Never too old?

I came across a web site selling this tee shirt ... isn't it fun?  And isn't it true?
Well, I hope it is because this morning I got a trumpet tutor!  Yes, you read that correctly ... I am learning to play the trumpet!

Now, don't get too excited ... at the moment I know how to play three notes ... though I don't always manage to make them sound pure!  So there won't be a concert in Saint Nicholas' just yet ... nor will I be ready to take my place in the local brass band ... but it is a start!
This quotation is a good reminder to all of us, whatever age we might be:

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.  Anyone who keeps learning stays young.  The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”   

Henry Ford

I like being young so ... I'm going to learn how to play the trumpet!  

Eliot's early morning walks may have an interesting sound to them ... we'll just need to be well away from people!  Roll on next Tuesday afternoon when I might even learn another three notes!
Meanwhile my diet continues to have a varied selection of fruit ... today the papaya.  This, more than anything, reminds me of Swaziland!

It has a warm, soft, aromatic, subtle flavour ... if that makes any sense at all!  In a fruit salad it provides the background substance that takes on the flavour of the whole.  But on its own it may be savoured in the sunshine as a refreshing treat.  This one was eaten in the glorious warmth of today ... another lies in waiting for a sunny day tomorrow.  Breakfast in the garden again!

At last my favourite flower is opening ... a patch of cornflowers is beginning to provide enough blooms for a constant supply to the house.  I do love these deep blue flowers and always wish I'd planted more!  Beside them the sweet peas are beginning to show buds ... they've been very slow this year ... maybe the cold got to them too.

 Now night is closing in.  In fact it gets dark quite early and the candles can once again do their work of brightening up the evening.  The "Circle of Friends" holder is often lit ... a reminder of the blessing of family and friends ... people the world over to whom there is some kind of connection.  And people who often have great needs and for whom prayer is offered.  To that gathering of friends we add the wider circle of those who have been affected by shootings, bombings, famine, disasters, accidents ... and so many more situations about which we read or hear.

Keep me as the apple of an eye.
Hide me under the shadow of thy wings.


Preserve us, O Lord, while waking, and guard us while sleeping,
that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.

Book of Common Prayer

Compline