Holiday coming to a close: London 3-4 Aug

Tues 3 August
Today Mike dropped me off at West Wickham station and I headed into town to get some tickets for a show tonight. I went to the discount ticket office in Leicester Square and bought tickets for Jersey Boys. Then I went back to Waterloo and me up with Richard Mallett. I used to work with Richard back in 1988 with the Australian Youth Orchestra. I also stayed with Richard in 1990 when I first came to the UK.

Richard took me back to his place for lunch and I was able to meet his family. We had a lovely catch up, covering all sorts of things, and then Richard took me for a short walk to the Thames, including going through a small market place where Di has a little massage/aromatherapy business.

After that I walked along the Thames past the South Bank arts centre (Royal Festival Hall etc) and then across a footbridge to Charing Cross Station. From there I wandered up to St Martin in the Fields church and had a quick look around. I had arranged to meet M&L at St Martin’s. I had a little bit of extra time so finally got onto Char (boss at New Holland Publishers, 1990-1991) and at least had a telephone chat.

After meeting up with M&L we went down into the St Martin’s crypt, to their cafe, for dinner. Then it was up to the Garrick Theatre for Jersey Boys. It was a great show, and I enjoyed it and found it interesting, not knowing the story of Frankie Valli. But Sister Act is a difficult one to follow, speaking subjectively of course.

After the show we walked back to Charing Cross station via Trafalgar Square. Trafalgar Square currently has a (temporary) hedge maze in the middle of it. Also Lord Nelson has been cleaned since I was last here and is looking very good! There were lots of people around. London really has such a great buzz.

We then caught the train but did not get too far when the driver announced that the line had been closed due to a factory fire further on, and the train would terminate. Unfortunately where the train terminated did not give us many options. We ended up catching two buses to get us back and eventually arrived home about 12.15am.

Wed 4 Aug
This morning I struggled out of bed a bit after 8.30am knowing that I was going to try and Skype my sister about 9am. It turned out Mum was with Karen so I was able to talk to, and see, both of them which was great. During the conversation dear Leslie brought me in a cup of tea in an exquisite bone china cup and very large saucer/plate, along with a liqueur choc. There were lots of FB messages and a couple of text messages. I am very blessed!

We had a very late breakfast. The weather was not looking promising but I needed to go shopping for an extra piece of luggage for my books! So Leslie and I popped into Croydon and I hoped to find something cheap in a Pound shop (equivalent to a $2 shop). I eventually found something that will do that wasn’t too expensive. We needed some sustenance so ended up in the cafe of a local church. They did a great job there. As we left the church to catch the bus home the clouds burst. We had both taken umbrellas and they came in very handy.

When we arrived home Mike had returned from an appointment and we re-convened as to our plans for the day. I had thought about going back into town, having a wander through Hyde Park, and perhaps another show, but the weather was not conducive to this idea. We were all still weary from yesterday’s adventures too, so we had a siesta instead, planning to go to a pub in a country village for supper (dinner) instead.

The drive to the pub was lovely, as was the pub and meal. Then it was home again to a cuppa and birthday cake! A relaxing day really, and in good company!

Holiday: London 31 July - 2 Aug

Sat 31 July

Nicky and I had thought about trying to see a West End show today leaving the boys with Greg, but it all got too hard. Instead Nicky found a free Croydon Summer Festival, just near Mike & Lesley which we thought we’d try. It had a bit of a world music flavour to it, which is always good for me.

It took us about 1.5hrs to get to Mike & Lesley as we came a bit of a roundabout way. However they welcomed us in, cooled us down with drinks and then drove us to the Festival so Nicky could leave the car. As Nicky put it, it was like being dropped off by Mum and Dad! The Festival was great. It’s put on by the Croydon Council and had several stages, workshops, childrens activities etc. We heard a couple of bands and watched a Caildigh (sp?)- a barn dance - before finding our way back to M&L’s on public transport so Nicky could get home. It was sad to say farewell to Nicky, not having any idea when we might see each other again. But it was lovely being back with M&L.

Sun 1 August

This morning the three of us went to Lewin, Streatham Baptist Church, where Mike baptised me back on 1 Dec 1991. Mike retired (!) a few years ago so there’s a new Senior Pastor now but M&L visit occasionally. It was lovely to visit and there were still some people who remembered me from 1991-1992 so it was great to say hello to them. Also great to see 2 of the musicians from back then still ministering.

