May 24th
It’s lovely to be away in Norfolk again. Shirley and I spend a week here every summer relaxing with my cousins on their farm together with our good and close friends, Rob and Sue. For all of us it is a time that marks a changing of gears and an intentional slowing down which marks the beginning of a slower paced summer season. Walking, biking, reading, relaxing, leisurely meals, barbequed or out at pubs and restaurants characterise a thoroughly enjoyable time. For Shirley and I our holiday began with a Mark Knopfler concert in Newcastle. He and his band (Dire Straits) are amazing musicians who clearly love to simply ‘jam’ together and for Mark being back in his home town, was clearly a delight. I couldn’t believe that our tickets had us sitting just ten metres from him. We had hoped for an invite to the after concert party as Shirley is friends with Mark’s ‘auntie’ but it wasn’t to be on this occasion. Not in the last disappointed we were treated to two and a quarter uninterrupted hours of pure bliss where the music did all the talking and there was no need of a warm up or accompanying band ~ brilliant! The concert finished late and as we were travelling south the next day I’d found a hotel room on Laterooms.com for £37 B&B, a real bargain. It wasn’t exactly the Ritz but it was absolutely fine and brilliant value for money. Admittedly not everybody would have appreciated being greeted by the receptionist and her Alsatian dog but add to that the tortoise in a specially constructed pen by the reception desk and I could almost have convinced Shirley that I’d taken these things into consideration when booking the room for us. It was great and after a pleasant, leisurely journey south the following day, we joined with the others, barbecued and drank wine into the late hours.
Friends and family are very important part of our lives and still feeling the searing pain that bereavement brings with the loss of both my parents over the last year, I am greatly comforted by the companionship of some great friends, one of whom, Gayle-Anne, I’d seen the day before our holiday; someone who, together with other close friends, we’ve shared many a joy and a few sorrows.
Our week in Norfolk tries to have a cultural element to it and last night we went for a Mexican meal accompanied by cocktails. Mindful of those with a sensitive moral disposition, I am unable to give the names for such cocktails! We went to see Alan Bennett’s ‘The History Boys’. I enjoyed the film a couple of years ago but the stage play was magnificent. It’s a superbly written piece of drama which was cleverly directed and wonderfully performed, a master piece.
Sad and Shocking News
Thanking God for family and friends, I received a message on my mobile that cast a very deep and dark cloud on the day. One of our friends, someone who had gone into the ministry from Portrack, my first pastorate, a fellow Baptist minister, church planter and pastor who loved God and lived to see other people come to know Christ, had died suddenly and unexpectedly. A fit and active guy in his early fifties, it’s a salutary reminder that we are but mortal beings and the fragility of human life confronts us with such stark realities. My thoughts and prayers go out to Ruth and their four boys. The church militant has lost one of life’s characters and the church triumphant gained an excellent young entrant. He will be missed greatly by his close family and by many who have come into the Kingdom because he had the compassion, conviction and courage to share the faith with them.
Dear Jim, I thank God for every remembrance of you. You got home to your beloved Scotland and now to that eternal home where you are beloved.
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