Prayers for Good Weather Answered!

Service of Light
St Michael's Church, Camberley

Spiritual Journeying: Food for Thought

Regular readers may know that I help facilitate monthly meetings for people who sometimes find life difficult.  The group is called 'Spiritual Journeying' and offers themed conversation.

Today's Spiritual Journeying session was on 'Food for Thought' and was an especially upbeat one in many ways, with plenty of laughter and some deep moments.  The good news of the trapped miners in Chile being rescued led on to other spiritually uplifting thoughts.

When I got home I lit a candle and spent some time in meditation.  At one point I realised my body was warm (I'd wrapped a blanket around my shoulders) but my hands felt cold, then even as I acknowledged that, I became aware of a sensation of energy flowing into my hands, as though they were crackling with power.  I contemplated the idea it might be a flow of healing power, so I brought to mind some friends and prayed for their healing.

I then recalled something I'd heard recently, about seeking God's face rather than his hands - in other words, seeking a relationship with God rather than what he can do for us.  Before guilt could cloud the moment, I received the assurance that it's ok to ask for what I want, that my loving Heavenly Father delights in giving.  The phrase:  "A gift given and received in love blesses both the giver and receiver"  came to mind, and I was moved to tears by an overwhelming sense of being loved and enjoyed.

My prayer for you today is that you, too, will know that deep sense of being loved and enjoyed, and that you will freely accept the blessings and gifts our loving Heavenly Father longs to shower on you.

Eat Pray Love

Last night I went to see the film 'Eat Pray Love'.  It's quite long, but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.  I thought Julia Roberts was so believable in the role (and I think she's gorgeous anyway, so no hardship watching her eat spaghetti in close up).

Sunset over Swanpool

Greetings from Falmouth!  It was cheering to drive down in gorgeous sunshine.  We arrived just after three after a pleasant journey.  The two-bedroomed apartment is called 'Seawatch' and lives up to its name with huge French windows opening onto a private balcony and a fabulous view out over Swanpool beach and the bay beyond.  We watched the pastel colours changing hue as the sun went down; a sky suffused with pink perfectly reflected in the still waters below.  Delightful!

Massaging those Vital Statistics?

Only this week I noticed that blogger now provide stats showing how many times your blog has been viewed.  It seems there are a lot more visitors than I knew:  stealth browsers slipping under the radar of Statcounter.  I was puzzled by a trend - the most visited post (averaging around 7 visitors a day) was 'House Guest', posted on 12 August 2009.  At first I thought there were a lot of dog-lovers out there. It wasn't until I read through the journal entry I realised which word was probably pulling in all the interest ... can you spot which one?


I guess the photo of an elderly cocker spaniel is a big disappointment to the majority of lascivious readers! 

Cardiff & The Moody Blues

I'd booked overnight accommodation at a guesthouse 300 metres from St David's Hall (the venue for The Moody Blues concert in Cardiff). When I'd booked it, the landlady had asked me what time I anticipated checking in and I'd said around 2 pm. She explained there was limited free parking in the street outside, on a 'first come, first served' basis. As we were getting ready to go on Friday, I emailed her an updated ETA of 3 pm and received the acknowledgment, 'see you then'.


As we crossed the Severn Bridge, we left the sunshine behind and entered the wet world of Wales. We arrived at 3.15 and were fortunate to find a parking space outside the Guesthouse, which looked across the River Taff to the Millennium Stadium.

Why do we never get an answer

when we're knocking at the door ...

We went to the door and knocked and knocked ... no reply. My friend tried phoning ... no reply. Eventually a couple came out and I took the opportunity to go in whilst my friend stayed with the car (we needed to get a parking permit from the landlady). Inside there was a bell to ring for attention. Still no reply. After a while another guest arrived at the front door and knocked. I let him in and (there being no lounge) we waited together in the hallway for a good twenty minutes. He explained he was an entertainer, booked for a nurses' party nearby, and had been hoping to get his head down for a nap for a couple of hours before his gig. I'm guessing he does John Cleese/Basil Fawlty impressions as there was a strong resemblance. Eventually our landlady arrived, dripping wet and full of apologies - she'd had an unexpected visitor and had to walk her to the station.


My friend and I were glad to get in and use the bathroom before donning our jackets and heading out into the city for a coffee and to collect the tickets from the box office. We walked around a while, enjoying some of the sights, such as this pelican statue, and the family group.

Sign on a shop window:

Laughter is the best cosmetic -grin and wear it!


A bumper sticker:

A still tongue makes for a happy life

The castle. Look, they've hung the flags out!

After a meal in Wetherspoons, we found our way back to St David's Hall. Having booked late, our seats were dizzyingly high, but the acoustics were good and we had an unimpeded view of the stage.

Besides Graeme Edge, Justin Hayward and John Lodge, there were 4 other musicians: a talented drummer (who also played the flute on one number), a bouncy guy with a large number of keyboards around him, and two gorgeous girls - a platinum blonde playing keyboard and guitar, and a brunette playing flute and guitar. Justin Hayward's voice is as true as ever. It was a fantastic experience, being bathed in the very rich smooth satin sound the group produced.

Each and every heart it seems Is bounded by a world of dreams ...	… and perhaps in my wildest dreams I might have imagined hearing the Moody Blues play live – in which case this was a dream come true
	…and somehow I’ll return again to you

Shy Kid Re-emerges

From a very young age through to late teens (or later) I was extremely shy and prone to blushing if addressed directly by someone outside my very small circle of acquaintances. Seems that shy kid is still hiding inside. This morning I visited the Saturday cafe at St Martin's Church, accompanied by my neighbour's 8 year old daughter. An older gent I haven't met before greeted me in unorthodox fashion: "Will you marry me?". It was said with a twinkle and a roguish smile. I could feel the flush burning my cheeks as I struggled to appear cool and poised and find an appropriate response. Sadly no quick-witted retort sprang to my lips.







By contrast, my young friend is extremely feisty. Having learnt my children are grown up and I haven't got any grandchildren, she and her friend have made me their adoptive gran. We went to the Community Fun Day together, and I watched in admiration as she threw herself fully into every experience on offer, asking the firemen if she could climb on the fire engine, scampering up the climbing wall like a monkey and generally giving herself a grand adventure. It was great to see.









Later on I popped round Dave's to see how his garden room construction is getting on - despite the weather, work progresses rapidly.