How Long Do We Have To Stay?

Hello All

I hope you are ok. We are all ok. As you can see we have been out and about locally being as it is officially Spring and all that. As you can see, a trip to Exmouth went very well and the wind and rain were quite bracing in a way. However, despite our best efforts and being grimly determined to have a good time, we gave up and went home in the end.

I know it's the only thing that anyone in the UK is talking about at the moment but it is raining ALL THE TIME at the moment is it not? I'm hoping that spring - proper spring - not twenty minutes between each deluge - will burst upon us any moment. 

This is only a brief catch-up because we are off to Manchester to try again with Aged Parent's ashes. This time, hopefully, we can return her to Salford rather than staying in our back bedroom. (We thought it was disrespectful to leave her downstairs with the dog). I'm sure she will enjoy the ride out. I think I need to make it clear here that, the only reason I can get away with being less than respectful is that I don't think for one minute that Aged Parent - her life force or whatever you like to call it - is in that paper bag from Plymouth City Council. She is long gone and with someone who understands her more than I ever did. 

This week HOH made his television debut when the Spotlight news came to film at the foodbank. I'm not sure why they were there. It's not exactly a scoop that donations are down and requests are up and a much higher percentage of referrals are for people who are working and need the injection of a couple of food parcels a month to make ends meet. Hopefully, it will encourage more donations or even make someone in authority think that this may not be the most dignified way for people to live and decide to do something about it. Or possibly not. Still, thrillingly, the staff got to stand in a row and look as awkward as possible while the manager gave them their jobs for the day. (If you are thinking "Tuck your shirt in HOH!" you are not alone). 

I hope you had a decent Easter weekend. As usual, I need to remind myself and everyone else that, for many people, it isn't anything like a weekend and some people spend a good deal of it wrangling people in and out of cinema screens while desperate parents have to sit through Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles yet again. (Thank you for the reminder FOW2). 

We went to the quiet Good Friday service. It's one of my favourite services of the year. It is obviously a horrific happening but, even now, maybe forty years after it was pointed out to me, I am still moved by the fact that it was always me on his mind. Easter Sunday had a sort of mini Messy Church and there was a little craft interval. This involved building an Easter Morning, graveyard, stone rolled away scenario through the medium of soil, moss, plant pots etc. They were excellent. There was a bit of pressure when the minister announced, probably somewhat rashly, that it was not just for the children and anyone who wanted to could make one. There was a lot of anxious counting of mossy bits to make sure we had enough. In the main though, we just about made it. there were a couple of moments where we had to ask adults if they wouldn't mind donating their rolled-away stone to a crying child and the answer wasn't always "yes" but never mind. 

It was very busy and sometimes children got a bit confused and walked away having not quite finished. So I got to shout, very pleasingly, "Don't forget your graveclothes because Jesus doesn't need 'em!" Boom!  as I believe the young people like to say. 

Have a good week.