Friday, January 22, 2010
And home - and away again. Oh, and a clown. Really
(backposting) Home's always the good bit, and I got there around 1400, mainly because the plane had been delayed by over an hour. I had a quick bath, got changed, and headed off to pick up Miri, who was with Victoria as Moo had a governors' meeting. Moo brought Jo back around 1530, and I had about two hours with all of them before they headed off to Moo's parents, and I headed off to the High Leighs Conference Centre for a CME weekend.This really wasn't what I needed. I was really quite jet-lagged, and the fact that we had a session with a priest/clown in the evening did little to make me less grumpy. Remember that Grumpy was a dwarf: I was a full-size, 6ft 2in grump giant. Although I got the point about leaving work, and enjoying ourselves, where exactly were God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit? Nowhere very obvious, is the problem.
Great to see lots of friends, and particularly good that we had all 3 years of curates there. Less grumpy by the time I got to bed, and went to sleep nice and quickly.
Labels: family, humour, ministry
Sunday, December 27, 2009
A quieter day
(backposting) Well, we went out for coffee and cake at Wheatcrofts, a local garden/whatever else store, and we had a quiet day. Moo got better slowly.Saturday, December 26, 2009
Off to the in-laws
(backposting) Moo woke up not at _all_ well, poor thing. Not a hang-over (she definitely didn't drink enough), but really suffering. Mum, Dad and Leo got off OK and we headed off to Kate and Mac's around 0930. I drove, Moo dozed. Jo didn't sleep: but on the other hand she announced about halfway through the drive that she could count in 2s. And she could. It's something that Simon, her god-father, spent time with Jo on the other day. And, it turns out, she can count in 3s, 4s and 5s, too. Quite a bright cookie.Jo and Miri were so pleased to see their cousins when we got there, and everyone enjoyed the present-opening. Well, Moo generally just tried to stay upright, and she left to lie in bed once we were done, servicing only after the children had gone to bed.
Hopefully she'll be better soon.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Handing over the in-laws
(backposting) Moo's away tonight, so her parents have very kindly agreed to come down and look after the girls. They turned up last night after they'd gone to bed, and hopefully both of them will behave well.Labels: family
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Skype
A good day at work: we had two Reference Group meetings to discuss the work we've done so far - and next steps - and I think they both went very well. We're now talking about what we might be doing in August next year, which suggests that people are really buying into things.In the evening, after my usual sauna and swim combo, I had supper, and then talked to the girls on Skype, with video. It was lovely to see them (and talk to them), although Moo didn't look very comfortable at all, with the two of them climbing all over her.
My Dirk Bogarde season continued with the excellent The Blue Lamp, in which Jack Warner makes his debut as PC George Dixon (later to become Dixon of Dock Green). Good ending: using the tic tac at the greyhound track was a nice twist. The deprivation post-war (it was released in 1949) and the lack of cars on the street made it an interesting watch from a social point of view as well. More Bogarde to come!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Sleep, iPhone, cold, work
Yesterday's entry finished with a question: would the girls sleep in? The answer, of course, was a resounding "no". They woke up around 0530, though they stayed in their room till the statutory 0615.So everyone was very tired. I was presiding at the 1000, and Mum and Dad brought the girls over for it while Moo worked. A good service, and I do enjoy delivering a blessing to Jo and Miri. Afterwards we went to Dickens Restaurant for lunch, and then Mum and Dad headed back home while Jo got very sad. We took the girls for a walk (sold mainly as a chance to jump in puddles), but not before we'd had some time to play together as a family: messing on the playroom floor with Marble Run.
The girls went down much better today, and I did a bit of work. A bit of a relief, as I got something finished which I wasn't convinced I'd manage to fix even tomorrow morning. Oh, and the iPhone? Dad's got a new one, so I spent a fair amount of time on the phone to Orange, whose number reallocation system seemed to have failed for the weekend. Lee knows that he's not supposed to allow Dad up to see us with technology that he's not yet mastered.
Labels: family, girls, phone, sleep
Friday, November 13, 2009
All on my own
(backposting) Moo headed off to her parents last nigh, so I was on my own with the girls last night. They did very well, and although Miri woke up in the middle of the night, she went straight back to bed without any complaint. Although they woke up a little early, they stayed in bed until the clock went to "sun" (they've got a special clock which tells them when to get up).After a hard days' work, I took them up to Kate and Mac's. Miri fell asleep within about half an hour, and Jojo stayed awake until about 10-15 minutes before we arrived.
We arrived quite early, as I'd left earlier than expected (I'd had a bit of a break-through around 1600), and it was good to see them all. Miri went to bed pretty soon, and Jo insisted that Jenny (who'd gone a spa day with Moo and Kate today) put her to bed.Trying to work out whether to go home first thing in the morning, to work all day there.
Labels: family
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Ballet
(backposting) We all went along to take Jo to ballet this morning, as I'd not seen much of the girls - or Moo - for a while. The rest of the time was just, well, bits and bobs, really. Moo's not feeling very well - a very nasty cold - and the girls aren't 100% either, so a trip to Sainsbury's, doing some tidying (ready for the radiators' advertised arrival on Monday), and that was about it. Definitely a Buffy night in.Labels: family
Friday, September 25, 2009
Family
(backposting) Well, we used to be able to leave early on a Friday - assuming work commitments can be managed - to go to see friends or family. But these days Jojo's at school, and that's not an option. So we left after the girls' supper, and drove off down to my parents' in Somerset. Jo took rather a long time to get to sleep, though, so after interminable games of "I spy" (with various, interesting rule changes instigated by the younger player), I taught her the rudiments of algebra. "Let's pretend that letters are numbers. Let's pretend that "tuh" ("t") is 2, and that "ss" ("s") is 3. What's "tuh" add "ss"?" Jo then failed to add them up correctly on her fingers, but she certainly understood what was going on. I'm quite (no - very) impressed.And I wrote another sermon. I'm going to be preaching at St Andrew's, Cheddar, on Sunday, when my father will be taking the service. This is scary, and I wasn't happy about the one I had prepared, so I started a new one. And completed it, but I'm still a little worried.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Beach time!
(backposting) Despite being up to nearly 2100, the girls still woke up around 0610. Moo and I slept really badly, and Moo kindly kept the girls quiet for a while so that I could get more sleep. Moo's lovely.And breakfast started at 0800. Again, the girls did well. We headed off to Walberswick beach. Jumping in and out of waves, getting soaked, flying kites, all that. I love being a dad, I really, really do.
We watched the rest of The Wizard of Oz, the girls did really well at supper again, and we slept somewhat better. Oh: let me say it again: being a dad's great.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Suits
Yes, I bought the suits. Down 70%, though they need some altering, but excellent quality, and a bargain. Unluckily, they're just not going to be ready in time for my flight back next Friday, so I'm going to try to convince someone to bring them over at some point.On a different note, the girls seem to be enjoying the Wii Fit which Moo ordered just before I went away. According to Moo, they're better than her at some of the games, and are practising so that they can beat me, too. Fair enough.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Leaving on a jet plane
(backposting) Off at 0730, and very sad to be leaving the girls. I'm not sure whether their waving me off from the sitting room window helps or not. Clear run to the airport, and quick check in (thanks to the Star Alliance gold card). Did some shopping - books and single malt - and then to the lounge, which was relaxing.Got the gate early-ish, and when we were called up to the desk to embark, I'd been upgraded. This always makes me glad. Oh yes.
Tried watching Watchmen, but really couldn't get into it. Tried reading a novel I'd bought, but it was just terrible, so in the end, I just slept and read a book on NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming - one of the worst names ever), which was interesting.
We arrived early, and I managed to make it to a very informal Communion service at St Anne's Reston, a really welcoming, inclusive, family-based church. I had a great, great time, and was so pleased to be able to take Communion. I'd already been in touch with the incumbent, James, who'd been very friendly over email, but it was great to receive such a lovely welcome.
Back to the hotel, did some working out in the gym - I really want to get into the habit of doing this when I'm travelling - some food (1 beer) and to bed. Tired.
Labels: communion, family, travel
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Driving home
(backposting) How can kids stay awake for 2 and a half hours, and then suddenly both fall asleep under 10 minutes before arrival? Well, that's what they did. We managed to get away from the cottage by 0930 after packing, goodbyes, etc., and headed straight off to Freeport. There we had lunch (Chinese buffet at Aroma - Miri very, very tired), and then wandered round, shopping. Bits and pieces, mainly, but good to be able to treat ourselves for a change.Back home, and trying to get into routine, but mainly failing. The girls were very sleepy, but Jo still took ages, which is sometimes the way, and we went to bed pretty early too. Off to the States tomorrow!
Labels: family
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Swimming
(backposting) Went with Kate to a lovely simple BCP (Book of Common Prayer) service at 0800 in Overstrand Church, which was a good start to the day.And we all went to the beach. I think there's going to be a lot of going to be the beach, even if it's 140 steps down (and then back up again, more relevantly). I went swimming, as did Jen and Turtle (with some support), and we saw a seal! It came to within about 7 metres of me, and surfaced a couple of times. A lovely start to the holiday.
Labels: church, family, holiday, swimming
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Opportunities
Miri was up during the night, and joined me in bed, so I didn't sleep so well. But then again, without a job, I didn't feel even slightly upset about going back to bed for an hour and a half after the girls headed off in the morning.I met some of the deanery clergy team for an informal chapter meeting over lunch in a pub (The Lion in Earls Colne, as it happens), and after a quick bit of searching for new jobs, I headed off to see and old friend, Chris, in Cambridge. So, as the quick bit of searching yielded a possible prospect, and Chris also had another one, it was rather a productive day in the end. Maybe I should get in the habit of a good sleep in the morning...
