Him Behind the Wheel loves technical wizadry almost as much as I do, so it is no surprise to discover that he is keen on the idea of satellite navigation for the campervan. No, it is not a case of wanting to get to the stars – rather that we want to get there with less hassle.
More magazines and reviews to be read I suppose.
Oh dear – I ought to say something about Rabbie Burns, after all it is the Bard's Day. But I find it hard to understand the language of the poems, I don't much like Burns Suppers, (too male-drunken orientated….. at least most of the ones I have been to are.) Having said that, the only ones I actually enjoyed were at Luing School. The pupils and staff worked hard to make it an accessible experience for everyone there.
And I like haggis and many of the songs. So hopefully I have redeemed myself as someone who is half Scottish and half English. Oh and PS – try this one out for size especially if like me you are a bit bemused…..it really helps! http://www.sparkpod.com/Ray
Bought a stamp collectors magazine yesterday, read all the way through it and discovered I hardly understand any of it. What is this obsession with the rare and the first day covers and the “mistakes”? I was vaguely thinking of recapturing the childhood thrill of steaming a stamp off a letter from foreign parts and sticking it (with stamp hinges) onto the appropriate page. I used to have a collection from far and wide because my parents ran a correspondence course for the Chartered Transport Institute. Oh how I loved the triangular stamps from Madagascar with bright pictures of birds. Exotic and alluring.
Shame I cannot remember where the original collection went. Anyone out there know anything about stamps or have access to foreign issues?
I seem to have been focusing on Time a lot recently. Probably this is because I am about to enter a new phase in my life. It seems likely that I shall be retiring early from my work as a parish minister. Of course, ordination is for life, so unless I start to totally run amok, I am a minister for life. That doesn't feel like a life sentence, more a life privilege. It is an ever present reminder of faith which is sometimes clung onto in the midst of great personal trauma. The last few months have felt rather like that sometimes, as I have battled to get my voice back, only to get back to work for two weeks and then suffer the mini-strokes. However, if truth be told, I am feeling better now, though I know I am not fit for full-time duties.
So this is the time of thinking about new beginnings.
Ecclesiastes Chapter 3
There is a right time for everything:
A time to be born; a time to die;
A time to kill; a time to heal;
A time to destroy; a time to rebuild;
A time to cry; a time to laugh;
A time to grieve; a time to dance;
A time for scattering stones; a time for gathering stones;
A time to hug; a time not to hug;
A time to find; a time to lose;
A time for keeping; a time for throwing away;
A time to tear; a time to repair;
A time to be quiet; a time to speak up;
A time for loving; a time for hating;
A time for war; a time for peace……
Everything is appropriate to its own time…..
There are cairn terriers advertised for sale in the paper. Dana (retriever) wants one, Him Behind the Wheel doesn't, and I am not sure if I am up to the clearing up puddles.
What a dilemma.
Cold calling must be a horrible job, but to do it in foreign must be even worse. However, I suppose international workers may not appreciate the level of annoyance in the loud “No thank you, I am not interested!” But even worse is the way someone with an obscure accent phones up to ask for Mrs Rev…….
I am about to chase up the Telephone Preference Service again as these calls are supposed to be blocked.
How often do we say we wish we had time? Here's something I heard this week.
If you want to know the worth of a year, ask someone who has terminal cancer.
If you want to know the worth of a month, ask the mother of a premature baby.
If you want to know the value of a week, ask a politician.
If you want to know the value of a day, ask a newspaper editor.
If you want to know the value of an hour, ask an ambulance driver.
If you want to know the value of a minute, ask someone who has just missed a train.
If you want to know the value of a second, ask someone who has just avoided a car accident.
If you want to know the value of a millesecond, ask an olympic athlete.
Worth thinking about!
Thinking about yesterday's PJs makes me realise that there is material upstairs and a pattern, waiting to be made into PJs. the material cost double the price of the Tesco's pair, and I have little confidence in being able to make them anyway.
It is a strange world we live in.
New item of clothing this week – pink pyjamas. The only thing that worries me is that they came from Tesco and only cost ?6.00. Who can make PJs for ?6.00? That's what I ask myself. The label says they are from a place called Keep Away From Fire.
