Catching Up

 

Bonjour all. I hope that you are well. I'm not sure why I am greeting you in French. Despite the week off, we haven't been away. The nearest I have been to France is having a birthday breakfast at The Dock, which is a jolly nice cafe on the ferry port in Plymouth. There are a lot of posh people dressed in stripey T-shirts, having breakfast and talking loudly about tides before they spend the day on their boats, but it was still a nice omelette.  The ferry port isn't a terrible place to have breakfast, actually. It's walkable from our place, it has nice views, and Brittany Ferries has done it all up now so that there is a covered walkway to get you to the embarkation area. Before that was built, on the few times I have used the ferry, we foot passengers had to take our chances bobbing and weaving in and out of the boarding cars - like a rubbish Day of the Jackal. 

The birthday was all very lovely. My friend bought me some peonies that we had to beat to death with a stick in the end (see above). My son bought me a book token (as requested). Although I did have to put up with a degree of humiliation to get it. "What's a book token? I'll see what I can do". He leaves, sniggering at how antiquated his mother is. To be fair to him, he didn't need to tell me about the following conversation.

FOW 1 "Hello. Do you have a Gift Voucher or something similar that I can give? " 

Waterstones Lady: " Do you mean a Book Token?"

FOW 1 (Slightly shamefaced) "Er. Yes, I suppose I do."

HOH and I went to the pictures as a birthday treat. I just wanted to recommend the film, but it is difficult to find. It's called The Ballad of Wallis Island, and it's lovely and funny and heartbreaking. Hopefully, it will be streaming somewhere soon, and I advise you to leave no stone unturned. (Overdoing it? Possibly.) 

Can I just apologise to anyone on here who wished me "Happy Birthday" on Facebook, that I may have ignored. I am old, and I do not understand the Algorithm, and posts keep popping up like Whack-A-Mole.      

We usually go to the same restaurant for birthdays and anniversaries, but as I have mentioned, they were selfishly closed because it was on a Sunday. Before anyone nags me about Sunday opening, I would just like to point out that after the Sunday meeting, there are enough church people in Marks and Spencer's to have another meeting and, as an old lady used to say to me in church - God's people need to be released from the rules that bind other people. Actually, if I remember rightly, one of the rules that she had decided to be released from was driving sensibly within the speed limit. I don't think the police or the people that she bumped into were that thrilled about her operating in her God-given freedoms. Ah, 1970s Pentecostalism was a strange land sometimes.  

Other than that, I don't have much to tell you. I read a long book about the French Revolution and watched the final of Race Across the World. I love Race Across the World. I just hope that the husband of the lady with the pink lipstick is ok with the fact that she may well be leaving him as soon as she gets home. All she was saying was that this trip had changed everything and that her old life was gone forever, etc. Also, how nice are people sometimes? The number of people in India who were only too happy to help. Just lovely.

Today is Father's Day - at least in the UK. So Happy Father's Day to those who celebrate, etc, etc. Neither HOH nor I have our fathers anymore, and I would describe both relationships as "complex". However, I have seen enough good fatherhood at work, especially HOH and our two, to understand the importance of it when it is done well. There's a lot of talk these days about the Mother-side of God's personality, and for good reason, I think, but Fatherhood shouldn't be underestimated either. 

This morning, there was no mention of Father's Day, which was a bit of a shame - except to apologise to those who struggled with it, which is fine. We had a bigwig in again. He was from Yorkshire, I think. Sounded a bit like Jimmy Saville, which is unfortunate, but he preached well. Still, even as someone with an interesting connection to her own father, I think it is important to celebrate because it's a good thing. Cue an excellent song with true and comforting lyrics that do wonders for my sense of security and hopefully for yours too. Have a good week.

Oh, I've heard a thousand stories of what they think You're like
But I've heard the tender whisper of love in the dead of night
And You tell me that You're pleased
And that I'm never alone

Oh, and I've seen many searching for answers far and wide
But I know we're all searching
For answers only You provide
Cause You know just what we need
Before we say a word

You’re a Good, Good Father
It's who You are
It's who You are
It's who You are
And I'm loved by You
It's who I am
It's who I am
It's who I am

Tony Brown/Pat Barrett