2010:365:243 Jottings ...

Sometimes  your eye catches small, almost insignificant, details.  Here it is the fresh shoots of new patches of grass now almost ready to meet the lawn mower!  And the feather - covered with dew and a reminder that the pigeons have eaten at least half of the grass seed before it had time to sprout.  Eliot's current 'job' is to chase them off the grass before they can do more damage!

It is encouraging to see how quickly the seeds have taken and the heavy dew each morning no doubt helps with the growth.

You can see just how much dew was on the ground early today.  As usual there was a gentle "woof" long before I'd have considered it to be time to rise.  So off we set in temperatures which remind us that autumn is just around the corner.  The day did warm up and has been beautifully sunny but at 6.30 am I think I'd have preferred to be under the duvet!

Once back home the now thoroughly damp dog had a long sniff around our own garden - you do wonder what's been roaming around during the night ...?

Satisfied that he'd checked out everything he spent a while waiting patiently for me to finish the rapidly cooling coffee and return to the warmth of the house.

Part of the late morning was spent trying to persuade local shops to accept some advertising for the Car Boot Sale that Saint Nicholas' Mothers' Union are running on Saturday next.  Most owners/managers, while friendly, were not able to take the leaflets and cards.  It seems that the days of "sticking up posters" for this and that have gone!  However, two chip shops did put up the advertising and so too did The Coffee Club.  Another place will display our stuff from Thursday - so that will add to the catchment area.
It has been a busy, but fun, day.  I guess it is seldom that you ever do all the things that you'd want to do ... and there's 'paperwork' to keep me out of mischief this evening .... but there's also a sense of being pleasantly tired after a long day.  Getting up at the crack of dawn means that I'm ready for bed very early as well.  That's not a bad thing, I suppose!

Of your kindness, Lord, 

dispel the darkness of this night, 

so that we your servants may go to sleep in peace 

and wake to the light of the new day, 

rejoicing in your name.  

Through Christ our Lord, amen.

May the almighty Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.

Prayer from a service of Compline 

2010:365:242 Rainbows ...

The early morning sun produced a great set of "mini rainbows" as it shone through the glass door ... the camera doesn't really do justice to the intense colours.  Bank Holiday today and the sun was shining.
That meant that the light in Saint Nicholas' was beautiful during my stint there at lunch time.

Today was one of those occasions when lots of folk dropped in - eight altogether.  It seemed that, just as I was thinking of closing up, more visitors arrived!  I didn't mind at all.  Sometimes you meet the guests and have interesting conversations, others clearly want just to be alone to think or pray.

The person on duty usually sits at the west end so that the area around the entrance and side chapel are free for visitors.  One couple remarked on how good it is to have the background music - I'd chosen a Taizé CD today.

Apart from taking a few photographs (again) when there was no one in the building I had a good time reading.  A friend gave me "Paperboy - a memoir" by Tony Macaulay which is an entertaining account of living on the Shankill in the mid 1970s.  It's the sort of book you can pick up and put down without losing the thread.

Prayer is like watching for the
kingfisher.  All you can do is
be where he is likely to appear, and wait.
Often, nothing much happens;
there is space, silence and expectancy.
No visible sign, only the 
knowledge that he's been there
and may come again. 
Seeing or not seeing cease to matter,
you have been prepared.
But sometimes, when you've almost
stopped expecting it,
a flash of brightness
gives encouragement.  

Ann Lewis

2010:365:241 Wood.

There's something very special about wood.  We want to touch wooden object, rub fingers round the edges and trace the designs.  

Presenting analgesics on a gorgeous plate probably doesn't make any difference to their efficiency but they look striking against the dark surface.  As someone pointed out - the water most certainly does more good!

Over the years I've managed to accumulate a collection of plates and wooden objects from car boot sales.  They're great for serving breads and salad items and are used frequently as part of the table setting.

Other pieces, like this little pot, were gifts.  It now contains a remarkable collection of bits and pieces!  

I'd love to take up wood turning.  The symmetry and smooth surfaces of carefully turned pieces is pleasing not only to the eye but also to the touch.  The beech pot, only a couple of inches in diameter, is a souvenir from Windsor, bought many years ago.

Wooden objects of all shapes, sizes and suitable for many different purposes are scattered everywhere around the house.  Each one is an object to be admired, not only because of the work of human hands, but also for the wood itself.  

This is a beautiful world.  