Moo got back, and all seems to have gone OK at her folks'.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Family
Off to see Jim and Nina over near Milton Keynes, for Florence's 3rd birthday party. Not really a party (though Jo tried to organise games, and there was cake and (at our suggestion!) party bags at the end), but more a gathering of family. Poll and Lee were there, as were Hayley and Giles (and Sebastian), and Chris and Alan (Nina's parents), and some other friends (Sebby, Lucy and their daughter Matilde).The kids played really well together, including Miri and little Frankie (who didn't do much playing with others, but is a lovely little boy). Now that they're closer, and the children are getting to an age where they can play well together, we're going to try to get to see them more often. We had a lovely time, and the girls had a good sleep in the car on the way back, as well as going straight back to sleep when we got home.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Ordination and first Eucharist
(backposting) So much to blog about. So much. But I'm still processing it, so I'll put down what I can.
Ordination
We arrived at the church early, and it was lovely to greet people as they arrived. I had problems letting go, and not being the curate: there were other people to sort things out, and in the end, I just had to be an ordinand, get ready, and go with it. I robed up in cassock, surplice and white alb - a beautiful 18th century white alb that Dad had been given for his priesting, and which he passed on to me. We formed up in the St Andrew's Centre car park, and then walked over to the church. Moo was my lay sponsor, and I held her hand as we processed up the aisle together. There's a fair amount of preamble - all of it important - before the actual act of ordination, and I was the third of the 3 to be ordained, but in the end my time came. I knelt in front of the bishop, and the clergy clustered round and laid their hands on me. There were 10, I think: the bishop, the bishop's chaplain (Tim), the preacher (Chris), my father, my incumbent (John), Geoff (from the team), Viv (from the team), Mark and Ian's incumbents and James (a good friend, and previously from the team). Moo says it was a big of a scrum, but I couldn't tell. As the bishop said the words, it felt heavy, and I felt surrounded, and it was good. And then, I was a priest. The bishop anointed Ian's hands, then Mark's, and then mine, and we were done.
The service moved into a Eucharist, and we stood to either side of the bishop as he presided. After we'd taken communion from him, we got to sit down and just relax a bit. The service finished, the bishop took us three, new priests, down the aisle, and it was over, and time for some pictures.
First Eucharist
The parish put together a fabulous bring and share lunch: what lovely people. I had a chance to catch up with a few of them, but also friends and family. Leo, Rosie and Andy, Mark and Jenny, Mum and Dad, of course, Aunty Les and others, too. Si and D arrived in time for the 1500 Eucharist, as did Gary with his family, which I'd not expected. I walked the main players - Dad (serving for me), Sally (reading the Gospel) and Ian (preaching) - through the choreography first, and then it was time to start.It was an immensely emotional experience for me. Mum later said that the first time she'd seen me cry in church was 31 years ago, and she thought she'd see it again, and it was close. Some of the liturgy, a couple of the hymns, and also parts of Byrd 4-part all had me close to tears. But when it came to the two parts which mattered the most to me - the Absolution and the Eucharistic prayer - it all worked. I'd been worried about the Absolution, but it felt right. Even more so for the Eucharistic prayer. I'd spent a lot of time preparing, and in particular thinking about the actions and gestures that I'd be using, before deciding to go with pretty much the bare minimum. I was boiling in a warm chasuble in a very warm church (Catherine had needed to call an ambulance for a member of the congregation at the ordination service - though I'd not noticed! - and the afternoon was hotter), we had a gospel procession, a Latin mass setting, and pretty "high" setting, but the theology is pretty low for me.
When it came to the prayer of institution, it just felt right to be saying it. And I was just aware that I was not the first person to be saying these words and celebrating this feast, but was part of a long tradition, made up of many, many others. It was just right. And Dad hadn't realised that he would be the first person to whom I administered communion, and that was very special indeed.
Our last hymn was "Jerusalem": a mission hymn. And, although not everyone enjoyed it, we had my favourite piece of organ music: "Dieu parmi nous" (God among us) by Olivier Messiaen. We sat, rather than processed, and it was the perfect end to my first communion.
Aftermath
We finished the day with friends coming back for a barbecue - during which it rained very, very hard. Si and D with Morgan and Boo, James and Ruth and Sally all came, and John and Mo arrived later as the others were departing, giving us a good chance for a chat with them. The girls pleaded tiredness around 1900 and we put them to bed without even a bath, and they were down so quickly that we had a good long time to chat. A good end to a long day, and we went to be tired.Only for Jo to turn up with a temperature (I took her into the spare room with me) and Miri to go in with Moo, having been woken by Jo's perambulations. Such is life.
Labels: church, eucharist, family, friends, music, ordination
Friday, June 12, 2009
More gardening
(backposting) Bad nettles, bad brambles. Be dug up! Be destroyed.Jo went out for a ballet show this evening, which left me and Miri for bedtime (Moo took Jo). Miri loved it.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Duxford
(backposting) After Jo's ballet, Moo and mum headed off to Wisbech for a knitting workshop at Octavia Hill's Birthplace House. "Why?" you may ask. And there are lots of reasons why you might ask that. Some of the answers:- Moo's organisation is connected to the trust, so it's a work commitment - somehow
- Moo knits
- Octavia Hill was known to have knitted
- Mum thought it would be good to go with Moo
Dad and I took the girls to The Imperial War Museum Duxford. We had a great time, and the girls didn't seem to mind it too much, either.
In the evening, I cooked a side of salmon on the barbecue. Lovely, lovely.
Labels: family
Friday, June 05, 2009
My folks
(backposting) My parents are still around, and it's lovely to see the girls getting to know them properly. It's partly that Miri is now old enough to get to know people other than her parents (that'll be us). And best of all, after the girls had gone to bed, they babysat while we headed off for a meal at The White Hart in Great Yeldham - and they stood us the meal. It's so good to spend time together, even if we were feeling too honest to let them forget to charge us for the wine.Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Walking - and the rest
What have I done today? Lots and lots of things. These include:- walked to Sudbury (10 miles)
- managed to get _very_ cool GPS app (AFTrack) working. It's very impressive indeed, and apparently works with the lovely Openstreetmap, though I've yet to try it out.
- deleted about 800 emails that I should have processed over the past 12 months or so
- chose the readings for my 1st Eucharist (St Peter, transferred: Ezekiel, Acts and Matthew)
- enjoyed watching the girls playing outside: colouring, splashing in the paddling pool, etc.
- played sardines with the family (great now we've cleared more of the garden)
- barbecued sausages, corn on the cob and foccacia
- ...
Sunday, May 31, 2009
The girls and us - a family
We've suddenly - over the past week or so - got to a new stage with the girls. They've recently discovered how to play together. Not just playing for short periods of time, but extended, really complicated, involved play. They'll spend over an hour together doing role-play, drawing, colouring, having tea-parties: the whole deal. It means we can do other things such as gardening or tidying, or even have the odd minute together. And it also means that we can have more family-based times together.It doesn't work all the time, but Moo and I have been turning to each other and commenting on what a fantastic weekend we've had. I think it's to do with concentration and empathy: once both Jo and Miri have reached a particular level of each, they can participate in each other's worlds for extended periods of time. They're now really sisters, and we're a new type of family.
On a different tack, I preached at St Peter's Bocking at evensong, for James, who's currently associate priest there. I preached (again) on Isaiah 35, but this time on how it relates to Pentecost. I talked about our responsibility to work towards the parousia, when the Kingdom of God will be realised, and how maybe, when we don't feel that any of the obvious charisms (though I didn't use the word) such as prophesy, speaking in tongues, preaching, teaching, etc. have fallen to us, we can still "strengthen the weak hands, confirm the feeble knees, say to them that are of a fearful heart: be strong, fear not, behold your God will come".
Labels: family, girls, preaching
Saturday, May 30, 2009
A beautiful day, in lots of ways
Didn't feel too good to start with, but doing some ironing, and then some serious gardening, helped. In the sun, pulling up nettles and brambles - some time indoors, watching the Cup Final - outside again, doing the nettle and bramble thing - indoors - you get the idea. We barbecued for lunch, then we put the paddling pool out in the garden: all the things that you're supposed to do with kids, but you have to wait a while for them to be old enough to do.
Then the kids went to bed. Early. And we sat outside in the garden, reading the papers, drinking wine, eating crisps and cold, barbecued sausages, chatting and hardly being able to hear ourselves think because of the sound of birdsong. Moo's not annoyed or grumpy in this picture: she's just concentrating on the paper.
We went inside when it got too cold, after a fantastic day. And it's only May.
Labels: family, happiness, Moo
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
More time with family
(backposting) The girls have had a good time, and we had one, too - I've kept my phone with me, of course, as I don't have the day off.We went to a Animal Centre and Donkey Sanctuary (though their website isn't the most, erm, eye-friendly), and I particularly enjoyed the pig, which was fat and snored. Unlike me, of course...
