Remembrance

It's ages and ages since I've blogged - for a few reasons - but that's for another day.

Thought you might like to see some of the pictures I took today.

You can see them all on Facebook here.

I happened to be in London for a work meeting just up the road from the Cenotaph. So I made a minor detour to take some pictures.

It was a lovely autumn day - cloudy but with occasional bursts of warm sunshine.

I don't know why, but I slightly surprised to see so many people and a couple of TV cameras.

I was struck by how the The London buses and poppy wreaths made great splashes of colour in the otherwise grey tones of Whithall.

I noticed the chalk marks on the floor. Circles, numbers and straight lines that I guessed, were there to tell people where to stand and where to lay the wreaths - nothing left to chance. No room for confusion or disorder here.

I took a few pictures and then I looked around at the other people I was standing with, catching snippets of conversation. Some were taking pictures, some wandering around observing what was going on, and some looking out for wreaths laid by specific organisations.

Being a people watcher I stood for a while and wondered who they were - curious passers by, or people who had made specify journeys to be there. I noticd how the cameramen were clearly focused on doing their jobs and saw how the tourists in silly hats looked ridiculously out of place.

And then I spotted the men who were clearly moved to be there - maybe thinking of family or friends or paying their respects to old comrades. Who knows.

It was interesting to see the range of organisations who leave the wreaths - obviously military and voluntary groups connected with supporting troops, but Govt departments and bizarrely (I thought) The Amalgamation of Racing Pigeons.

I didn't expect to see so many hand written notes and was really moved to read the dedications to soldiers who had died so recently.

I'm grateful for the chance to remember those who gave so much to allow us to live in freedom.

I'm grateful too for the reminder to pray for peace.

Family friendly thoughts

I been thinking (you know I do it too much) about family friendly Church. As always my thoughts go off in all directions and I've ended up thinking more about families than Church.

At the moment my latest 'obsesion' is a Facebook group I've created for 'The Cook Family' - that's the relatives of my Granny and Granpa.

This is them with their eight children. My Dad is the youngest - sitting down at the front.

Their children, grandchildren and great grandchild live round the world - USA, Austraila, New Zealand, England and of course Scotland.

It's been faciating to 'meet' cousins on Facebook and share family photos - getting to know people who are part of my family even tho we've never met.

This is one of my favourites from the early 70s - it's my Grandpa arriving in New Zealand as he sees one of his sons for the first time in 20 years.

I found it really moving to see this for the first time - there's such a lovely look on his face.

And as Kev pointed out - how amazing to capture that precise moment on camera.

Blog hopping

Had a good evening evening wandering around blogland in a deliberate attempt to find something new and interesting.

This is my find of the night. http://www.beyondrelevance.com/

I'll be visiting again to have a good look round.

Still waters

A couple of months ago Kev and I took the plunge and joined the gym.

We'd looked at a few places and in end the end picked the nicest (and most expensive) one. It's a bit of an extravagance but, as we have a cheap holiday lined up for this year, we decided the money would come from the holiday budget. We have friends who were already members and they'd convinced us it was like being on holiday all year.

There were two things in particular that 'sold' it to us

- the facilities and activities for kids - it really is 'family friendly' and

- the heated indoor and outdoor pools.

We've had plenty of use from the outdoor pool these last few weeks. And when the sun shines, the water looks like this.

It's warm enough to use even when it's not very sunny and you get the best of both worlds. Outside, at one with nature - grass and trees, blue sky, birds and a gentle breeze. And crystal-clear, warm water that comes from an artificial (but highly efficient) filtration, heating and chlorination system.

And I'm 'blessed' every time I swim - thanking God for the beauty of the sun on the water and the efficiency of the water heater.

It's rare to have more than a couple of people in at once and several times I've had the whole pool to myself.

But not so this Bank Holiday Monday.

The club had a 'free' weekend. People brought friends and family along to enjoy the freebie - and we did too.

So the pool and patio area were very busy. It was noisy, the adult-only Jacuzzi was full of kids and the clear water was looking more opaque than crystal .

On Tuesday, as I was on my own again in the pool enjoying the peace and the somewhat clearer water, I decided that I prefer ed the exclusivity.

But that's a bit selfish really - I don't need a whole pool to myself.