It was very difficult for M&L to extract themselves as they are still much missed, and loved there. Eventually we did and in the afternoon Sally and Dennis visited. S&D were members of the same housegroup back then, and got married in 1992 just before I returned home. I helped Leslie in the kitchen at the wedding.

We spent a few hours catching up, and reminiscing. They like to remind me of a particular picnic we had at Crystal Palace at an outdoor screening of Robin Hood when I took some homous in film canisters. I obviously didn’t have any other plastic containers so resourcefully used what was at hand, to the great amusement of my friends! Apparently I entertained everyone at a 10 Pin Bowling night as well - I don't remember that at all...


Mon 2 August

M&L had booked for us to go on the London Eye and river trip. We travelled up to London and then joined the masses of people doing the same thing. M&L had done the trip before, but not in peak tourist season! The river cruise went for about 40mins but was great as it went from the western end of the Houses of Parliament to the eastern side of Tower Bridge. There is much to see, on both banks, of that section of the Thames, and the commentary was both interesting and entertaining.

Despite ‘booking’, we still had to join a long queue for the London Eye itself. Essentially it’s a very large ferris wheel, but is an amazing structure, and very tall.

We boarded our ‘pod’ and it takes 30mins to do one complete revolution. If you don’t look down, you don’t notice that you’re moving, but if you do look down, you realise how high you are! It was a great trip, and on a good day you can apparently see for 40 miles. We had a grey day with only bits of sunshine, but it was still great.

After that we wandered around Covent Garden and into a pub well known for its Cornish Pasties, in which we of course had to partake. Monday is not a great day for the markets in Covent Garden, nevertheless there was still quite a good vibe in parts. Again it was nice to re-connect with these places.

Holiday time: East Sussex cont. 28-30 July

Wed 28 July

Nicky worked this morning so I was on ‘lad-sitting’ duties again. We did play a bit of cricket outside but all of us got very hot so had to come inside and recover!

In the afternoon we headed out to Bewl Water which is a large recreation area around a water reservoir. We took Frodo with us so he had fun with all the new sights and smells. The boys had some fun in an adventure playground and we all had a stroll along the shoreline. Then we found a zip-line activity which the boys wanted to try. It was actually quite cheap so they both had a go, being completely harnessed up, climbing a flimsy ladder to the starting podium then jumping off to whizz down the line. Nicky could hardly watch the boys climb the ladder, especially the younger one, James, asking me if he was up there yet???!!! They, of course, had a great time!


Thurs 29 July
Today we set off for Battle, in 1066 Country. Battle is the location of the actual Battle of Hastings in 1066, but Hastings itself is just down the road. Battle Abbey was built under order from William the Conqueror, with the high altar being situated where King Harold was killed. The Abbey itself was closed and subsequently destroyed in Henry VIII’s Reformation activities but much remains of the other buildings including a gate house and dormitories/common room/refectory.

We set off with our little audio tour guides and did the complete tour beginning with a short film explaining what happened on that fateful day of 14 October 1066. The film was very helpful to have in mind as we went around the site. As we came to different points around the grounds the audio tour then described the events and background. Certainly William’s invading army had quite a hill to climb, especially weighed down with chain mail and weaponry. Of course many thousands of men, (and horses) lost their lives that day so it was a sad place. It was also sad that the Abbey itself was no longer standing but good to see the other buildings and reconstruction models of the Abbey.

I learned a great deal including that William’s army was quite a mixed group of Europeans, and that William apparently had Papal blessing to invade. While a matter of great conjecture, it is interesting to consider how England, and indeed the world, might be different had King Harold and his men won the battle that day, and they nearly did.

Both Ed and James were heading off for a sleep-over at different houses in the evening. Once they were off, Nicky & Greg were child-free for the evening – an unusual occurrence. Nicky’s parents popped in for a short visit to say hello. I had stayed with them once at their place in the Cotswolds back in the 1990-1992 period. They moved down to East Sussex about 8 or so years ago and are now about 5 miles from N&G, with Nicky’s sister Tina just around the corner.

N&G are fortunate to have several nice pubs locally so we walked up to one in the middle of the village and sat outside in the lovely garden, and had a wonderful meal. None of us could manage a ‘pudding’ but even so, we virtually rolled home as the meal was rather substantial.

We then relaxed in front of the TV for a little while, Nicky and I complete with tea and chocolate, then fell into bed.

It’s lovely having a decent amount of time with N&G so that we can casually catch up on things.

We also realised, that this week had been full of ‘B’ visiting – Brighton, Bewl and Battle. Of course Hartfield on Monday could be thought of as the Bridge of Pooh (!) to complete the list.