God's creative handiwork has produced an almost endless variety of shapes, designs and materials.  People, made in God's image, then take those raw materials and from them produce objects of great beauty.  

The Sacred Three

to save

to shield

to surround

the hearth

the home

this night

and every night.

Sunday Compline

Celtic Daily Prayer (Northumbria Community)

2010:365:240 Saturday night ...

You can tell that these platters have never been through a dishwasher!  The glaze shines as brightly as it did in the 1940s when they were part of a wedding present to our parents.  The remainder of the set has long since gone - much of it at the hands of our Dad who liked to sterilize dishes in boiling water.  That isn't a great idea for china.
A 365Project friend posted a photograph yesterday of one of the plates they'd received at their marriage and that inspired my picture for today.  I'm quite sure that my sister who is good at remembering dates and things like that will be able to give a year and probably month and date as well for the marriage of Emily and Thomas.  All I know is that it was during the Second World War ....

Part of my thinking about the past is one of the verses from tomorrow's lectionary.  Hebrews 13 verse 8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever."
Isn't that such a strong statement that gives us a rock beneath our feet when it feels as if everything else is unstable and changing.  Jesus is the same.  Always with us.  Always loving us.  Always guiding us.
What we learned of him in the past is still true today and will continue to be so tomorrow.  Therefore we are not afraid or anxious.  Even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we fear no evil for he is with us.

May God shield me;
may God fill me;
may God keep me;
may God watch me;
may God bring me this night
to the nearness of his love. 


The peace of the Father of joy,
the peace of the Christ of hope,
the peace of the Spirit of grace,
the peace of all peace
be mine this night
in the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen. 

Compline - Saturday night

Celtic Daily Prayer (Northumbria Community)

2010:365:239 Mouse and random thoughts ...

The Rectory has had more than its share of mice over the past year!  With the help of some good friends most of the access routes have been blocked off and there's a treat (should that read 'trap') or two waiting for any who stray over the threshold.  Hopefully the last of them has been caught and no more furry friends will find their way into every corner and crevice of the house.

Therefore, it might be a surprise to discover that these same good friends left me a mouse for my amusement!   This one now sits ready to frighten the unwary with a beady eye and a rather luminous red nose.   It wouldn't be truthful to say that I like it ... but it does amuse me!

Today's 365Project photograph wasn't the mouse though .... wish I'd thought of doing it ... but too late now!

No, the selected picture was the new kettle!

Sleek, black and shiny it has replaced the leaking see-through model.  It's not nearly so much fun to watch but at least it isn't leaving big puddles on the bench.  

There were a few other pictures added to the collection today as well.  The orchids are in full bloom again and this older one has produced a wealth of flowers. 

The detail is just amazing. 

It does your heart good to stop and study the flower heads up close.

During the holidays a friend gave me a piece of calligraphy that she had commissioned for me so one of the first things I did this morning was find a place for it.  

The words are from Hamlet.

"Those friends thou hast 

and their adoption tried

grapple them unto thy soul

with hoops of steel."  

It has been an odd sort of day: getting back into the swing of things, meeting people and beginning to get organised for the new church year.

Let nothing disturb thee,

nothing affright thee;

all things are passing,

God never changeth!

Patient endurance attaineth to all things;

who God possesseth

in nothing is wanting;

alone God sufficeth.

Daily Office: Midday Prayer

Celtic Daily Prayer (Northumbria Community)

2010:365:238 Waiting.

We're back in Belfast and too tired to cook ... or blog ... or anything!

Eliot clearly knew that the Chinese meal was about to arrive and he would not look around to the camera.  For twenty minutes he simply stared out of the door until the food arrived.

Dogs are amazing!  Now, it is bedtime.

May God be in my sleep;
may Christ be in my dreams.
May the Spirit be in my repose,
in my thoughts, in my heart.
In my soul always
may the Sacred Three dwell.

Thursday Compline.

Celtic Daily Prayer (Northumbria Community)

2010:365:237 Radio pictures.

The afternoon play on Radio 4 is a great companion on the journey from Belfast towards Kilkeel.  “Towards” rather than “to” because the signal weakens and dies around Dundrum, blocked by the Mourne Mountains.

“The Gallery” was broadcast today as a tribute to its playwright.  Had he still been alive it was one of those where I’d have sent a ‘thank you’ card to the author.  It was both poignant and funny, with characters who came to life in three quarters of an hour and filled my car with visuals better than any television soap. 