And there's something a bit sad about a pool designed for lots of people to enjoy having only one person in it. On Monday there were lots of people there - having lots of fun.

Of course the whole purpose of the 'free' weekend is to get new people to pay to join the gym. And no matter how much I like swimming on my own, the gym will not be viable if there are not enough people 'investing' in keeping it open.

Have you worked out where I'm going with this?

Do we want to keep our Church 'clean and tidy' - untroubled by people who don't know the rules?

Or are we willing to throw open the doors and learn to live with the literal and metaphorical mess?

I have to admit that sometimes I just want the exclusivity - but I know that's not what we were designed for and ultimatly, it's not a viable strategy.

New Brighton Carnival

Matthew - number one old fan and would be heckler. He didn't get that when Dan spoke to the audience he wasn't speaking directly to him - and he wasn't inviting feedback.

Can you see the extra 1.8 mega pixals in first shot?

No? They are just to to the left of the ice cream van.

Tennis - anyone else?

Tennis Girl Uploaded on May 2, 2008 by Balakov http://www.flickr.com/photos/71447254@N00/2460255572

One: It's not funny to make funn of my speeling.

Two: Maybe.


Three: I've been busy facebooking with your meat-eating teenager.


I'll ring you.



Love H

Messy Church - reply to Johnny

Johnny said "Looks like Walton's had quite a journey!"

Indeed we have.

I've been thinking about a response to this comment. Something along the lines that we are still on the journey. (And that's part of the messyness I guess.)

The phrase 'Becoming the kind of Church (Corps) God wants us to be', has cropped up along the way.

And it that context, I was wondering today when we will reach our destination. And how we we know when we have arrived.

Of course we will never get to the end of that journey because there will always something more or something better that God wants from us - or for us.

A bit like a treasure hunt really - once you get to a particular point there is another clue to be revealed - and that sets you off in a slightly different direction.

I like working out the clues :-)

But I know some people would prefer to go straight to the end.

But where's the fun in that?

The future's bright

I picked up our new phones today.

I am already slightly confused but looking forward to the 5 megapixels - that's 1.8 more than I have now!

1.8! - I know, it's a lot isn't it.

Tennis anyone?

Kev and I are having lessons!

Who knows where it will end.
I am almost completly hopless - but it's great fun.

Messy Church again

Or Blue serge II

It's a long time since I wrote about messy church here.

As per my comment on Blue serge, some more thoughts and a picture on what it means to be a Salvation Army Church (Corps) in 21st C.

I've looked through my pictures to find one that illustrates where we're at - or where I think we're up to. (As I said before, these are my personal views only - who knows what everyone else thinks. ) There is a 30+ piece Brass Band in the middle of our hall.
It is not a Salvation Sally Army band. No-one is wearing uniform.
The band is playing Sally Army music, conducted by a Sally Army BM.
Some of the players are active members of a Sally Army Band.
Some of the players are active members of the Sally Army but not a Sally Army Band.
Some of the players occasionally go to the Sally Army.
Some of the players haven't been to the Sally Army for a long time.
The Euph player is a confirmed Anglican.
The band has no name and no formal membership rules.

Bit messy really.

To the right of the drummers head you can see the traditional Sally Army crest. When we re-furbished this room a couple of years ago we didn't have a crest on the wall. Some people were very unhappy about this - so now we have one.

The lights are Ikea style standard lamp - frequently used for the 'soft lighting' effect we need for social events . They work OK but we could do with a few more as it's its a bit too dark - and the extension cables have to be taped to the carpet. Not very state of the art - bit messy really.

Just above the base drum you might be able to see people are sitting round cafe style tables - and just to the right people are sitting on the comfy sofa's from the lounge. It's great to have the informal seating - but a pain to move all the chairs and carry the sofas in and out again.

The picture was taken during an informal evening we had last week. Drink and snacks - coffee and cake. Informal - but with a full-on brass band! But it worked surprisingly well. The Bandos enjoyed the refreshments and the chatting. The people who thought they didn't like brass bands had a great time and loved the live music.

No-one paid a penny to get in - all that for free!

I'll leave you to get your head round all of that - but I think it's a parable for where we're currently at.

Thanks Dad for the pictures.