Fri 30 July

Still child free, Nicky went off to work and as I didn’t have any baby-sitting duties I could have a lie-in. Nicky had made an appointment for me with her osteopath at 11am as I was quite desperate. I’d had about 10 days of not being able to turn my head to the left and although that was much improved, one of my knees was particularly bad and keeping me awake at night so it was worth trying. Laura the osteopath was very sweet but decided she couldn’t do much for my knee. However she stretched and released various other things so that was helpful.
Then I went across the road to the village church, quite a large 17th C church, and found Nicky in her office. I had a wander around while she finished off her work (the last day before she herself goes on 4 weeks leave) and ended up running into Father Nigel, the Vicar. Nicky had told him about me, and introduced as earlier, so we had a nice little chat. Then we came home, let Frodo out for a few minutes, then went to the closest pub, all of about 100m up the road, for lunch!

Tonight Nicky and I looked at her photos from Australia back in 1989/1990 and reminisced (and cringed at my hairstyle!)

Tomorrow, it’s time to head back to Mike & Lesley for the last few days before returning home.

Holiday time - Mayfield, East Sussex with Nicky & Greg

Brother Sam drove me in to Sherborne station and I then had a 3-train 4.5hr journey to Crowborough, one of the nearest stations to Mayfield. Nicky and 12yr old son Edward met me at the station. It was a short ride to their home where I then met 9yr old James. I hadn’t met either of the children before so that’s been lovely, rather than just hearing about them. They also have a 4yr old black lab cross border collie called Frodo. Frodo quickly found out I was a soft touch for games etc so I have a new friend. Greg recently finished renovating an outside building that was originally built to house a printing press. It’s now a guest room and a games room, so I can have fun!

Mon 26 July - Winnie the Pooh adventures.
Nicky works for the local Vicar 3 mornings a week so I “lad-sat” for 3.5hrs. My instructions were simply to ensure the boys didn’t kill each other! Together we filled in the time with X-box games and real, outside games including tennis and cricket. The only problem was they told me the cricket rules were that if you hit the ball, you had to run. Mmm ‘run’ – what does that word mean??? I figured that I should be allowed to have Frodo as my runner but he wasn’t particularly helpful in that regard!

In the afternoon we went on a search for Poohsticks bridge, the bridge where Pooh and his friends played Poohsticks. We knew this was not too far away in the village Hartfield, so we set off on our search. We arrived in the village and asked for directions at the Pooh tea shop and set off again into the forest and then on a 20min hike, mostly downhill to Poohsticks bridge. The water level was very low, and a lot of people have been playing Poohsticks so many of our sticks got stuck. Nevertheless we can still say that we played Poohsticks at the Poohsticks bridge. After the hike back uphill we felt it was necessary to return to the Pooh tea house for appropriate refreshments such as Piglet’s cream tea.

Back home Nicky organised ‘supper’ (translation ‘dinner’) which we enjoyed in the balmy, yet still overcast, outdoors.


Tues 27 July - Brighton

Today Nicky drove the boys and I down to Brighton. We walked along the (pebbly) beach front for quite some way passing various amusements and carousels along the way, to get to the famous Brighton Pier. It really is a very long pier. The majority of it is filled with amusements and arcade games which the boys enjoyed for a little while. Then it was fish and chips on the boardwalk before a few moments sitting on the ‘beach’ while the boys went and got their feet wet. It was still quite dull which seemed to mean there were only a few on the beach and even fewer venturing to get wet.

We then headed up into the shopping area which was very, very busy. It was like a completely different Brighton. After a successful little shopping spree for the boys, it was time to return home. Both boys fell asleep in the car so incriminating photos were taken and one has now been uploaded to the desktop of the family PC which, at the time of writing, the boys are yet to see!

Caring for Creation in Crisis, Hilfield Friary, 23-25 July

Fri 23 July: Sheffield to Hilfield Friary

Today I travelled from Sheffield in the middle of the country, to Dorset in the south west. It took 4 trains and just over 5 hours to do so. The connections were all excellent and the most I ever waited for a train was about 10 mins. One needed a few minutes to get from one platform to another anyway! I really am generally impressed with the public transport system, particularly the rail network. The trains themselves are privatised and there are noticeable differences between the companies. (Virgin Rail are definitely the best but they have only been on one of my routes – sadly!) And, today I’ve really noticed the difference of a first class ticket. The 3rd leg was a train with no first class carriage and it was not so pleasant in terms of it being full, hot and very noisy. The other 3 legs I have been in quiet carriages – very nice. First Class is not an option for a lot of people here but the Britrail pass purchased in Australia was a bargain – well worth it.

