Rev Gals Friday Five

It's a long time since I actually joined in with the RevGalBlogPals Friday Five... but here's one for summer (though here where I am today it's grey and drizzly - not completely unheard of for the UK in August!)

1. What is your sweetest summer memory from childhood? Did it involve watermelon or hand cranked ice cream? Or perhaps a teen summer romance. Which stands out for you?
I don't know about 'sweetest' memory - but I can think of a handful of summer memories from childhood (and isn't it hard to work out sometimes if you remember the actual occassion or feel as though you do because you've heard the stories and seen yourself in the photos!).
There was the holiday in Somerset with the visit to Cheddar Gorge (where I am most familiar with the picture of me and my brother standing by a big cliff!) and that's the year, I think, where a vicious swarm of biting ladybirds chased us off the beach!
And I can remember loving a holiday in the Isle of Wight - mainly remembering Blackgang Chine, that my dad said a very naughty word when someone nearly crashed into us at a crossroads and that I loved it there.
Then there was the only holiday I had abroad with my family - in Ibiza - when I was 17. I do recall there being a nice bloke there, but it was also not long before I was diagnosed with Coeliac disease and the symptoms were very problematic - highs and lows!
But most familiar are the many daytrips to the seaside at Walton-on-the-Naze with the occassional stay at the Martello caravan park there too. Lots of memories of the beach, the pier, crabbing, the 'front'... and then later taking TeenSon too for day trips with my dad, from when he was a toddler - very happy memories.

2. Describe your all time favorite piece of summer clothing. The one thing you could put on in the summer that would seem to insure a cooler, more excellent day.
Hmmm... that one's hard for me as I'm more of a winter person. I much prefer winter clothes and could easily give you a list of the snuggly jumpers, big boots and comfy clothes I love in the chillier season. I struggle a bit with what to wear in summer - preferring to keep my legs covered and sticking with jeans even when I get too hot. But I suppose 'comfy' is the key word again so I unglamorously wear baggy t-shirts and baggy, cotton trousers!

3. What summer food fills your mouth with delight and whose flavor stays happily with you long after eaten?
Strawberries and ice-cream spring straight to mind or a nice refreshing ice lolly if it gets really warm (not the chocolatey ones though - the fruity ones!)

4. Tell us about the summer vacation or holiday that holds your dearest memory.
Well, it was actually a winter holiday until we arrived and then it was a summer one! (We left the UK in December = winter and arrived in South Africa where it was their summer!). That was in 2002 when we went to stay with friends and spent Christmas with them in the north of the country. It was wonderful for many reasons: seeing the very dear friends we'd missed so much since they moved away, being in Africa which held a certain magic for me, the long weekend we spent on a game reserve where I saw my beloved elephants up close and in their natural habitat, spending Christmas in shorts and sunshine, being there with people who lived there rather than on the tourist trail and having a feel for day to day life - first on the farm plot where we house-sat for a week or so and then back in the small town where our friends lived. Awesome!

5. Have you had any experience(s) this summer that has drawn you closer to God or perhaps shown you His wonder in a new way?
Not this summer specifically - we're just approaching though the first anniversary of moving to where we live now so the whole year has been full of changes, challenges, blessings and wonderings about what God is doing in my life, in my church... and whether I'm doing alright!
Yesterday evening though, a very involved member of my church, as we left a meeting, said "we're so glad to have you here as our vicar - lots of people think that but they don't say it!" That was a real blessing when I've wondered with God how I've been received here.

Bonus question: When it is really hot, humid and uncomfortable, what do you do to refresh and renew body and spirit?

Cold water or my little face spritz spray; and for the spirit trying to remember to always look to heaven and pray, pray, pray!

Well, it was good to look back... but I can also look forward as in just over a week I've got my two weeks off. Though I probably won't go away I'm looking forward to the rest and refreshment.