I could see the art installation even though it was discussed almost in passing; the mess on the kitchen walls that came as a result of an exploding anchovy tin, and a borrowed greyhound called Heathcliff, all added to the vivid picture of a small community trying to honour the memories of its bygone shipbuilding age. 

Professional art critics who attended the opening event were mesmerised by the creativity, while the listener knew that, since Grandma’s ashes had been vacuumed up by an enthusiastic cleaner, the installation was the result of a trip to the local recycling dump, and the crowning and contrasting sharp metal finial was simply the remains of the anchovy tin.

So many people and such a range of images were crammed into those forty five minutes that my head is still buzzing with the images.  I wish the author could know how much one of his listeners enjoyed his play. 

As for photographs for today … just one of my coffee this morning!  I was half an hour early for a course that I was attending so the nearby coffee shop provided a welcome blueberry muffin and mocha.  

And for the 365Project the theme is red so, before packing away the watercolours, I painted a sample of each of the reds that it contains – nothing more exciting than that!

Come to us, creative Spirit,

in our Father’s house;

every human talent, hallow,

that within your earthly temple,

wise and simple

may rejoice.

Poet, painter, music-maker,

all your treasures bring;

craftsman, actor, graceful dancer,

make your offering;

join your hands in celebration:

let creation

shout and sing!

Word from God eternal springing

fill our minds, we pray;

and in all artistic vision

give integrity:

may the flame within us burning

kindle yearning

day by day.

In all places and forever

glory be expressed

to the Son, with God the Father

and the Spirit blessed:

in our worship and our living

keep us striving

for the best.

Church Hymnal number 453

David Mowbray (b 1938)

2010:365:236 Holidays were ...

…. amazing!

 One last tour today – the longest of the holidays!  

So many beautiful things to see, such wonderful sites to visit. 

The day started with a picnic coffee stop at the Quoile Centre and a quick run for Eliot.

Crossing Strangford Lough by ferry is always a personal favourite even though the journey is very short.  The town of Portaferry hugs the shoreline with attractive buildings.  

Part of the drive northwards is along the side of the Lough where we watched a seal

and enjoyed the rich variety of bird life that is attracted to this tidal inlet of the Irish Sea. 

A field of geese provided an opportunity for Eliot to show how useless he is at herding!  They took off and made a beautiful circle above our heads, protesting loudly that their lunch had been disturbed by an enthusiastic dog.

Mount Stewart was the next stop. 

So much beauty in a small area.  

The photographs hardly even begin to show just how amazing it looks on a summer’s afternoon.

Home was via Killinchy and the little marina there

– three men (and a dog) in a boat heading out to their yacht completed the picture of perfection (that's the first photograph on this blog - used for the 365Project).  Eliot enjoyed a bit of a run with Nellie before she followed her master into the little rowing boat.

And so to home; stopping to allow some cattle to cross the road, 

and then collect a fish supper to round off a perfect day. 

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

praise him, all creatures here below;

praise him above, ye heavenly host;

praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Church Hymnal number 63 (verse 6)

Thomas Ken (1637-1711)

2010:365:235 Holidays are ...

… almost over.

 It was too wet this morning to keep the camera out for long – so there are just a couple of snaps of a large sedimentary boulder on the beach.  In any weather the shore is a good place to be. 

Once back home it was time for breakfast and then to work out how to spend the remainder of today!

Making a list is often a good place to begin … but my brain wouldn’t go much beyond the coffee breaks!

The first was breakfast and on a pouring wet morning what could be more comforting than a fried egg on a bit of wheaten bread?  Yum, yum!  And that was, of course, followed by coffee.

Vacuum cleaning is now also done!  We’re getting through the list fairly well.

It will be of historical interest to show the cleaner that was used.  This is a museum piece!!  I'm guessing that it goes back at least thirty five years … but will have to ask my Wee Sister … she gave it to me a long time ago.  The Stowaway is neat with all the bits stored in the container below the machine.  Maybe the reason for its longevity is the infrequency of use?  However, it works well and now my only concern is finding somewhere that stocks replacement bags! 

Having become distracted (as usual) I now have a pencil case full of nicely sharpened pencils ... and so the pottering day continues … it must soon be time for another coffee!

Today I awake and God is before me.

At night, as I dreamt, he summoned the day;

for God never sleeps, but patterns the morning

with slithers of gold or glory in grey.

Church Hymnal number 61

John Bell and Graham Maule.