On arriving in Sherborne I tried to call the Friary to see if someone could pick me up but only an answering machine (for the 2nd time), so I wandered into the village, lugging all my gear, for a quick look around. (I've decided to call my duffle bag Daryl) I went into the Abbey which is rather famous in these parts but didn’t feel like lugging all my gear any further so returned to the station. This time I did get onto the Friary but they didn’t have anyone available until later so I got a quote on a cab fare and chose that option. Of course I then got the cabbie who didn’t know where the Friary was but started driving saying he knew the way to Hilfield. He had to have been one of the most frustrating cabbies ever, at least for me. Anyway, the Friary is well sign-posted so we actually found it without any problem, apart from attitude! I did try and make small talk and have a laugh before we arrived at the Friary, but all with me having to shout!

At the Friary, Brother John showed me to my room which is upstairs in a little thatched cottage so I have diagonal (ie eave) bits either end of my room. There’s a nice little view over to another building with the chook run inbetween. This is only a very small conference ie about 15 of us – so different to last weekend. Andy Lester is the main speaker and Andy has a science background, and is the Conservation Director for A Rocha UK. A Rocha has 5 core components in its work – conservation, community, cross-culture, Christian, co-operation. No projects are purely about conservation, they are all about community and conservation. Their vision is thus: “The transformation of people and places through a movement of individuals and communities caring for God’s world.”

After dinner tonight (thanks to Brother Paul), Andy showed us some photos to introduce both himself and the work of A Rocha. He’s invited us to go on a little walk at 6am. Mmm not sure I’m up for that one... Meanwhile we’re invited to join the community in their daily chapel services, all 4 of them, if we would like. They chant quite a bit of the liturgy – it’s almost a shame to have female voices spoiling the wonderful sound of men singing chants and plainsong.

There’s a bell somewhere just outside my room which just rang and made me jump!

Sat 24 July
Surprisingly to all, including myself, I did manage to get up and join the 6am walking group. For the first part of the walk Andy identified many different bird calls. We were a bit late for the ‘dawn chorus’, nevertheless there were quite a few different birds singing. On our return Andy asked us to reflect on all the different grasses there were, and on the creativity of God.

On our return I had a shower then promptly went back to bed for an hour or so! Up too late last night. Our morning session included a time of silent meditation and a reflection on rest, play and work by Simon Bignall, local Parish Priest. (For those who know Bishop George Browning, Simon replaced +George, which of course also means that +George is well known and well-loved here).

Simon had been asking himself what he in his role, and the church can contribute to environmental concerns. The answer he came up with, was worship because worship leads to transformation.

Andy’s next session was set in the framework of a story of a particular swallow family. I’m going to write this out in full as I think it’s worth it. This family was tracked in 2009.
5/4 Hugo returns to last year’s nest
12/4 Carine returns and starts repairing nest (the female does most of the work!)
20/4 Carine lays 5 eggs
23/4 eggs eaten by rat
5/5 Carine lays 4 new eggs
20/5 3 eggs hatch
12/6 Donald, (first of the three), leaves nest
14/6 Suzi and Whisky leave nest
20/6 parents Hugo and Carine stop feeding them
5/7 Hugo departs on the long journey to S.Africa
8/7 Carine follows. The youngsters depart together soon after. It’s a 20,000km round trip and it’s a mystery how the youngsters find their way. They often end up within 15 miles of their parents in a country and continent to which they’ve never been. Incredible.
20/7 Hugo shot at over France, but survives with damaged tail feathers.
9/8 Suzi shot dead over Spain. Both France and Spain shoot swallows and pickle them as a delicacy.
12/9 In Morocco 2 children watch Donald drink from dirty water.
3/11 Hugo arrives at Shaken Rock Natal, Sth Africa. Carine arrives 2 weeks later – she was held up by a sandstorm in Namibia.
19/11 Donald arrives
20/11 Whisky found dead by a vulture.

Do swallows matter? Should we care? Scripture suggests yes. (eg Is 40:11, 40:26)

These little birds weigh less than 1 oz, and yet have a 20,000km migration route. 90% of them don’t make it, and their numbers are declining principally due to loss of habitat. This is just one story of very many.

