Where am I?

Mary and I had a week's holiday in Egypt at the end of October. It was a wonderful experience and so different from life here that it has taken a long time to re-adjust to the daily routine.

It hasn't helped that I have been travelling the country these last few days. I went down to Yeovil on Thursday for the Yeovil Foyer's tenth anniversary celebrations (it was great to see it flourishing as I had a hand in getting it started).

I came back by train on Friday and then set off early on Saturday (with Mary) to drive to York to see Eleanor on the eve of her birthday. She is really happy, which is nice...

Going to Church on holiday

I have a confession to make: I enjoyed going to church on holiday.
We went away for a week to Lincoln, York, Durham and Lancaster to see Mary's parents, our elder daughter, our son and his wife.
On the way we went to Parish Eucharist at St Margaret's Kings Lynn, Evensong in York Minster, midday prayers for peace and justice in Durham Cathedral, and an 8am BCP in Lancaster Priory.
It was good to be praying in the cathedrals - I am not a big fan of the architecture - it reminded me that, after all, this is what these big lumpy buildings are for.
It was also good to be sharing in worship in the ancient parish churches, and to feel a sense of contiuity with the faithful stretching back through the centuries. And, at my stage of life, the services are so familiar that it is easy to connect with God through them, despite the unfamiliarity of the surroundings.
No one asked who I was and on holiday that was nice too...

World Cup Fever

England played their fouth game in the World Cup today. It was a typical workmanlike performance with just one goal. It is very hard to get excited about England winning when they games are so dull. The only compensation is that when (almost wrote "if" - forty years of hurt never stops me dreaming etc etc) they get knocked out of the competition it won't come as a big disappointment.
If England do stay in I have got all the games in my diary up to the final on 9th July, and amazingly there are no serious clashes. I might have to miss the first few minutes of the semi-final in a meeting but that is it.
Which, I guess, is more than Michael Owen can say...

A Nice Day Out

We went to London for the day yesterday. Mary organised for us (Eleanor, her and me) to go on the London Eye. After a rainy week we were really pleased when the sun broke through and we had a marvellous "flight" with great views across the city. It was fascinating how the perspective changed and buildings and other features appeared as we rose higher.

We strolled along the South Bank to an old favourite: Tate Modern. Mary and I spent an hour looking and an hour drinking tea in the cafe, which is about the right mix (though Eleanor had the energy to keep looking longer).

We crossed to St Paul's via the Millennium Bridge and then down to Covent Garden (taking in the Old Bailey on a rather circuitous route).

We had a very pleasant meal in Bella Italia before heading back to Liverpool Street and returned home tired but happy.

No slouching, stand up straight...

A typical day

Sometimes people ask what a typical day for a vicar is like. It is not easy to answer - after twenty three years of being ordained every day still seems different. Today has mostly been spent like this: a morning with 'Koalas' (a year 2 class) at Sprowston First school, an afternoon with the Assistant Diocesan secretary talking about church finance, an evening spent with a couple planning to get married in the summer. Like most days it requires a wide range of skills and a lot of adaptability. Tomorrow will be quite different, the next day looks different again. It is hard to get bored with this job.

Traditional Morris Dancing

Why are you weeping?

...a silly question to ask Mary.

A marvellous Easter Sunday early morning: The fire blazed, the candles passed on the flame, and we all enjoyed fresh eggs boiled to perfection after the service.

A big congregation for Parish Communion and a sense of hope renewed. Alleluia!










Flowers in St Cuthbert's

Long Good Friday

Holy Week is an extraordinary part of the year. Doubly so because something that touches just a few of us so deeply is ignored by almost everyone else. We went to Wroxham Road Methodist Church on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, where Phil, Andy and Andrew (our ordinand and two of our readers) led Night Prayer. The church had been arranged with different stations of the passion for meditation. There was a calm atmosphere created by ambient music and the trickling of a water feature. It was a wonderful way to end an evening, and I came home each night and was in bed soon afterwards and slept very well (which was a real blessing after having had a rotten week when I was on leave with a chest cold).

Maundy Thursday was great for me. The two communion services could not have been more different. In the morning I went with Margaret and Gill to the Cathedral. I am not a big fan of cathedral worship - I often find it alienating - but the Chrism service brought together about 150 priests from the Diocese to renew our ordination vows, along with our three Bishops and Archdeacons so the Cathedral is the obvious place for it. In the evening about twenty of us celebrated Communion at St Mary & St Margaret's. Gill, assisted by Margaret, washed our feet while Phil read the associated passage from John's Gospel. At the end we cleared the sanctuary and stripped the altars and after reading about Jesus's arrest left the church in silence.
Some of us then went to St Cuthbert's to get ready for "Through the Wardrobe" - an activity morning based on the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

On good Friday morning I saw the start of this and then went to an ecumenical walk of witness which started at Gage Road Chapel. About twenty of us set off with a cross and walked past lots of people washing their cars and doing their gardens. Half way round we were joined by about another twenty people from Wroxham Road Methodist Church. We then made our way to St Cuthbert's just before the start of the service which ended "Through the Wardrobe".
From there I had a short break before going to St Mary & St Margaret's for the Good Friday Liturgy. Rowan Williams spoke on the radio this morning about finding in Good Friday a place of quiet with a sense that all the activity is going on somewhere else. This service was heavy with the weight of what God did for us in and through Jesus on the Cross. Emotionally exhausting but very real.

So, a day to rest a bit and then an early start on Easter morning.






