Greenbelt

Greenbelt has come and gone once again - so here are a few thoughts on my festival weekend this year...

I always get home and wish I'd gone to more - though I know that I didn't have the energy to go to very much! Still, there's always the online 'talks store' where I can merrily buy and trawl through as many of the recorded talks as I feel inclined to listen to (or can afford) - and in the comfort of home!

A huge part of the weekend was about enabling the young people I took to have a great time as well as praying for them and hoping that God would somehow meet with them - perhaps through music, or fellowship, or through a speaker, in the prayer spaces...

I went with the possibility of meeting in real life, bloggers/Shipmates/wibloggers/RevGals - but other than one brief encounter* met no-one! You all remain virtual enigmas - and I stay anonymously hidden in the Teapot** and pretend I'm not really rather dull anyway!

Went to hear Jackie Pullinger speak on Friday evening - very challenging regarding the issue of slavery - whether the slavery that is still prevalent in many parts of the world, or the personal slavery to work, or addictions that holds many in our own society - and presenting the challenge to those present to do something. While taking on board the challenges presented, it seemed to me that the fact that some (perhaps many?) present may well have already been following God's call on their own lives and serving in the places and ways he might be leading, was not taken into account. I had the sense of being a naughty schoolgirl standing before the headmistress? But if that was indeed God's heart being expressed and his challenge being put forth, then who am I to argue?

It was lovely to have some time aside in 'Soul Space' which I spent reading some of Betjeman's poetry and gazing out at the panoramic view across the racecourse and beyond, and on Monday evening, when it was just me and TeenSon left (the other young 'uns having been packed off home) a great time was had singing and boogying along to Candi Staton in the rain!

So, all in all, another great Greenbelt... just a shame I didn't get over to the Franciscans for Night Prayer and hot chocolate this year!

*I did feel rather daft on Friday... I was sitting on the slope by the Tiny Tea Tent when I saw someone who I thought resembled Kathryn of 'Good in Parts' - a real life RevGal - what should I do?! Then someone came up to her and called her "Kathryn" - a little clue - so I thought "shall I go and say hello, or shall I stay here and not make an idiot of myself greeting a total stranger, but maybe regret it afterwards?!" Hmmm, well I went and said hello - so, sorry Kathryn that some lunatic came and interupted your conversation sounding like a blog-nut - but having read your blog for a while, and appreciated your insights and ideas - it was good to meet you in person!

**The Teapot isn't really a hiding place, as the thoughts and random observations here are very much of the real me!

Bit from a Book #2

Well, before going off to Greenbelt on Friday, I still couldn't decide which bit from which book to post on here (there being quite a number of good bits from quite a number of good books 'out there' you see!). But having been and come home again... it just has to be a bit from 'The Dave Walker Guide to the Church' which I have freshly acquired from the not-too-muddy Greenbelt bookshop, and which several members of the youth group I took with me sat around cackling amusedly at while blobbing by our tents. The bit I wanted to post was the cartoon of 'The Vicar's Study' as there's just the tiniest slim chance that Dave might have used something from my 'list of random study crap' in the comments here... but I don't know if that one's available for blogging, so instead, here is another bit from his book:

Dave Walker www.cartoonchurch.com (go and buy the book!)

Prelude to Bit from a Book #2

Hmmm, I think it's about time 'Bit from a Book' was revisited! You can see 'Bit from a Book' #1 here (should you have any desire to see it that is!).
So... I shall toddle off and pick a bit... from a book... and be back shortly with Bit from a Book #2.

Lessons in Relaxation

Couldn't bring myself to disturb the cat when I wanted to make the bed this morning. "Aaaah", I thought - and realised I could do with being that relaxed at times!

(With apologies to those of you that are particularly unmoved by all things cat!)

Praying

I'm praying for you Cheesehead.
I began with words and asked God to hold onto you,
to help you and strengthen you.
I'm praying for all of you there.
I wanted to light a candle for you, reflecting the light of Christ.
And then I remembered this...
the Circle of Friends.
And that became my prayer too -
as I looked at the arms linked together,
at the light still burning,
at the image of community and comfort.
And I pray that you will know the peace of God,
you will know him surrounding you on every side,
you will know him holding onto you as we pray...

