thanks but it is very nice to know that a lift is there if I need it. The chances of anyone in a small village having their car vandalised when its out of season with few visitors is very small which makes it even more of a worry!
However the time when I lived in Essex and used to tie my bike up at the station most evenings whilst I worked in London has made me resilient to it all. In the under path in one place there were two rapes and one murder during my period of commuting. One poor man threw himself off the station bridge onto the cycle path I was using one night. After I'd gone thankfully!
Its made me fairly unimpressed with whats happening here.
Buts its still good to have a chauffeur occasionally . Bless him.
Saturday, 3 December 2011
Advents Joy and pain
Advent as a period of waiting has long been forgotten by the consumer generation.....the tinsel and elves are firmly established in our midst but the readings for today put it firmly into perspective. The glorious words of Isaiah ring through our hearts to the music of Handel and its worth I think putting it into some sort of perspective.
Three different Isaiahs were the prophets of God....and this passage Chapter 40..1-11 by the second one was written during the last year of Jewish exile in Babylonia...They could see the forces of Cyrus King of Persia conquering all in their path and Babylon was going to surrender.....this meant they could finally go home but not quite yet...they were in a period of waiting.... The beauty and joy is obvious as they wait for God to gather up His flock and gently lead them home.
It was home to rebuild though, to start again , to put back what had been destroyed....
Getting back to the destruction that was Jerusalem and its Temple was going to be hard and they remembered that even as they rejoiced.
And that is I think what Advent is about.....its getting ready for the Christ child and to be led into a new place both of beauty and hard work. The poem written by Rowan Williams on Advent is one I enjoy.
Three different Isaiahs were the prophets of God....and this passage Chapter 40..1-11 by the second one was written during the last year of Jewish exile in Babylonia...They could see the forces of Cyrus King of Persia conquering all in their path and Babylon was going to surrender.....this meant they could finally go home but not quite yet...they were in a period of waiting.... The beauty and joy is obvious as they wait for God to gather up His flock and gently lead them home.
It was home to rebuild though, to start again , to put back what had been destroyed....
Getting back to the destruction that was Jerusalem and its Temple was going to be hard and they remembered that even as they rejoiced.
And that is I think what Advent is about.....its getting ready for the Christ child and to be led into a new place both of beauty and hard work. The poem written by Rowan Williams on Advent is one I enjoy.
He will come like last years leaf fall
One night when the November wind
Has flayed the trees to bone, and earth
wakes choking on the mould
the soft shroud’s folding
He will come, will come
Will come like crying in the night
Like blood, like breaking
As the earth writhes to toss him free
He will come like child.
Friday, 2 December 2011
Daft CRB checks.
Cuts cuts and more cuts are inflicted upon us all as we try to save money on waste and profligate spending.. I am all in favour of spending tax payers money wisely and in this climate its essential that some cut backs are put in place. So I have identified one area where some saving might be made.
CRB checks! They are now almost a dirty set of words! Obviously some checks need to be in place though I haven't noticed that crime has been much reduced in the last years....but what is absurd is that sometimes people have to have multiple checks.
I for instance have checks for the work in the Church and another one for being a school governor.
My husband helps out at stroke clubs after his first wife had one. He has to fill in the form several times for each individual club!
The whole system is just plain daft. Surely if you have one check done it should remain in place for all the other things you might need it for.
No one wants to see the vulnerable, young or old harassed in any way....but a simpler system must be possible than the present systems of repeating over and over again that you have had no dealing with the police on any related issues.
It costs us all money each time its done. Over and over again.
If this government was to take just one sensible step, this one way might bring them some much needed crediblity. Ot is that just asking too much?
CRB checks! They are now almost a dirty set of words! Obviously some checks need to be in place though I haven't noticed that crime has been much reduced in the last years....but what is absurd is that sometimes people have to have multiple checks.
I for instance have checks for the work in the Church and another one for being a school governor.
My husband helps out at stroke clubs after his first wife had one. He has to fill in the form several times for each individual club!
The whole system is just plain daft. Surely if you have one check done it should remain in place for all the other things you might need it for.
No one wants to see the vulnerable, young or old harassed in any way....but a simpler system must be possible than the present systems of repeating over and over again that you have had no dealing with the police on any related issues.
It costs us all money each time its done. Over and over again.
If this government was to take just one sensible step, this one way might bring them some much needed crediblity. Ot is that just asking too much?
Thursday, 1 December 2011
A cradle of news paper ?
Yesterday I was sent a most unlikely poem. Its by Alan Titchmarsh who I have met... but had not realised was a committed Christian.....however the poem touches a subject many of us hold dear so I am sharing it....
Extract from A New Nativity by Alan Titchmarsh.
When all those long, long years ago
A child came down to earth below
To save the likes of you and me
From evil, harm and misery
Do you suppose that even then
There were some doubting heedless men
Who rather than believe the word
JUst turned their backs and never heard?
If Jesus Christ was born today
In newspapers instead of hay,
I doubt He’s even come to be
In News at Ten’s “ And finally”
For now its hard to be impressed
With goodness, gentleness and blessed
With something more than mere sensation
A baby born to save a nation?
Gives pause for thought?
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