New Fire of Easter 2010 (photo: Gordon Smith)

Easter Greetings.......

Sorting Socks..........

One of the delights of a life NOT working as a clinician in a busy city hospital, is waking up on a Good Friday morning, and knowing that you do not have to go in to work. That you can have a bit of a lie in listening to the radio, a relaxed breakfast, a few hours of ‘morning’, and then the option of attending the 3 hours’ service. After working with the NHS for 28 years non-stop, this awareness still arrives with surprise, and a certain degree of pleasure.

This year, an unexpected phonecall both gave great pleasure and resulted in an earlier breakfast than anticipated. Thereafter, the Gathering Of Household Chores were clamouring for attention.

So it was that the Sorting Of Socks became paramount.

CLEAN socks can be disciplined in a drawer, resting - but ready for immediate action. After wearing, amassing socks awaiting communal cleansing can be hidden away – discreetly - in a laundry basket. Clean but damp socks will be found festooning the best drying areas available, until adequate dehydration has been accomplished.

The next bit is where the process dawdles. Serried ranks, sock upon sock, shoulder to shoulder, of multitudinous vintage, sex. patternation and colour need to be re-united with a twin........which MUST be there..........SOMEWHERE........

However you tackle it, there is a need to Sort Socks. Maybe you sort them as you hang them to dry. Or pair them up as you take them down. Or take them down in a heap and sit in the sunshine Sorting Socks.

In the early days of the ChickPea/TH household, TH found Christmas to be A Time Of Socks. Seasonal Santa Socks, and the like joining and re-invigorating the party on a regular basis. (Such Socks may not be ‘cool’ in the office, but they brighten up a dull morning when you’re hanging up socks to dry, and make ‘pairing up’ a doddle). After several years of easy Christmas shopping for ChickPea, TH put the foot down and Such Socks Seest – sorry, ceased.

Hence, drowning in the mire of Sorting Socks, ChickPea overlooked both the little hand AND the big hand reaching 12 on Good Friday, so crept in late to the 3 hour service. Woops.........

(We’ll need to track down some of these racy numbers with patterned heels and toes that were out and about at the Foot Washing on Maundy Thursday).

Post on Prayer..........

Episcopalians are often not the most forward in talking about their faith and religious practise – and I confess that I, too, find this quite difficult. But I was talking about prayer in a (relatively) recent post, and I guess there is a certain requirement to follow this with an update........

The series of sessions on prayer reached completion today, and has earned commendation. Carefully prepared and competently presented, it has been a most useful prompt and encouragement, helping to draw the practice of prayer into focus.

As to my personal regular Moments of Quiet that had started so well, and seemed to be taking me forwards into a more positive scenario........... these slipped out of my personal calendar and consciousness with my week away, then lay dormant during the next ten days of infection, and hadn’t yet re-established as A Happening....

In the second to last week the prayer course was engaging our imaginations to ‘join in’ a scene from the Life of Christ – specifically, with the story of Christ preaching to crowds on the shore of Lake Gennesaret, getting into a boat with fishermen who had been fishing all night and catching nuthin’..........
So where was I in this scene ? Creeping quietly into a vacant corner of the boat, mostly out of the way but able to help out a bit if an extra pair of hands was required........... As ‘A Member Of The Team’ ? Well, probably not, because I was loathe to intrude, the central characters being a bit grumpy after their long, cold, hardworking but unsuccessful night......
Well, I guess you know the story........ the boat puts out from shore, Christ tells the guys to cast their nets once more – and THIS time there are more fish caught than the nets can hold, a second boat comes over to help out, BOTH boats seem likely to sink because of the number of fish, but they get back to shore and the fishermen abandon everything - fish, nets, boats – to follow this amazing Jesus Man and ‘become fishers of men’....

I’m not very good at engaging with this sort of prayer. I don’t usually find much of an end result. ‘Interesting’, maybe, perhaps intellectually intriguing (I mean, what DID the situation smell like...... what were the guys talking about ? ....... were they listening to the teacher ? - and just WHAT did they think when Jesus got into their boat in the first place – weren’t they hoping to head off home to bed and get a bit of a kip ? .....and so on) ......... but er, not, actually, personally positive as an exercise.........

Next, the group had a cup of coffee, mulled over the exercise a little, then set off as separate individuals to find separate space in the church and re-visit the scene (or try a new one).

So, here's an empty pew. get comfy. Enter into the head again, fire up the imagination.......... and where am I ?................. overlooking the lake, the boats are there, but everybody else has gone.......... the place is quiet, not a lot happening........ the waves come and go (as waves often do, gently, repetitively.......). Relaxing...... but a bit lonely. Kind of EMPTINESS. Where had everyone GONE ?