Labels: family
Monday, May 25, 2009
Bank Holiday
(backposting) Staying with Kate and Mac, and seeing Nana, too. Nana's recently turned 94, and is getting old, so it's important for Moo and the girls to spend time with her. She enjoys being with the girls and watching the world go by.Labels: family
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Preaching against the BNP
(backposting) I take the responsibility of the pulpit very seriously, and I generally don't like preaching against something, but decided that I couldn't avoid it today. The BNP (British National Party, and I'm not going to do them the service of linking to them) have been suggesting that church leaders should keep out of politics. Not only is this rubbish (as the Archbishop of York puts it: "which Bible are they reading?"), but there's a real danger that British voters, unhappy and disillusioned with the mainstream political parties after the scandals around expenses for MPs, will vote for the BNP in enough numbers that they'll have some representation and declare that they have a mandate.So, I preached against their message of hate and fear, and talked about our duty, as Christians, to work for the coming of God's Kingdom, and the message of Isaiah 35: "Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you."
In the afternoon we had lots of fun at a fund-raiser for Jo's pre-school (lovely weather), and then we drove up to Kate and Mac's near Loughborough (in two cars, as I need to be coming back earlier than Moo and the girls.
Labels: family, love, preaching
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Mediaevalism - or not
(backposting) After all taking Jo to her ballet (and meeting another parent who had some possible job leads - that's networking for you), we had an early lunch and then headed off to Ickworth House, where they were having a Mediaeval Spectacular (though they decided to spell that "Medieval", shockingly). There was lots for the kids, and for the adults, too (I ended up going up through a variety of longbow weights - managed to draw a 150 pound bow about 26 inches, which apparently isn't bad for a beginner), with people being all sorts of authentic. Authentic food, authentic clothing, authentic tools, even authentic spectacles (and although the glass quality seemed better than expected, I was quite impressed with that). What I always feel, however, is that people just aren't authentic enough about the language. There's some cod mediaeval grammar, but no attempt at pre-Great Vowel Shift or Pre-Modal Shift speaking. Most, most disappointing. And not at all authentic (no matter that _almost_ none of the attendees would understand a word of it).Back home, playing in the garden, including learning to play "sardines", and then the kids to bed. We barbecued some steak and had a very healthy vegetable/noodle mix, which was very tasty, and watched the Eurovision Song Contest (which I twittered extensively, gaining a number of followers in the process - hope I don't disappoint them with my day-to-day tweets).
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Deacons and gardens
Today, on the advice of curate colleague the other week, I went to a different church for a change, as I had a week off. Tilbury-juxta-Clare is in the benefice I live in, and which I was helping out in before my ordination, and it was good to worship there. Keith, the rector, preached a really enjoyable sermon on the importance of deaconhood - both for laity and clergy - which felt particularly apposite as I'm approaching my ordination to the priesthood. He talked about Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch (which isn't a Famous Five book, whatever it may sound like), and other Christians - ordained deacon and not - who've served God.After that, we took to the garden. It was a lovely day, and we did lots and lots of clearing. We're beginning to be able to use the bottom half of the garden again, which is quite impressive after about 5 years of lack of attention. The girls helped - on and off - and had a great time. All-in-all, we've had a lovely weekend with the family: the sort you dream of when you start a family.
Labels: church, diaconate, family, garden
Friday, May 08, 2009
Dentist
So, if you book a dentist's appointment 6 months ago (for all the family), you'd hope that when you turned up, it would still be booked, right? Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh.Labels: family
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Frustration
(backposting) For reasons which I can't go into at this point, this has been a day of ups and downs - and ending on a down. I'm not down myself, particularly - and a good session with other curates from the diocese helped - but rather cross, and certainly frustrated.On a positive note, however, Jim and Nina had an offer accepted on a house today: they hope to move around August time. Great news, as they need to be moving out of rented accommodation and settling down: this is their chance.
Friday, April 24, 2009
All ready for a long drive
(backposting) So, we're at Kate and Mac's, and tomorrow we have a long drive up north of Edinburgh for a baptism. Stopping off with the parents-in-law (who the girls adore) seemed like a good plan, and the children are very happy to see them, as always. This weekend is going to be a write-off in terms of diet and exercise...Labels: family
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Wimpole Hall
(backposting) Off to Wimpole Hall (National Trust) with the girls and Moo. We went on a horse-drawn wagon, which they very much enjoyed (Miri kept bursting out laughing when the horses broke out of a walk into a trot), and also looked round a number of tents that were selling clothes and other accoutrements for historical reenactors. Jo seemed to enjoy talking about all the different historical costumes, and was particularly taken by the chain mail. Not quite sure why.Labels: family
Monday, April 13, 2009
Two barbecues - and back home
(backposting) The weather was so good today that Mac barbecued twice (sausages first time, chicken the second). As always, the girls had a great time, and (as often) I snuck a little sleep in the morning: justified, I felt, as I would be driving back in the evening. In the event, we had a good drive back, and Jojo settled well back in bed. Miri, on the other hand, didn't, so Moo had to go to bed a little early with Miri in the bed with her. Moo didn't complain _that_ much...Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easter Sunday
(backposting) Yay! Easter Day: one of the great joyous festivals of the Christian year, and I was full of joy, I have to admit. I started the day off with an 0800 service, at which I preached on how absurd Easter is, but how we can't not believe anyway, and then we had a 1000 service, to which Moo brought Jo and Miri. Si and D also came with Morgan and Boo, which is the first time they've come to a service in Halstead. Given how well Jo did at Gosfield last week, I decided to allow her to move around a bit and spend some time with me. It was OK while she was with Moo, the other kids, or colouring with a girl in the choir, but she wanted to be with me during the preparation of the elements, and bothered me twice while I was administering the sacraments. I wasn't cross - she just doesn't understand when it's appropriate and when it's not - but we're going to have to re-evaluate the whole thing, rather.John had the kids over to the Easter garden, which was great, and then also preached quite a long sermon. This made the service rather long, and I know that a number of the kids (beyond mine) struggled. It's a difficult balance though: it's such an important day to preach the Word, but how to manage with the youngsters? I need to give this some thought.
After the service, we stopped off home briefly and then got ourselves into the car and drove up to Kate and Mac's. Jen, Jake (not well), Turtle and Mouse were also there, so much fun was had by all, including an Easter egg hunt. Unluckily, the cousins had to leave after supper, which led to some sadness...
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Crying
Jojo is just fantastic when she's good, but can be a real nightmare when she's not. This morning, I was trying to convince her to come upstairs to get dressed so that she could go to ballet with Moo. She wanted to say downstairs and watch TV, so I came downstairs and calmly asked her to come upstairs, at length. In the end, I had to pick her up (gently, gently), and carried her upstairs.When we got there, she turned round to me, screamed in absolute rage, and pushed me away. She's never done that before, to me or Catherine. It was the rage, and the open-mouthed scream. And the rejection.
I was tired (in fact, I was about to go back to bed, as I'd been low on sleep _before_ Jo had us up at 0515), and that's part of the reason I cried, but it was horrible. Moo comforted Jo, and Miri came straight over to me and gave me a lovely cuddle. She's a real Daddy's girl at the moment, and it was lovely that she came over. But it was hard.
Labels: family, jojo, miri, sadness
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Sleeping in
(backposting) It's not that often that we get to sleep in, but I was up and dressed by 1106, which isn't too bad. Not that much later for Moo. We had a lovely meal at The Punchbowl, and then headed up to The Wool Clip, where Moo bought some wool (one lot at my suggestion, as I hope she's going to use it to knit something for me). Then back to the cottage to finish off the 2nd series of The Wire. What a great programme.When we phoned the girls, Miri said "I miss you, too" in response to me. It's lovely when they learn to speak properly.
Labels: family, girls, Moo, television
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Taking leave of friends
I finished off most of the work I'd planned to do, and had a - at times heated - wrap-up meeting. It was then time to bid goodbye to colleagues and friends that I've got to know over the past two - nearly three - years, with nary a clue as to whether I'll ever see them again. Quite a few of us will certainly keep in touch, but it's quite possible that I'll never come over to Toronto again on business, even if we do get taken over by Verisign, and they decide to keep me. It's very odd, and rather unsettling. There are quite a few people I'll really miss if that's the case.I'm currently sitting in the Air Canada lounge, bringing my blog entries up-to-date, and wishing that I'd been around to help Moo, who's had a terrible week of it: the girls have been ill, she's had little sleep, and her work has been, well, difficult. I'll be back tomorrow, and hope to pick up some of the slack.
Labels: family, home, travel, work
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Christmas Eve
(backposting) Well, it's all very exciting, obviously. Though Jo, when asked whether she was excited this morning, replied that she was because she's going to see Turtle and Mouse on Boxing Day, and only mentioned presents and Christmas Day after that.I've had a day of computer stuff, as it turns out that Kate's desktop (5+ years old?) died during a software upgrade last night. So, we went to PC World to buy her a laptop, via Maplin to buy an IDE->USB cable, and bought her an Acer in their clearance section. It's a lovely little machine, and the Ubuntu 8.10 ("Intrepid Ibex") install is so easy - I've only done upgrades before. I've so far been unable to get anything at all off her old drive: I suspect that it was that dying which killed the machine. Anyway, all working very well, and now Kate can work around the house if she wants to.
We (Kate and I) took the girls to a crib service at East Leake, which was packed, and which the girls enjoyed immensely. Glynis, the incumbent, very kindly allowed me to take part robed in the Midnight Mass, and I not only did the intercessions, but also served, which was a real honour, particularly as they have a deacon, Claire, who very graciously let me do lots of things which are, by right, her territory. I enjoyed myself so much, and would have been so sad if I'd not had the chance to take part in a service. Thanks to both of them. In bed by 0100...
