Friends Reunited

Following our weekend in Devon, Julia and I spent the following weekend with my old school friend, Richard "Bo" Sirot at his house in Walmer. Bo and I had only a couple of times since we left school some forty  plus years ago. We had a great time and it was good to see him and his wife again.

 Barry and Bo

Bank Holiday Weekend

We have been out and about quite a lot recently and work has been rather hectic meaning that this Blog has taken rather a back seat. Over the May Bank Holiday weekend (last weekend in May for any overseas readers - are there any readers out there??) Julia and I went down to our holiday lodge in Devon. The weather, as always, deteriorated for the holiday but we still managed a very enjoyable relaxing time. We went for one walk upstream along the banks of teh River Teign to Fingle Bridge Inn. The bluebells were out and it was really lovely.

  Flowers along the river bank

We also went to the seaside town of Beer, this is a small very picturesque town.

Much to our surprise it boasts two very good art galleries. I was tempted by a Bob Crooks vase but resisted the impulse. Bob Crooks is one of my favourite glass makers/blowers and we do have a couple of his small (cheaper) pieces.

All in a ll a very good short break.

Nothing Ever Changes

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled,  public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."
Cicero, 55 BC

Girls Weekend

A couple of weekends ago Julia met up with some "Old Girls" from St. Paul's College of Education the teacher training college that she left some forty years ago. Five of them met up, they had all lived in digs together in their first year in Coventry. They met at Coventry station and stayed at a nearby B&B which by all accounts was very good. Unfortunately they were not able to get into their old college which is now a training college for prison warders(prisoners/pupils is there much difference!). That was rather sad as a couple of  years ago we had a turning sixty reunion in Rugby with a couple of friends from Rugby College. As all our wives had attended St. Paul's and so we visited the place; that time the security people let us in (the college is now closed at weekends).

Inside the main house, Julia, Maria and Maureen, taken in 2007

The main building at St. Paul's

The "new" blocks of study/bedrooms

The girls did have one piece of luck; they went to to the address of where they had lived together back in 1967 and found, much to their surprise, that Mrs Mannion still lived there and amazingly remembered them.

 With Mrs Mannion (taken by Julia)

"Old Girls" together again after 40 years

By all accounts it was a good weekend and they have vowed not to leave it forty years before they meet up again (they should live so long!!)

Back again!

Phew; it has been a while now since I put "pen to paper" or rather finger to keyboard. Not quite sure why although since we got back from the Holy Land life has been rather hectic. A couple of days after we landed there were a couple of funerals to attend. The first was of a Catenian friend; Bill who was in his nineties. Maybe it was the after affects of a ten days of intense spiritual experience but somehow the service itself seemed to "lack" something. This was also true the following day, although to a lesser extent, when we attaneded the funerl of Anne Mellish, the widow of Bob Mellish the late Labour MP and government minister, unusually this funeral was on a Saturday. If it was not held on the Saturday there would have been a delay of several weeks due to a shortage of service time in local crematoria. Most of the family were there apart from a few who were on holiday/away on business. It was good to meet up up and pay tribute to a wonderful lady who was in her mid-nineties.

Parish Pilgrimage to the Holy Land - 1

We did so much in the 10 days that we were there that I  will need several posts to cover it all. It was brilliant; very moving and spiritually awakening.
The Holy Land is a troubled country; it was very sad to hear in detail how the communities are so different and the mistrust that lies between them. There is no obvious solution to the problems that exist between the Palestinians and Israelis; although the first step must be for all sides to recognise the right of the other to exist. In many ways the saddest aspect was to learn that the different Christian "sects" that look after the Holy Places cannot agree amongst themselves. Six groups look after the Holy Sepulchre and they do not trust each other so the keys to the church are held by a Muslim family - so much for the Prince of Peace. If fellow Christians cannot sort out their differences what chance have the Palestinians and the Israelis?

Our guide who was a Palestinian Christian handled,in my opinion, the current situation in a reasonably balanced manner. His knowledge of the history, religion and the geography of the country meant that he was able to put the places we visited into their Christian context. The two priest who led the party, Father Tom and Father Vincent spoke eloquently and gave insights in how the places and the scriptures are related.

Pilgrimage Party at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

After all the "stuff" that has been bouncing around the Church for the past weeks it was really good to get away and reflect on what truly matters. I would urge all Christians to try to make this pilgrimage at least once in their lives.

I admit it, I was wrong

Yes I did predict a Tory majority of between 20 - 25. Yes I was wrong. I just hope that nobody had a bet based on my prediction; although I doubt if anyone would be that silly.

Back Blogging

We have just returned from a 10 day Pilgrimage to the Holy Land; more of this in subsequent posts. This means we managed to miss all the excitement of the election voting results and the hung parliament. So we have returned to find that we have a coalition government. I have not quite absorbed what this will mean for the country; no doubt we will find out soon enough. It all promises to be very exciting, will no doubt keep us all amused and undoubtedly very poor!