So how was this about me, my faith, my ‘religious life’ ? My ‘Relationship With Christ’ even. (I guess you’ll be aware that is what this whole Christian thing is about – ‘Personal Encounter With Christ’ – recognizing the impact this has on your life, and aiming to use this as a positive influence in the way you live your life with everyone you encounter).

Now I SAID I’m no expert about this stuff.......

Anyway – there in my imagination, wondering where Jesus was, I became aware of this remarkably ordinary guy - Jesus - coming to sit beside me and share this vantage point overlooking the scene........ no words, nothing being said, but a most overwhelmingly companionable presence, sitting down next to me, allowing me to lean a little and feel support............ Kinda weird, but comforting.

So - was this just ME, consciously inventing the scene and manufacturing ‘cosy thoughts’ ?

I dunno. Does the ‘how’ matter ? There is a wealth of books out there about this sort of prayer, and so far I’ve read none of them. Will I ? – Dunno.

Have you any suggestions you could share with me?

Hen-y Thoughts

The chooks are getting much happier as Spring enters the year, and we are now daily finding three eggs from between the four of them. Warmer ambient temperatures are doubtless a factor, along with longer daylight hours, and increasing amounts of sunshine – plus getting out to roam around (and trash) the garden. Last Friday they got the double whammy of OUT plus SUNSHINE – considered by Eena and Meena as ideal ingredients for a spot of dust bathing. Myna and Moe, meantime, were more interested in scratching about to find any unexpected edible goodies (we’ll not go any further in pursuit of the details). Mr Mutt was sleeping in a sunny spot near the hedge (a good place to dissuade local foxes from visiting), and Master Moglett was bouncing about, climbing trees, chasing shadows and eating the crocuses.

The whole scene was so relaxing, household chores got put on ‘hold’ and ChickPea sat on the dustbin for half an hour.

See the focussed effort invested in dust bathing ? Phenomenal ! And much as you may doubt the ability of a feathered face with a beak to reveal any expression whatsoever, those two hens were in seventh heaven in a state of sheer bliss.

The mind freeflows in sunshine.

First thing in the morning, the hens tend to shout a fair bit – until we appear and reassure them that they are not forgotten, not being ignored, not being taken for granted, and not going to miss breakfast ! In fact, their positive response to any attention, however fleeting, is quite remarkable.

Quite a lesson for relationships, really.

Wiz Needin’ Time Oot..............

Life has been fairly non-stop over the last few months. Energy levels have been up and down like a yo-yo........ great that the ‘ups’ are kind of happening again, but the recurrent low energy factor means that household requirements have been mostly on ‘hold’............... All in all, much like a ‘post-viral’ picture............ noting there have been plenty of recent viruses to choose from ! TH appears to have been getting the evening low energy experience too, and also has a recent history of recurrent infections.

Wiz more than Time Fer A Break. Aye, you could say that. We were both needing time to sleep, read, sleep, eat, sleep, take Mr Mutt for his constitutional, sleep, eat, sleep.............

Last 3 occasions we’ve had the time booked to do just that, the Health Horrors have struck, plus or minus Winter Weathers, and all hopes of ‘holiday’ have run aground. So, booking time away from work at the beginning of March seemed like a safe bet for being past the main risks of these...........

Ha ! The road North of our holiday destination was BLOCKED by snow just two days before we were due to leave ........ and then TH developed the sore throat, snuffles and green grot indicating another infection.........

NONETHELESS, we decided we were ‘All Systems Go’........... an’ off we went to sunny Perthshire.

I jest not.

Wall to wall blue sky and the most glorious SUNSHINE from awakening to sundown, Monday to Thursday (inclusive) – and who’s worried about a bit of ‘dull’ on Friday when you’re heading home anyway !

The snow was still lying, deep (about 3 foot of it), crisp (low overnight temperatures keeping it frozen enough that the sheep were toddling about on the top of it safely, with little risk of finding how deep it was), and pretty even really.

We were staying the first few days in a fine cottage near Pitlochry, and were most grateful to find that the steps and path up to the cottage had all been beautifully cleared of snow. The three feet of frozen snow and ice between the car (parked as close /as far up the drive as we could get) and the bottom step seemed of little consequence – tho’ was quite enough to fell ChickPea, luckily without injury. That’s now been three unexpectedly close encounters with terra firma over the last two years – more than enough to emphasize the ‘ageing’ factor, and bring to mind the transitory nature of Life’s brief candle.

There was then some serious pampering of the taste buds on the banks of Loch Tay with the same excellent accommodation, high class service and friendly welcome that had so impressed us on our first visit last year.

This is now the second week back to work after the holiday, TH having been off sick from Wednesday lunchtime with the bug that finally took hold once we got home (thankfully didn’t ruin his holiday). So now it’s my turn. As the choir has a date with the BBC for recording on Friday evening, I hope it moves on rapidly..........

A Thought for Today

If you were arrested for kindness, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
- Anonymous