Labels: diaconate, family, geekery
Monday, December 22, 2008
To the in-laws
(backposting) After breakfast, we headed off to Kate and Mac's. In the afternoon, they all went out shopping, etc., and I worked. Hmm. Not a big fan of all of this work around Christmas, but didn't take the holiday, so hey.Saturday, December 20, 2008
Christmas, early
(backposting) As we're going to be with Kate and Mac for Christmas, and we're down for Dad's 40th anniversary of his ordination, we decided to do presents and have a big meal. All the family were there, and lots of presents were exchanged. The nightmare was that I'd not removed the Flip camera from my Amazon wishlist after Kate and Mac had given it to us, so when I got it out to video proceedings (Kate and Mac had told us to open it early), Mum and Dad were a _little_ surprised. So, Jim and Nina got the one that had been bought for us. Whoops...Friday, December 19, 2008
To the West Country
(backposting) I _hate_ packing the car. Why do we need to pack so many things? Why so many presents? My criterion for a good Christmas is that we come back with presents that take up less volume than the ones we gave. I don't care whether they're more expensive, more exciting or the rest: it's all about volume.We left after Jo's pre-school, and made it to my parents' by 1600. Jim and Nina arrived after Moo had gone to bed, with their kids, but as Moo went up around 2030, that wasn't difficult.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
11/12/2008
Originally uploaded by MikeCamel
I went to Cambridge today, as I had a day off. I went to talk to someone about a possible PhD, which went well, and just because I like Cambridge: it feels like home. And it looked gorgeous today.
I also went to see my godson's carol concert today, which was fun. I'm a lucky, happy man.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Water my couch with my tears
I got up this morning and sent Moo back to bed so that she could get some more sleep. I was due to deacon at the 0800 service, but texted James (who was presiding and had already told me not to worry if I didn't make it) to say that Moo wasn't well, and neither was I, so when Moo came down at 0730, I sent her back up to bed, where she went back to sleep.At around 0820, she was awoken by tears - mine. I'd just lost it, and had suddenly burst into tears downstairs with the girls. I wasn't angry at them, but it had just got too much: Jo had been badgering me a bit, but nothing major. Moo came down, I burst into tears again, texted James to tell people I wouldn't make the 1000 either, and went to bed, where I slept for 3 hours. I couldn't put my finger on any rational issue - the only thing was that I felt I'd been saying "no" to the girls for ages, but that's not rational at all.
Anyway, we went out for lunch, and I took the girls to an indoor play centre for some of the afternoon so that Moo could do some work, so I wasn't that bad. Tomorrow, I intend to sleep even more, as I'm due to fly to New York on Tuesday.
We've not had a break without children for 3 and a half years, and we've all been ill, and we're all tired. It's just one of those things, and I'm about to go to bed. Peace be with you.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Dentist
We all went to the dentist today.- Moo: first appointment since 2003: two minutes, clear;
- Me: first appointment since 2005: two minutes, clear, two "watches";
- Miri: first ever appointment: would not open her mouth until she got so upset by the whole process that she screamed, which was quite useful;
- Jo: first ever appointment: got very suspicious when the chair started to recline, went with it when she realised she'd get a sticker and certificate.
Today's question: what's the level of support for TPMs in the BIOS of Dell's Optiplex line? Hmmm.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
A bad decision
I made a bad decision today. CME (Continuing Ministerial Education) day in Chelmsford on Funerals and Bereavement. Jo threw up at 0900. I left, after consulting Moo, at 0940.I got to the meeting at 1025, 5 minutes before I thought it was due to start. I'd had an unhappy drive. When I got there, they were well underway, and I was nearly in tears. I knew from the second I walked into the room that I was in the wrong place, and 15 minutes later, at the first opportunity, I excused myself and headed home.
This was the right thing to do. Things are getting too close to wrong, Moo and I are very tired, and she's been spending too much time looking after the girls while I've been spending too much time doing things which aren't being with her and the girls.
My first ministry is to my family.
Monday, October 20, 2008
I'm tired
But coming to terms with it. I'll get there, and I've got a lovely wife (really: a lovely, lovely wife) and two fantastic children. I enjoy my job, I'm privileged and humbled by my ministry, and I'm healthy.I think I've got enough to thank God for, and little to complain about. That's fine.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Florence, Frankie and Nina
I had the chance to see Florence, Frankie and Nina today. Frankie looks more and more like Jim (his father) every time I see him. Florence insisted on whispering to me throughout the visit. Nina was great. Unluckily Jim wasn't around: another time.Labels: family
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Back into routine
(backposting) Jo to ballet, shopping in Freeport (some boots for Moo), lunch, playing in the garden because it was lovely. And we let the kittens out for the first time, as they're now up on their vaccinations. Back home. Great.Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Planning a trip
(backposting) Just a short trip - a day and a half. Gothenberg next week: should be interesting. More discussions about what I'm going to be doing in the medium term. Lots of sales stuff. And I cycled to Stambourne to catch some of Jo's swimming lesson, which was both appreciated and good for my health. And Jo had a set of vaccinations today. I took her, and she cried, 'cos it really hurt. But she was very good, poor little thing.We've got my mum here helping looking after the girls this week as Mel's still on holiday after her wedding. Lovely to have her around, and the girls aren't behaving _too_ badly. The fact that Jo's back at pre-school, and now 5 mornings a week, is helping.
Labels: family, pre-school, work
Monday, August 25, 2008
National Trust
We joined the National Trust today. We visited Wimpole Hall, which the girls loved. In fact, we didn't do much more than Home Farm, which had animals on it, and an adventure playground. And more animals. And there was a puppet show, which maybe 6 months ago Jo would have found too frightening, but which she lapped up today. Miri just loved it because there were songs to dance along to.Popped round to see Kirsty afterwards, as she lives close by. Her rabbits are _big_.
Labels: family
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Advantages, disadvantages
- Having a large garden. Having two kids under 4. Working full-time. Training for ordination, then getting ordained. Being useless with machinery (so the strimmer and mower are always breaking down). Not all conducive to keeping the garden under control.
- Disadvantages
- I have to use the strimmer to clear the drive
- I have to use the strimmer to clear the driver's side doorways to Moo's car
- I have to use the strimmer to clear the passenger's side doorways to my car
- I have to use the strimmer to mow the lawn (not just because the mower's dodgy, but because the lawn's so overgrown)
- strimming the lawn leads to rather more sets of undiscovered dog poo than I'd expected
- strimming the lawn leads to more dog poo being spread round than I'd expected
- I get rather more scratches and nettle stings than I'd expect
- I have to use the strimmer to clear the driver's side doorways to Moo's car
- Advantages
- a really bumper blackberry crop this year
Diving
It's a conspiracy. First the girls give me a scuba diving game on the Wii for my birthday. Then I book on a training course in Las Vegas, where I did my PADI Advanced diving course, and then the BBC shows the Pacific Abyss. I want to dive again.Thursday, August 07, 2008
Vegas?
Looks like I'm off to Vegas for some training. Security and Linux, that's sort of thing. Then I'll head off to Mississauga for a few days, combining the two trips. 10-11 days away, but sometimes that's how it works, and I _have_ cleared it with Moo.My parents popped round this evening for supper - they're off from Stansted tomorrow morning - and I barbecued. Rain doesn't even begin to start to cover it. Torrents. Thunder. Lightning. Full wet-weather gear.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Many things
First, did anyone notice how I managed to avoid the obvious "primates" gag yesterday, which would have revolved around the trips to the zoo and the Lambeth conference? I was quite proud of myself.What else? Jo, Miri and Moo headed off to Kate and Mac's around 1330, and arrived around 1600. Dad and I had a good meal at the White Hart this evening. We'd taken Jo and Miri to the 1000 at St Andrew's, Halstead, and they did very well.
And after I'd failed miserably to record Top Gear this evening (not only the wrong times, but also the wrong channel...), I watched it on iPlayer. Very, very funny.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
The zoo (and Lambeth)
(backposting) This morning, we went to one of our favourite places for the girls: Colchester Zoo. Dad came along as well, and we all had a good time. Miri's now at an age where she can start to enjoy the animals, and she seemed particularly interested in the sea lions and piglets.In the afternoon, Dad and I drove down to the Lambeth Conference, taking place at the University of Kent's Canterbury campus. I managed to get online, and a good connection to SL, and then we headed off to get some supper. Gareth (also on the SL ministry team) and I passed over 50 flyers around different bishops at their supper tables: I've never seen so much episcopal purple in one place. Lots of senior people, including, I noticed, the bishop of Sudan, who's in the news at the moment.
Here's a couple of paragraphs I wrote today to be read out at one of the SecondLife Anglican Cathedral services today:
- Last night, members of the ministry team had the opportunity to speak to attendees at the Lambeth Conference. Numbers were small - as for many of the fringe events - but discussion was committed and deeply thoughtful. I can report that the Anglican Church is taking us very seriously, as well as the opportunities for mission in other online media. We need to think hard about what kind of church we want to be, with what responsibilities and duties, but the Church is listening, and will continue to listen. The attendees were unanimous in their opinion that our mission is both truly Christian and vital to the Church's future.
- We have lots of work to do: but it's God's work, and he will give us strength and guidance! Hallelujah!