Outside the chapel entrance here at the friary is a little nest of swallows. (You have to be careful how you walk under it!) There are 3 chicks in it. It is hard to imagine that soon they will be out flying, and then heading off to South Africa. Say a prayer for them.

This afternoon we had a couple of options and I did a little yoga session with Andy and another lady. Tonight we went hunting for bats with a bat detector. Andy was able to identify 2 different species from their sounds. We even heard their warning noise when their sonar detected us! A moth trap box has been set up and we’ve just been viewing what moths are around. So far there have been at least 6 different species – some very pretty such as the Mother of Pearl.

Again, there is much to reflect on. The topic is different to last weekend, and yet what is so clear, is humanity’s need to do something about the problems humanity has caused. One of my concerns and observations has been that so often addressing any of the biodiversity and climate change issues, has been for the sake of humanity – if we don’t address this, humanity won’t survive. What I like about the A Rocha and Franciscan approach, is that all of creation has value in itself. The sparrow is of great worth to its Creator, as is all of creation.

Sun 25 July

The day began with checking out the moths in the moth trap. The moth trap consisted simply of a light, a box, some glass and a bunch of empty egg cartons for the moths to hide in. This morning there were moths in the egg cartons, on the glass and on the outside of the box. One of the people on the weekend is someone who does surveys of moths and butterflies so she and Andy together set about identifying them and counting them. They identified over 40 different species – some of them were extraordinary. Hopefully I will continue to be more appreciative of moths in the future.

We joined the community for Sunday Eucharist service followed by breakfast. Andy offered the opportunity of joining in a structured meditation outside in which we spent time on our backs looking at the sky, then upright looking at the mountains, then on our tummy looking at the grass and the hidden life within it. Near me emerged a gorgeous beetle, possibly a mint beetle, which glistened in the sunlight.

I walked through the fruit and vegetable garden in which there were some beautiful butterflies. I tried to photograph them but they tended not to settle so I had little success.

We again gathered with the whole community for lunch, which was the only meal in which meat, in this case chicken, had been offered. I couldn’t eat the chicken.

Our time together then concluded with a simple sharing session of any reflections people wanted to share with the group. I ended up sharing about a Psalm that was set for Morning Prayer on Saturday, Psalm 57. When I read it, I read it from the perspective of a creature, and in particular a swallow as we had been talking about, and watching, them. I read it to the group with this in mind which they all appreciated.

During the meditation time I also wrote a poem. I never write poetry so perhaps I shouldn’t call it a poem. Nevertheless, it is what came to me in the meditation as I could hear a chainsaw in the distance and the cracking of a tree.

Chainsaws beating,
Beating very fast.
Chainsaws cutting
Carving
Destroying
Illuminating
Felling

Chainsaw refugees
Birds, insects, lichens
How far must they travel?
Will they be welcomed
Or turned away?

They say home is where the heart is.
What homes have we destroyed?
What homes have we provided?

The heart of creation beats,
Beats with the heart of Christ
Slowly,
Tenderly,
Majestically.

Chainsaws beating,
Beating very fast

Creation bleeding.
Christ weeping.

Beat

Beat


Beat

Thurs 22 July - Castleton, Peak District

This morning it was pouring and not encouraging to venture out. However, I did take David’s advice and caught a local bus up into the Peak District, to a little village called Castleton. This is a popular village, for day visitors and hikers alike, principally due to its cave systems, a castle and a mountain. The trip out there was on a standard double-decker but so I went upstairs, at the front, to get the best view. Opposite me were a couple from Fisher, Canberra! We couldn’t see very much due to the rain but what we could see was lovely. As it was a domestic bus route, there were various detours into villages, some with such narrow streets that if there were no windows, I could have touched the wall on either side of the bus.

Castleton itself is a lovely little village and has made the most of tourism with many pubs and cafes, jewellery and gift stores. It wasn’t quite lunchtime so I thought I’d have a ‘cream tea’. Sadly I chose probably the one place to have it that was a total disappointment. It was in a pub and the pub itself was gorgeous, and award winning for the last 2 years, but I suspect the awards were not for its cream teas. The scone was cold (felt refrigerated), was very flat and had been cut in half. It was served with a pot of cream and one of those little packaged tubs of jam, and the tea was served with long-life milk. Now I can understand long-life milk in hotel rooms, but not in a place offering in-house meals. It was so unnecessary to have all that packaging, and surely there is plenty of home-made jam around even if they didn’t make it themselves. So, I left most of it. Of course just a bit further along the road was a place advertising home-made scones, home-made jam etc!