With love.

Funny Little Ways

TeenSon has been laughing at some of my 'funny little ways' again - affectionately of course!
Today is my first day back at work after two weeks off, and having returned from our camping trip part way through last week, I've had time to sit and read and catch up with things a bit.
So, the other day I was quite contentedly sitting at the little kitchen table with a nice cup of tea (of course!) and a good book - 'Musn't Grumble (An Accidental Return to England)' by Joe Bennett. What's so strange about that you may be wondering? Well, it was the huge road atlas plonked on the table too that amused TeenSon - I can never read anything involving travel (and I read a lot of that type of stuff) without having a map to follow precisely in their footsteps. Makes absolute sense to me anyway!

And as a related aside: It was this sense of being known and understood that struck me about God when I was reading Psalm 139 some years ago...

"O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways."

Bowled me over that did!

Teapot Ponderings... and Holidays

It feels good to be back at the Teapot... though it's only right, and true to the blog, if I go and get a cuppa and share today's thoughts over that nice cup of tea... (and some chocolate buttons!).

I'm just coming to the end of my two weeks holiday, and am only just beginning to feel some recharging of my batteries! Some of those days were spent camping in Norfolk (yes, back there again) the majority of days being bright and sunny, but the day we arrived and had to pitch the tent was of course blowing a gale, and we had to enlist neighbouring help to stop the tent from blowing away before it was firmly secured to the ground!

I love camping - love sitting in the entrance to my little canvas home in the morning, with the kettle whistling away on the gas, and nature close at hand. I love the slower pace and the time to be still, the time to read, the time to watch the world go by, the time to shelter under canvas from the elements, the time to chat and play... There are of course downsides to camping - that decision to crawl out of the sleeping bag in the morning and stagger across a field to get to the loos, the gale that sounds like it's going to launch the tent off into the clouds, and depending on the location - the cows that seem to get alarmingly close at times... but it's all worth it in my opinion!

Fifteen year old TeenSon is slightly less enamoured of the whole thing, but he's done a fair bit of camping over the years - not least because it's sometimes the only affordable holiday option. So our holidays are made up of compromise - one shopping trip and late night visit to the amusements for him in exchange for my trip to a stately home (etc)! And this year he was a perfect non-moaning angel for our visit to Felbrigg Hall (I'd like to add that I believe I was also a non-moaning angel while he was dragging me round the shops and at the amusements).

I have wanted to see Felbrigg for a long time. I read the books* by Mary Mackie (more than once) some time ago and became fascinated and delighted with the place. Until 1990 (or there-abouts) Mary's husband Chris was Houseman and then Administrator of Felbrigg Hall, and writer Mary has written three books telling of life living and working behind the scenes of a National Trust property - namely Felbrigg. I was not only enthralled by the day-to-day dramas and delights of their situation, but also by the life stories of the Windhams (previously Wyndhams) who had long been the squires of Felbrigg until the Hall and Estate passed into the care of the National Trust.

I took great delight in walking around the house, almost feeling as though I knew it already having read of the grand rooms as well as the smaller rooms - remembering and 'recognising' the amazing wallpaper in the Chinese bedroom and seeing the Morning Room where so many special events had taken place. It's hard to say why and how a place can take on special meaning - but I was thrilled to see for myself this delightful, beautiful building and home.

The Park itself was also a delight - with its Walled Garden, and the Church standing in the middle of fields and meadows...
I wasn't able to take pictures inside the house - though some photos can be seen on the website (title link), but here are some pictures taken in the peace of the outdoors:

The dove-house in the Walled Garden.

Inside the Walled Garden.

Felbrigg Church

*Books about Felbrigg by Mary Mackie: 'Cobwebs and Cream Teas', 'Dry Rot and Daffodils', 'Frogspawn and Floor Polish'. (All available from Amazon - just insert 'mary mackie' into the search bar).