Labels: family, ministry, secondlife, zoo
Friday, July 25, 2008
Back home, and nervous
(backposting) Yes, getting a little nervous about tomorrow night: the presentation I'm giving tomorrow night at the Lambeth Conference. Got back home mid-morning, and Moo came back from seeing Victoria with the girls around lunchtime. In the afternoon, we popped to Sudbury to pick up my watch (strap still not fixed, after two weeks) and get a replacement part for the strimmer (no stockists in town).My dad arrived before the girls went to bed, and, having offered to read Jo a story after her bath, promptly fell asleep in front of the television. Luckily, Jo thought it was hilarious. Dad's come over to share the driving to Lambeth, as he was worried that I'll be too jetlagged tomorrow, and I accepted his kind offer.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Back home
Well, it's been a very, very good visit to Mississauga, and I've got lots done. I've also had an opportunity to establish myself as someone with a bunch of different useful skills, and they're being used. In fact, that's the only real problem: I've got a list of 20 different tasks that I'm signed up for which aren't actually part of my core job. Having said that, my job description has changed somewhat as of this week (with my approval!), so that's partly dealt with.I'm really looking forward to seeing Moo, Jo and Miri tomorrow: sadly they're away next week, but we'll manage somehow.
Anyway: a good week away.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Girls away
(backposting) Today, Moo took the girls to see Kirsty in Cambridge. I was privy to the further plan, though: to go on to London for Turtle's 5th birthday party. Turtle is Jo's cousin - Jen and Jake's youngest - and Jo loves her very, very much indeed. Jo slept some of the way, and realised as they got to Dulwich that they were going to Turtle's house. She then got stressed, on realising that it was a fairy party, that she didn't have an outfit. When Moo told her that she'd packed both girls an outfit, there was much relief, and Jo came out with the lovely phrase, "Mummy, what would I do without you?"They were going to come back tonight, but to my great unsurprise, Moo decided to stay, which I think was the right decision. I went out to meet James - the other curate at Halstead - and his wife, Ruth, who'd I not really met before. It was my first - but probably not my last - trip to a pub in a dog collar (it was me in the dog collar, not the pub, in case you're reading this, Gary). It felt a little uncomfortable, to be honest, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.
I also met John and Mo, who are back from Africa, and seem to have had a good time.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Serving
(backposting) Today was my first church engagement since ordination: a Area Team Meeting, held in Halstead. I went to a service of Holy Communion in the church first, with just me, James (the other curate, presiding) and one of the people going to the meeting. So, "when two or three are gathered in my name", indeed. A lovely, intimate service: it made me think about how I'll be taking communion services in a year's time.The meeting went on till 2115, and then I drove up to Loughborough. This is service. My mother-in-law's ADSL router had died, and she really needs to have Internet access for some work she does. Moo and I looked at possible dates to go up, but decided that just doing it might make most sense. So, I left the Halstead around 2130, and got to East Leake around 2345: a good, fast trip. Said the evening office, had a glass and a half of wine, and went to bed.
Labels: church, communion, diaconate, family, service
Friday, June 20, 2008
Home - via Somerset (and utter, utter incompetence)
(backposting) Yup, we left the cottage around 0900 (not so difficult, as we'd mostly been up since around 0530. Headed for my parent's place in Somerset, and got there whilst the morning was still fairly young. Mum was there, and we had doughnuts (and why not). My parents' new broadband was due to come live today, so I said that I'd investigate. I turned on their PC and rebooted the router. Good news: the router had an ADSL connection. Unluckily, the connection to Demon (their ISP) wasn't working. Odd.A bit of history. Why, you may, ask, did they need "new" broadband? Well, they have two lines coming into the house: a main line (very old) and a fax line (newer). They decided that they never use the fax, so they might as well cancel it and save themselves some money. You're ahead of me, aren't you? One day, they tried to access the Internet, and it didn't work. Why? Because the ADSL was on the fax line. So, they recommissioned the fax line.
To their surprise, when they did this, ADSL didn't come back on. No problem: they phoned up BT, who said that it would take 5 working days. Today was the fifth day. Can you spot the mistake earlier in this paragraph? Yes, they'd not phoned _Demon_: they'd phoned BT. Some bright spark (a sales person, of course), said that it would be back just as before, and they'd still be able to use their old email addresses. These were both lies, but, as I discovered after about an hour on the phone, they now had BT Broadband.
Not what they wanted. After a great deal of discussion, they cancelled this, and reordered Demon Broadband. They shouldn't be charged by BT, as they were missold. However, in order to speed things up (they'd been without an Internet connection for over 2 weeks), they paid the standard £175 + VAT to fast-track things so they should be up on Wednesday. Cancelling the fax line did _not_ save them money. Somewhat the opposite...
If I hadn't spent nearly 2 hours on the phone, spoken to at least 6 people over at least 10 phone calls, I'd find it more funny.
Jim, Nina, Florence and Frankie joined us in the afternoon, and all the kids got on very well. We headed home after supper and a bath for the girls and got home around 2220. Jo went straight to bed, and Miri didn't. B*gger.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Princess
(backposting) We went to Sidmouth again today. Jo had some pocket money, and Moo, Kate and Mac took her shopping (Miri was asleep in the car with me). "Please, Mummy, just this once, can I have something with a princess on it?"We're fairly firm about the pink thing and the princess thing. I'd generally say not firm enough, but on this occasion, maybe just firm enough. Luckily, Moo couldn't find anything.
But then Jo wanted a shrimping net. Specifically, a pink, princess shrimping net. I'd joined the party by this stage, for coffee and cake. It appears that nobody manufactures pink, princess shrimping nets, or if they do, then they don't sell them in Sidmouth. Even finding a pink one was causing a problem, but once we managed that, our joint brilliance (and a set of Disney Princess stickers) suddenly gave us options. We headed down to the beach.
Took a while for the sea to go out sufficiently, but once it did, we had a fantastic time in rock pools. Nobody had told me, when I was a kid, that I'd get a chance to do rock-pooling again when I was older. And, to be frank, it's even more fun when you've got kids to share your successes with, and their successes to share. We caught shrimps, (very small) sea slugs, a couple of small fish, crabs, sea snails and seaweed. It was great. It was really great, and this, for all those who were wondering, is what being a Dad is really about.
Miri just wandered around sitting down in the sea whenever she could. Chips on the beach, then off to Ottery St Mary to look around the church with everyone and "enjoy" a frankly catastrophic tea & cakes, then back for our final evening. (Foot note: Jo was more than a little disappointed to find that Disney Princess stickers come off shrimping nets when wet. Useful to know next time).
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Rain and fossils
(backposting) I'd like to say that I'm a great fossil hunter, but I've discovered that I'm really not. Charnmouth is supposed to be pretty good for this sort of thing, but I took a while to find anything, and it wasn't very impressive. I'm sure that 2 of the 4 fossils _were_ fossils, though. It rained. Moo got concerned that if I didn't find anything, I'd force everyone to stay on the beach in the rain for ever until I did.We then went to Lyme Regis. Not as posh as Budleigh Salterton, but pleasant, and we had a decent fish meal. The restaurant was astonishingly child-friendly, but the people at the next table were very, very weird. Sounded like an Internet date, with a _very_ dull bloke talking to a poor (?Eastern European) woman about how he didn't really like white wine, but they could have a glass of champagne in the hot tub in the evening if she liked. Oh, and his stomach problems. And how big spinach salads are in the US. And what happened when he visited HP. Et cetera. I wanted to sidle over to the table to her and say: "run, run for your life! We'll keep him occupied. It's not too late to save yourself..." On a side note, when I take Jo to the loo, and we visit the Gents, and I use the urinals, she's started to complain if I don't aim for (and hit) the hole. It doesn't help the concentration.
Despite the forecast (we're back on weather now), the day was pretty good. We wandered round Lyme Regis, and Jo got a braid in her hair, which she's very pleased with.
In the evening, Moo and I went out together (on our own) for dinner for the first time in over a year, we reckon. The last time was before Miri was born. It was lovely, and work was paying (some sales thing we won in Europe a few months ago). We really ought to try it again soon. Nothing romantic afterwards, however, as Miri decided to wake up and take over an hour and a quarter to get back to sleep.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Eden Project
(backposting) Although it's over an hour and a half from Venn Ottery, we all wanted to visit the Eden Project. Moo, the girls and I had visited it twice last year, but Kate and Mac had never been. Combined with the facts that their tickets were only £10.00 each (OAP), and the tickets we had bought last year were still valid, it was an easy decision. Miri did lots of walking, partly because Jo had failed to sleep in the car on the way down, despite being very tired from too little sleep the night before, so hogged the pushchair. Miri, however, was in her element. She particularly liked the tropical / rainforest biome. She held my hand and walked through almost all of it, raising lots of smiles from those around, and shrieking at all of the little streams and waterfalls.Moo drove back to the cottage and I slept, as did everyone else. This caused problems later, as Jo just refused to go to bed, and ended up staying up early (she got "early" and "late" confused today, for no obvious reason).