"A Speeding Fine City"

On Leave

I am on holiday this week, which feels mighty peculiar. Normally I have a break after Easter, but this year Norfolk County Council has decided that the school holidays should be for the two weeks before. So if I want to spend some time with Mary and Eleanor it has to be now, and then go back to work for Holy Week.
I am ready for a break. My post Christmas break was cut short and it is a long time since last October. Working long hours for six days a week takes it toll. I am not complaining about the job, which I love (most of the time), just admitting that I am not as energetic as I was even ten years ago.
Anyway, I've had time this evening to knock up this little diversion:


"Strange things happen at Walsingham!"

Behind the the times

Mary and I went to Ipswich last night to see Jethro Tull in concert. This is the fourth time I have seen them live, and I did notice that members of the audience seemed a little older than the last time I saw them in 1978! They are outstanding musicians - Martin Barre is THE guitarist's guitarist - and the inclusion of a young American violinist, Lucia Micarelli, brought another dimension to the concert. I have never understood why Jethro Tull are so much less popular here than they are in many parts of the world.

The weather, like my musical taste, is still very much behind the times (roughly six weeks, we are told). Today I saw the first sign that maybe the daffodils in our garden will not wait too much longer to come into flower.

Pew Corner

I wrote in Sprowston News that we had some surplus pews and there has been quite a bit of interest in them. Yesterday a family took two (and have rung to say they would like another) and today another family took two more. The pews were, I think, originally from Beeston St Andrew Church but were put into a garage at the Vicarage. We had a big clear out nearly three years ago and moved them into the carriage room end of our stable block. So as well as being pleased to see the pews going to good homes, it will be nice to have a bit more storage space.
Eleanor got the result of two A2 maths module results today both of them were 79%, which was one mark short of an A - she is very pleased not least because it will ease the pressure of the Maths exams in the Summer. We went out to lunch to the Green Man at Rackheath. It is a nice pub, but sadly the vegetarian choice was very limited.
On Thursday evenings I go to a Tai Chi class. After nine months of doing it, I notice a difference both in my general fitness and in the strength in my legs. I enjoy the class with good humoured instructors and participants.
I don't get to use my knowledge of Latin very often, but the competition on B3ta.com is to show how the Romans would have used the Internet (!). It reminded me of this bit of cod Latin:



*hint* think about putting a rope through the hole

Clear and bright

It has been a remarkably cold week - the snow that fell on Tuesday still hasn't completely melted. The sun has been shining in recent days and skies are very clear and a rich blue. The first crocuses are appearing. It is truly bright and beautiful but VERY COLD






"Clear skies over Norfolk"

Thank you for the NHS

I have an unusual medical condition (Multifocal Motor Neuropathy) which means a day in hospital once a month for treatment (with intravenous immunoglobulin, which is an infusion of white blood cells). The Norfolk & Norwich Hospital let me come in regulalry on the first Friday of each month. I have eight bottles on a drip and I am allowed to change them myself, which means I just have to find a way to pass the time for about seven hours.

I always intend to use the time productively. I have written parts of a sermon or my contribution to Sprowton News. I also try to catch up on reading. It is not always easy to concentrate. However, today I did read "Faith in Suburbia" by Malcolm Brown. It is an area about which very little has (yet) been written, but understanding the contemporary culture of suburbia is going to be very important for the future of a mission-shaped church.

This Sunday's Gospel:

He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him
Mark 1.13

Bit of a let down

Ha ha. After the big build up my 15 seconds of fame didn't happen at all. "The Real Rain Man" stopped with Kim & Fran Peek in Oxford, the day before they came to Norfolk. It was an interesting programme, nonetheless and it was good to met them both.

One of the things that I do it post on B3TA.com -not a website recommended for those who are easily offended but there are some very clever and funny contributions. I do my best with things like this:

(based on David Hockney's "Bigger Splash")

Birthday

Birthday presents: 3 tubs of fresh olives, 2 jars of chutney, The Smiths complete songbook, and Kaiser Chiefs "Employment" songbook, a book token and this stained glass St Cuthbert's Cross.



Alice said that when she bought it in Durham cathedral shop the man said that Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen had written in the Independent that it is the must have accessory of 2006!

All this more than made up for a trip to the hospital to for some very private investigations - but everything was declared normal and nothing to worry about.

Just my 30 seconds of fame to look forward to tonight.

Sunday

Often people assume that Sunday is a clergy person's busiest day (if not actually the only day he does any work!). Clergy don't do much to dispel this myth because it means they can have a bit of peace and quiet and time with the family on a Sunday afternoon.
So, I spent the afternoon putting together a flat-pack wardrobe (which took the best part of three hours). We bought a set of bedroom furniture before Christmas, but one of the wardrobes had to go back because the holes had been drilled in the wrong place. It took nearly two months to have a replacement delivered.

This evening Mary, Eleanor and I went out for a very nice meal at Tootsie's - I had lamb souvlaki with Greek salad, and fruit and chocolate fondue. A nice treat to celebrate my birthday tomorrow!

In the beginning...

What does a Vicar do at eleven o'clock on a Saturday night?
Start his first ever blog, of course.
The Church Times was saying that not enough clergy are doing this, so here goes...

On Monday evening at 9pm Channel Five is showing

• The Real Rain Man

- some filming for the very end of the programme was done at St Mary & St Margaret's. I showed Kim Peek where we thought his great grandmother was buried.





I noticed this morning that the only snowdrops in the churchyard were growing next to this grave.