It was still raining quite heavily and my daypack was getting soaked, despite my umbrella, so I had to go into an outdoor store and purchase a cover for it. I walked to the nearest cave. For me it was very disappointing – I’ve been spoiled by Jenolan Caves. The best thing about this one was its resident border collie, Jake. Jake requested someone throw a stick for him while we were awaiting the tour to start. Guess who responded to his request??? He was then part of the tour and went ahead and sat in particular places for the guide to point to, or demonstrate something. A miniature poodle was also on the tour with his family but he got a little distressed by the experience so was carried from time to time! I do so love how dogs are welcome everywhere. Even the village church has a sign on the door saying dogs (on a lead) were welcome.

By the time I got on the bus to return to Sheffield, the rain had stopped and there were a few breaks in the clouds. I came back on a different bus route which was just lovely and saw some picturesque landscapes.

Tomorrow it’s about a 6hr journey down to Dorset (SW England) for another conference.

I have only had access to a TV for a few days on this trip and there are a larger number of free-to-air stations but the programming is appalling. The Brit’s can make such good television, yet that’s not what they are showing.

Liverpool and Sheffield

Tues 20 July - Liverpool

Today again began overcast but at least wasn’t raining so I walked back up to St Luke’s to take photos of the garden. After that I walked to Crosby train station (I should have had a pedometer today!), and caught the train into Liverpool. As I emerged from the station, I discovered it had begun to rain. My new umbrella was to get a good work-out. I walked down to Albert Dock which, amongst other things, is home to “The Beatles Story”. I figured I could not visit Liverpool without doing something Beatles-esque. The exhibition was good and when I came out, it was absolutely pouring. I then headed up to the Anglican Cathedral. This Cathedral is the 4th largest in Europe, and the largest Anglican Cathedral anywhere in the world. And big it certainly was! The architect wanted people not to admire his stonework, but his spaces. I did the audio tour (wear a headset and listen to commentary at various spots) which was very good. The last ‘station’ was to climb a bridge in the middle of the cathedral. A guide took me up and it certainly gave a different perspective of the space. After I said goodbye to my guide when we were on the ground again, I heard a voice say “Hello, Leigh”. It was Mark Burnett, a student at St Mark’s. How bizarre is that?! I knew Mark was doing some travelling through Europe but had no idea Liverpool was on his itinerary, nor when.

It was then 5pm so time to head back to Jan & Steve’s. I found my way back to the station to discover there was chaos with trains being cancelled etc. “Don’t look at the boards” said one staff, “just listen to the announcements.”! I did get a train quite quickly as it turned out. Jan picked me up from the station and drove me to the beach to have a quick look at the “Other Place” iron men. This is a public art work of 100 (?) life-size figures standing along the beach at various intervals. They all look out to sea and at various depths so, depending on the tide, some may only have their head showing. Due to the rain we could hardly see any, and chose not to get out of the car - I was already damp! Interestingly there were also wind turbines that they have put about 5km out to sea. We could scarcely see those either.

It turned out that the rain was so heavy that Steve had a great deal of trouble getting home. Later we saw news that streets of houses were literally flooded, people had to be evacuated etc and only 2 suburbs away.

Steve & Jan and other church leaders were gathering for dinner at a local Italian place, and they invited me along. I caused a great stir when I asked for a “Lemon, lime and bitters” to drink. The waiter said he would go and ask the bar. The barman came over and asked if I was Australian! I didn’t know the drink would have given me away. The barman had worked in a bar in Australia so knew what to do. When my drink arrived, at least half the gathered group had to have a taste to see what it was like. Various expressions such as “oooh that’s nice/refreshing” etc followed. It was a lovely evening. Additionally Agnes, whom I’d met yesterday, gave me a copy of a book from their local Bishop, “Jesus and the Earth.” Steve and Jan also gave me a copy of a book by the Director of A Rocha. Such lovely people, hospitality and generosity - I am very blessed.


Wed 21 July - Sheffield

This morning I said waved goodbye to the lovely Jan & Steve as they went off to work. I packed up and headed off on my journey back East, to Sheffield. I came to Sheffield to meet with David Hughes, the Eco-Congregation coordinator for England/Wales. I didn’t arrive until 2pm but David kindly had starved himself waiting for my arrival to have lunch! We met up and had a good chat and then when David had to go, I had a little wonder around the city, and managed to get a little lost, for a short while. Sheffield is not set-up for tourists like Liverpool which was very well signposted.

Tomorrow I hope to go for a little trip into the Peak District, as suggested by David.