Monday, June 16, 2008
Budleigh Salterton
We went swimming again in the morning, and then my Mum came to visit, given how close the cottage is to my parents': only a little over an hour. We felt strongly that we needed to visit Budleigh Salterton. One of the reasons that we wanted to go was because of the fantastic Giles Wemmbley Hogg, Budleigh Salterton's most famous resident. Budleigh Salterton is quite posh. Kind of. It has a very pebbly beach, and dogs aren't allowed on it during the summer. Which is fair enough, but a bit awkward, as my mum had brought their two dogs in the car. And as she'd initially forgotten they were there when she arrived at the cottage, we did feel that they deserved to be out of the boot. So, we took turns heading down to the sea-shore with the girls, and then sitting with the dogs on a bench. Had tea at a lovely tea-room up a side-street: Jo wasn't allowed ice-cream on its own, after an incidence of disobedience earlier in the day (and two warnings), but I did allow her to have it _with_ some chocolate cake. And I got to eat quite a lot of the cake as Jo wouldn't finish it (and that was after a lovely scone with jam and clotted cream).Labels: beach, family, holiday
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Off to Devon (via Dorset)
(backposting) After a day at work, it's off on holiday! Moo got back around 1700, we fed and bathed the girls, and then drove down to Rosie and Andy, my aunt and uncle, who live in East Chaldon (or Chaldon Herring). Their daughter Merryn was there, which was an added bonus, and we got there sometime after 2200. When we set off I phoned them, to no answer, and as we were going round the M25 I tried again: no answer. So, we tracked down their local pub, and phoned them there. Yup, that did it...The girls took a long time to get to sleep, and I probably shouldn't have stayed up till 0130 drinking single malt and rum (separate glasses)...
Friday, June 06, 2008
Fog
(backposting) So, at Moo's suggestion, I took today off, as she'd swapped her usual Friday to today, and I'm off on an ERMC weekend (my last!) from tomorrow afternoon. We decided to go to Felixstowe Old Harbour, and drove there through beautiful bright sunlight.But as we approached the coast, we could see cloud. And then fog.
Do we care? No, we don't! We had a lovely time at the seaside, both girls, us and the dog.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Miri's sense of humour
(backposting) Miri thinks that lots of things are very funny. In particular, warlking over to you pretending that she's going to give you something (a toy, a book, or even a cuddle), getting close, then shaking her head madly, turning away and toddling off. This is hilarious (particularly the head-shaking), and everyone gets to play.Monday, June 02, 2008
Home alone
With the girls, obviously. Moo's off for a couple of days on a course. The girls behaved beautifully, and went to bed very well. Miri took 40 minutes, but was only messing for half of that.Saturday, May 31, 2008
Jo, ballet and me
Jo's very first ballet lesson today. Moo, Miri and I all turned up, and Jo needed some help as she was a bit shy, and so both Moo and I (at different times) joined in. Yes, me in my Doc Martens, doing ballet and basic tap moves. We hadn't known that there was going to be tap, so we went off and bought her a pair of shoes for that, as her Crocs didn't really work very well.Nice walk, then gardening. No, really. I got assaulted by a budleia branch. No, really.
Labels: family
Friday, May 23, 2008
Aunty Kitty's funeral
(backposting) We left around 0900, and got to Liverpool a couple of hours later. We met at Karen and Paul's house: I'd met him before, but not sure about her. They're lovely, the two kids we met were both great, too.When the funeral cortege arrived, Jo - to whom we'd explained about the funeral being about saying goodbye to Kitty - had lots of questions. Really good questions for a three year old, I thought. She wanted to know what was in the box (coffin): "just Kitty's body: she doesn't need it anymore". "Why doesn't she need it anymore?" "When will we see her body?" "Why's that lady walking in front of the car?" This about the funeral director, who, it being Liverpool, walked the first 100 yards and the last 100 yards of the journey in front of the hearse. I explained about tradition, and Moo and I talked about the importance of ritual. Much of the funeral ritual that's common in Liverpool is pretty alien to me, and doesn't really do much for me, but it _does_ for other people, particularly Kate in this case, and if that's what's needed to help people say goodbye, then that's fine. It was really helpful for me, actually, from a ministerial point of view, to learn this.
The funeral was quick, and Kate managed admirably with the eulogy, and we headed off to the cemetery for the burial. The free church minister who'd taken the funeral said a few words at the graveside, a few people said a few words, and Jo - who, like all of the kids, was a paragon of good behaviour throughout - blew some bubbles over the grave, which was lovely. I'd been pretty anti having her put anything in the grave: despite what I've written above about ritual, I don't like the imagery of putting things in a grave as if they're needed, or might be going somewhere.
We had a meal afterwards, and then Moo drove us to East Leaek with Kate in the back with the girls. I had a bit of a sleep, had a cup of tea, said goodbye to the girls, and drove home. Pretty tired when I arrived.
Labels: family, funeral, ministry
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Off to Kate and Mac's
(backposting) Jo's not been very well for the past few days: running a temperature, that sort of thing, and when it became time to take the girls to Kate and Mac's in two cars, and she asked to go with me, it was pretty-much a no brainer, as she'd been in - or close to - melt-down all afternoon. Just a thought - presumably the phrase "melt-down" didn't exist until the nuclear age?Anyway, we got there, and Jo in the end didn't stay up to wait for Mouse and Turtle, but voluntarily asked to go to bed. She woke up when they arrived at 2350, but ended up in bed with me, as she was running quite a temperature. Poor little thing.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Today, I shall mostly be ...
- ... sleeping in (but not as long as Jo and Moo)
- ... taking the girls swimming with Moo
- ... spending more money than I meant to in Waitrose
- ... clearing the dog poo off the lawn
- ... mowing the lawn (first time this year, if you exclude the two strims it's had)
- ... stepping in several instances of dog poo that I missed
- ... barbecuing with Si
- ... drinking beer with Si
- ... eating the barbecued food with Si, D, Morgs, Boo, Moo, Jo and Miri
- ... drinking wine with Si and Moo
- ... geeking with Si
- ... whilst drinking more wine with Si
- ... going for a walk with the girls, Moo and Buster
- ... having a bath with the girls (but not Moo and Buster)
- ... putting Jo to bed (very quick!)
- ... clearing around a bit
- ... loading the dishwasher
- ... doing some washing up
- ... and ... finishing my last essay for ERMC. YYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!
Labels: drink, ERMC, family, friends, geekery, swimming, walk
Saturday, May 17, 2008
A great woman
Some people are known to all, and some are great in a quiet way. Moo's Aunty Kitty died this morning with a member of family at her bedside, though Parkinson's meant that she'd not been able to know anybody for quite a while. She was always the mainstay of the family. She never married, but was always first on the scene for a family crisis. She worked all her adult life for Littlewood's - and for everybody else. And noone could wield a hoover or clear plates like her at 0730, even if people were still in bed.She's where she should be: in God's hands, where she will finally know herself again.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
The lapping of water against a hull
(backposting) It's a long time since I heard that sound, and it was a joy to join Victoria (Miri's godmother) and Sennen (her 3-year old) on her 25 footer in Brightlingsea harbour, even if we didn't get the chance for a sail, as we had 3 toddlers with us. The lapping, gentle slapping when a wash hits, and the slight rocking. Just beautiful.I even rowed the dinghy back to shore - quite a strong current at that time of day, most of the effort was just trying to keep the direction right.
Moo had spent much of the day getting an essay done (it's not just me!), and so my taking the girls out gave her a chance to do that. We all left for Jen's, where we had a barbecue and a fair amount of fizz before heading to bed around 2200, just 45 minutes after the last of the girls (who were _so_ excited) had fallen to sleep.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Frankie!
(backposting) Well, we'd not met little Frankie - Jim and Nina's new little one, and Florence's little brother - until now, but we drove to just the other side of Bedford and had a lovely time with them. Not the most welcoming pub in the world for kids, though I suspect it would have been better if the weather had improved, but it was great to see them all. Frank shares Jo's birthday, so it should at least be easy for us to remember when it's coming.I was supposed to have a ministry meeting for SecondLife tonight, but was absolutely shattered, so we both went to bed early.
Labels: family, secondlife
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
What a day!
A day when things took a long time to go well. When I tell you that I was ringing colleagues in Canada at 0400 their time, you might get an idea of how things went. But we got there in the end: all was working by the time I walked out of the door around 1745, and the customer was very happy.Finished reading Marriage after Modernity by Adrian Thatcher. Very interesting. He makes a case for marriage being special - or different, maybe - because it's child-centred. He's very positive about other models, but suggests that this is the over-riding difference. What I like is that he's ontological about it, rather than teleological: you don't _have_ to have reproduction as the aim of a marriage, but that's more than often what it ends up being about, and it's the relationship type where it's most central. Interesting.
Labels: children, family, theology, work
Sunday, March 09, 2008
ERMC day 2 - Resurrection and Ascension
A very enjoyable day, with three sessions on Resurrection (Christ's and ours) and Ascension (Christ's). Really got me thinking, and firming up exactly what I believe. Might get round to discussing this at some point, but I ended up being more orthodox than Gary had expected!Stayed up rather late (0300) discussing many things. Must remember these books for the essay I discussed yesterday:
- Celebrating Christian Marriage by Adrian Thatcher
- The Family in Theological Perspective ed. Stephen Barton
- also found this when searching Amazon: Life Together: Family, Sexuality and Community in the New Testament and Today by Stephen Barton
Labels: ERMC, family, theology
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Mother's day
Got Moo to church today, for a Mother's Day service at Kedington Church. This is in the benefice which Si and D have just joined, and where they were going for a Mother's Day service, so we joined them. A truly family-focused service, with lots of families there: mothers, children and fathers. The priest took an informal but reverent communion service, told the story of Moses in the bulrushes to a bunch of children (and me!) sitting on the floor in the nave (with adult participation). Jo, Miri and I went up for communion (Si was very impressed that the priest blessed Charlotte, their youngest, as "Boo"!), and Jo managed to get herself blessed twice: she moved from one side of me to the other as Miri was being blessed.Moo really liked the informality of it, and how everyone was involved, which I'm very pleased about.
Fry-up for brunch, some tidying and then a walk with Victoria, Grenville, Charles and Sennen. Back to theirs for tea and drop scones. Yum. They're good friends, and it's always good to see them.
And interesting blog entry from Sally. which is definitely worth a read.
Labels: church, family, friends
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Family values
I just read a very interesting and well-argued paper in The Cambridge Companion to Christian Ethics called "World Family Trends", by Don Browning. In it, he looks at how trends in families, and in particular, what he calls "father absence" have led to increased poverty, increased risks of physical and sexual abuse and reduced chances for children, among other issues. He argues strongly that "there should be, as a matter of ecclesial and public policy, a presumption towards encouraging the formation and maintenance of intact families. This rule has exceptions, but they do not undercut its importance as a cultural and religious guide." (p. 246, author's italics).I was impressed by his arguments, but the more I thought about them, the more I realised that they seem entirely predicated on the idea of family as a relationship between adults and their children. And I thought back to what I'm reading slowly in parallel: Edelman's No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive, which discusses how society seems to construct itself on an imaginary future Child, and how we might want to think beyond that. And, whether you agree with Edelman or not, there are, and there always will be, couples who can't have children, or who have lost children, or don't want to have children. These may be for medical reasons, for psychological reasons, reasons around sexuality, or just preference. And we shouldn't ignore those.
A project like that laid out in Browning's article, where the argument seems to be almost completely around children, doesn't provide any good reason for why those people should be married, or even called "a family". That doesn't mean that they shouldn't, of course. But I think that part of what Edelman is getting at is that just by making such an argument, and not even referring to these other issues, such an article assumes an indifference to such people, and such relationships, which serves to diminish their "importance" within the discourse of which the article is a part. And that discourse is part of our society, so there is a danger that such people and such relationships become devalued and made less normative even than they already are.
I'm not saying that this was Browning's intention. He might even have considered making points around non-child-based families (I've just made that up), but that he didn't still makes a negative point, particularly in such a heteronormative - and child-centred - society.
References
Browning, Don (2001) "World Family Trends" in The Cambridge Companion to Christian Ethics, ed. Gill, Robin, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Edelman, Lee (2005) No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive, Duke University Press, Durham, North Carolina.
Labels: family
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Church, walk, ironing, scrabulous
Took Mum, Jo and Miri to Halstead, where James was celebrating and preaching. Jo's tiredness showed through, and her attention span was much shorter than usual, but she did OK: Miri was a star. At communion, James very kindly gave me a portion of the priest's wafer, which I was very touched by.After lunch, we met Si, D, Morgs, Boo and Murphy (their dog) for a lovely walk near them, and had tea and chats before heading home to put the girls to bed. I cooked a chicken, and Mum did the ironing. Lots and lots of it. We're _very_ grateful! Then Mum and I played scrabulous, trying to get some decent scores against the people with whom I've got games going. She's _vicious_!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
The kite
Not much sleep last night, and a trip to Freeport was a little fraught, but we managed it. I'm pleased, because I bought a bookcase which I really need for all those theology and work books. After lunch, though, Mum, Jo, Miri and I went to Clare Country Park to play with the kite that Jo had been given for her birthday on Thursday.Got it put together, got it up. Moved to a better place, with more wind: in fact, there was just about the right amount of wind to get it up and staying up, but you needed to run a bit to keep it there when the wind dropped a little, which meant that from time to time, when Jo had it, it dropped to the ground. But we worked round that. Until Jo had it, was running away from me, I called her to run towards me, and she let go of it.
I ran. I really, really ran, and I thought I had it. In the end, it was getting away, and I threw myself after it. But to no avail. The end of the string, with handle, ended up 4 metres up a thorn tree. The kite itself about the same up another thorn tree. I tried to get it, but was needed to comfort Jo, who had completely (and understandably) lost it. And I'm not just talking about the kite.
We offered to try to find a replacement, or go for coffee and cake: she chose the former. Luckily, the local store had a cheap kite (£1.99!), which we bought, but once we got it up, she was worried that we were going to lose that one, too, that she wouldn't hold it herself, and soon refused to let me put it up at all, dissolving in tears. The poor thing's really tired at the moment, and was just beside herself.
So, coffee and cake this time. She demanded some cake, and, having had half a forkful, insisted that she was still full from lunch, so left it to me and Mum. But we had some nice tea to go with it.
As we were leaving the café, we spotted a girl of no more than 8, with her father/grandfather, and ... a kite. We asked, and yes, he'd managed to get it down with a long stick. He offered to give it back, and it was clearly what Jo wanted, so we accepted: and the little girl's lip began to wobble: quite understandably (again). So, I offered her the kite that we'd just bought. And _Jo_ started to lose it. Again, understandably. The bloke was lovely, but was visibly relieved when I told him that we'd bought the second just round the corner...
At this point, we gave up and went home.
Jo's very tired. So are we. I think the whole birthday and build-up have been a bit much for her, and she's really not getting enough sleep at the moment. Not that we are, either. I'm away three nights this week, and hope to get some sleep. Assuming that _I_ make it that far.
Now: anyone know of any good theologians talking about religion in cyberspace/online? Preferably in the UK.
Labels: family, Jo, online, theology
Friday, February 22, 2008
New nephew!
Bad me: I was thinking so much about our hospital visit that I forgot to add that Jim and Nina had a baby boy yesterday: Frank Peter Osbourne (sp?) Bursell. Yay for them.Saturday, February 16, 2008
What's being a priest about?
I had an interesting conversation with a priest recently who was complaining about having to spend a full half hour talking about clearing leaves out of gutters during a buildings and maintenance meeting that he was attending: a subject about which he had nothing to say, and no interest. This meant he got back home very late, after a 14 hour day. Where's the priestliness in that? Where does it say that he should be using his time like this?I was saying that I will have almost the opposite issue: I'll only have the chance, on the whole, to do the more "obviously priestly" bits. He was saying that maybe as an SSM (Self-Supporting Minister), I'll have something to teach people about what's important about being a priest. But I responded that I think there are problems there, too, and lots of them. Yes, I'll do services, and preaching, and home groups, maybe, and these are important: but when will I get the chance to have chats with people in cafés, talk in queues in the bakery, make hospital visits and all the rest? I think that there will be frustrations on both sides, and yes, we'll both have things to teach each other.
On the other hand, travelling has its upsides, too. I had a fascinating talk with a woman on the plane to Barcelona, Anya, who was saying that she envies me my faith. We had a good discussion, in which I explained that faith doesn't always mean certainty, and can - should, I'd say - include time for doubt. And it was clear to me - and I said so - that if she is ready to say that she envies faith, then she's already what some would call a "seeker". So, we talked. Did she walk off the plane looking for a church to go to? No, but she's not averse to taking her son to church. I think she now sees that the love she shares with her family can be seen by some - certainly by me and most Christians - as God-given, and I don't think she rejected that out of hand. She met someone, I hope, who wasn't entirely different to her, and reasonable, not weird, and talked in ways she could understand and relate to her. That's enough for me.
Labels: faith, family, ministry, priest
Lots of calls
(backposting) Lots of calls today. Lots and lots of them. They went pretty well, I have to say. We also drove to Kate and Mac's for Kate's birthday, and a pre-birthday party for Jojo, as Jen, Jake, Mouse and (most importantly for Jojo) Turtle are coming to visit tomorrow. How is it that the busiest days are often the ones when you've slept for only 5 hours the night before? Heigh-ho, at least the calls went well.Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Zoo
Up at 0645. Hang-over, 5 hours' sleep. Moo let me get another sleep in, which was very kind, and after a while, we went to Dick's café in Clare for brunch: a full English breakfast. Which really helped.Then to the great Colchester zoo, where I fed an elephant (with lots of other people): Jo got scared, so I did it for her. Moo and I spent lots of time trying out the new camera lens, Miri spent lots of time sitting in her pushchair looking at animals, and Jo just ran around a lot.
We discovered today that Jo thinks that the words to Scouting for Girls' song "James Bond" are "I wish I was Jake's Mum", rather than "I wish I was James Bond."
Miri's saying "Daddy" now, and is cruising. Time to start watching her near steps, methinks.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Quiet day
(backposting) Well, that was the plan, anyway. We went shopping in Sudbury - groceries, etc. - how come the bank is closed all Saturday? Ridiculous. Oh, and we bought two new car seats for Jo (one for Moo's car, one for Mel's). Jo's not ready for them yet, but they were half-price in Halfords, so it made sense. Then we took the girls to the Giggle Factory, to give them a chance to tire themselves out a bit - well, Jo, anyway.The rest of the day was tidying, quiet play, etc.
The girls are still waking up in the night, but things seem to be improving somewhat. I stayed up rather late playing Trauma Center: Second Opinion, to which I'm somewhat addicted.
Labels: family
Thursday, December 27, 2007
More presents?
(backposting) Yup, that's right: yet more presents for Jo. Catherine's cousins (or a selection of the 5) and her aunt turned up after we'd made a trip to the exciting Loughborough (some general shopping, and a new camera lens using money for Christmas). Lots more attention for Miri and Jo, who was late to bed again.Wednesday, December 26, 2007
St Stephen's Day / Boxing Day
(backposting) I slept on a sofa last night, in my own parents' home. Poll and Lee were staying over, Moo had Miri in with her (we tried having her in the cot, but it was not to be), my parents were in their bed (fair enough), and Jo was in a single bed, too. Didn't sleep too badly, to be honest, and we left after breakfast to Kate and Mac's.There, of course, was Turtle. And Jen, Jake and Mouse, of course, but mainly Turtle. I had another sleep (after more driving). We opened presents. Well, Jo opened lots of them, of course. The girls played. We had supper, Turtle completely lost it, they left, and Jo went to sleep. A great day: the two cousins just love each other to bits. And spent quite a lot of time dressing up in Jo's new "Supergirl" and "Stephanie" (from Lazytown) outfits. Including the pink wig...
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas Day!
(backposting) Not up too late, and not up too early, to be honest. But Jo just had a lovely Christmas. Mainly because she got to open pretty much every present, whether it was for her or not. She's not desperately well, but thanks to sleeping through half of the service that we attended at Cheddar church this morning, managed the day OK.Presents included:
- 20 balls of wool (me, from Moo): so that she can knit me a jersey
- a scooter (Jo, from my parents): something she decided a couple of weeks ago that she wanted from Father Christmas (my Dad had a quick word with him)
- a spa day (Moo, from me): she really needs a pampering day
- The Scouting for Girls CD (me, from Moo): marvellous
- multifarious small presents for Jo, which kept her happy opening things through the day
Labels: Christmas, church, family
Friday, December 21, 2007
Haircut
Yup, haircut today for all of us bar Miri. And I got a major new document out to work, which I was very pleased about.Oh, and don't forget present-wrapping (which Moo did most of, to be honest).
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Router fixing
Left home at 0830 this morning up to Kate and Macs. Only took me 5-10 minutes to fix the router: the problem was what I'd expected, and I had notes on what I'd needed to do last time. This time I've saved the config, and written notes on how to put it all back together. So, we had a chance to see them, and Nana Stick, who Moo hadn't spent much time with at the Christening. Back home around 1910 - girls both took a long time to get back to sleep.I've had a paper accepted at a conference in February, it seems, which is good: but I've had to send a photo of myself, which I hate.
Oh, and Liverpool lost: what _was_ Benitez thinking with that formation?
Labels: computers, family, football, work
Monday, November 26, 2007
Back to work
Moo took the day off and went with her parents on the traditional Christmas shopping trip to Cambridge. Miri ended up in our bed, and I actually managed to get to sleep while she was actually screaming, which is quite impressive.I had a supervision in the evening with Alan, on modern hermeneutics and the Psalms. Interesting differences in our use of them in a liturgical setting. Got home, slept on the other side of the house, to give Moo more room in our bed with poor, coughy, teething Miri.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Hospice - day 2
My second day at the hospice - and there's to be one more next week. Again, a fascinating and interesting day. I started it with a visit to a funeral directors. I'd never been to one before, and they were very helpful and accommodating. Spent some time with another member of the chaplaincy team, including taking communion and talking to some of the day centre patients.My mum had turned up by the time I got back, and went to get my dad later on: they're staying at a pub nearby, as we've got other people staying with us this weekend.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Anniversary (and mensi-versary)
15 years ago today, Moo and I officially started going out. We'd known each other for a couple of weeks, and were getting closer, so we decided to "make it official". Moo was only in her first term at Jesus College (I was in my third year at King's), and it wasn't a move that was met with complete approval, particularly by her elder sister Jen (also a third year). In four months (to the day), we were engaged, though we kept it secret from pretty much everyone (including Moo's family) for nearly a year). We got married about 2 and a half years later, in King's College chapel, and haven't looked back.Miri is also exactly 6 months old today. Crawling quite confidently backwards, sitting up (once placed in that position) unaided, two teeth, very chatty, very happy, and loves her little sister to bits.
Driving
Today, my brother Jim and I went to Silverstone (we stayed overnight with Alan and Chris, his parents-in-law last night), and did the Lotus Experience there. It was brilliant. What cars! We had a briefing, an initial 4 laps with an instructor, a short break, and then another 5 laps with the instructor (faster and more confident this time), a lap with the instructor driving (_much_ faster!), and then a quick debrief. I loved it - Jim preferred the lap when he was being driven - and I can really see the point. 100+ miles an hour round the track - braking _hard_ for the corners, beginning to get the racing line. I'd love to do it again. Then back home.Labels: car, family, happiness
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
"My own bed..."
0610 this morning:- Jo (waking up next to me in the spare room bed): "I slept in my own bed all night!"
- Me: "No, you didn't!"
- Jo (plaintively): "Why?"
- Me: "Because you came into my bed in the middle of the night."
- Jo (with conviction): "I'll try to sleep in my own bed tonight."
- Me: "No, you didn't!"
My night?
- Last night, bedtime - Miri's unsettled, so Moo takes her into our room, I take the spare room.
- 2310 last night, Jo gets out of bed. I take her back to her room.
- 2340 last night, I go back to bed: Jo seems to have settled.
- 0015 Jo comes into the spare room.
- 0420 Moo comes in to say that Buster's barking. I go downstairs, then up to my side to do some Facebooking.
- 0450 after some time with Buster, he still won't settle. I let him outside. I watch some TV to give him some more time.
- 0510 I let Buster back in, and go back up to bed.
- 0610 Jo wakes up (I haven't got back to sleep).
Apparently Turtle, Jenny's eldest, won't watch Underground Ernie, which Jo loves. When Moo asked Jenny why, she answered, with a shrug, "Talking Underground trains?".
Labels: buster, facebook, family, Jo, miri, sleep
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Apples
"Mike," said Kate at lunch, "before you go, I'd like to make use of your extreme length, please."At this point, Moo lost it.
It transpired that she wanted to use my _height_ (I'm much taller than most of the rather height-challenged McLaughlin clan) to help pick some cooking apples.
But that's not how it came out. Missus.
Labels: family
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Barbecue
(backposting) Not only did we barbecue today, we barbecued last night as well. In the drizzle. Kate and Mac have a thing about this. Didn't bother me - I wrapped up warm - but it is a _little_ odd, don't you think?Wales were knocked out of the Rugby World Cup by Fiji. This is huge, and won't easy for Lee, my brother-in-law. After the match, which Jo had watched some of, we went outside to play some football (not having a rugby ball with us), and she kept picking up the ball and trying to spin pass it out. _Go_ girl.
Labels: family, food, Jo, rugby
Friday, September 28, 2007
Work, work, work
Well, all I said about work yesterday is more so today. Lots of major stuff coming up, having to be dealt with. I rather like it, to be honest.Now at Kate and Macs: expect alcohol soon...`
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Middle-aged exercise injury
(backposting) We thought we'd try somewhere else, so we went to Daymer beach. Fewer shops (one total) than Polzeath, and the tide was out. But that turned out to be a good thing, because we played beach cricket:- Me - 17 no, but playing against the new ball
- Polly - 14, bowled Jim (?), caught me
- Lee - 18, should have retired hurt (see below)
- Jim - 21, and that was playing right-handed half the time (he usually bats left-handed)
- Polly - 14, bowled Jim (?), caught me
After we got back, Jo and I had a discussion. The nub of it was this:
- Jo: Why did we go to the beach.
- Me: To have a good time.
- Jo: Why did we have good time?
- Me: We went to do fun and exciting things. Is the beach exciting?
- Jo: No.
- Me: Really?
- Jo: Do you know what's exciting? Maps.
- Me: *silence*
- Me: To have a good time.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
BAck to Polzeath - and family crisis
(backposting) Polzeath beach. It's where we finished the last holiday in Cornwall, and was the obvious place to start this one. Even Dad came. Dad's not big on beach holidays, and it turns out that it's my fault. We went on a beach holiday with my uncle (his brother) Bob when I was around 6, and the plan was for us to have a lovely time at the seaside, bonding. I was terrified of the surf, it appears, so we couldn't bond, the family fell apart, the economy collapsed (it was a little before the Winter of Discontent), nuclear proliferation increased, and global warming officially kicked off. (Which is why, Catherine points out, we decided to try again 31 years on).We had a lovely time, all joking aside, and people (read "my parents") were quite impressed by Jo's playing in the surf (she's 2 and a half, and not terrified).
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Prime birthday
No, I'm not 41. Or 31. Somewhere between that, which should give you all the clues you need.I've asked for money from people to allow me to buy a cassock, which I really am beginning to need. Poll and Lee gave me a nice top, and Moo and the girls also gave me a random Wii game which has been annoying me throughout the day! (Which is kind of the point).
I was a bit grumpy to begin with, as I woke up rather early without enough sleep. Got a bit happier when my main machine broke: seems like a motherboard (Mobo) issue, which will require a new box, though I can use lots of bits from my old one. This made me happier because it's quite an old box.
Got a bit more grumpy when I had a look at our finances, which aren't really in a position to be buying a new box right now, after our recent holiday.
Had a good lunch with Ian, though. He gave me some good feedback on my evensong last Sunday:
- don't saunter when processing! Maybe OK when on my own in a small parish church, and he wouldn't want me not to be me, but... Entirely fair!
- at times, when I made announcements to the congregation, I didn't face them. Also entirely fair, though Ian did take my point that more than half of the people in the church were actually in the choir: in the other direction!
- I intoned the responses in a very formal way. Not how he does it, but no problem. Just good to know the style that I used by default. It was pretty intentional, actually, and it's such a lovely acoustic that I loved singing like that there.
A small supper, as I had a good lunch and lots of cake.
Labels: birthday, family, services, singing, walk, wii
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