Wintering

 

Hello everyone. I hope that you are ok. I'm sorry that I wasn't around last week. I had a shocking three-day migraine, which made me decide that completely screen-free was the way to go. I am a bit susceptible to migraines, as you know, but one of that magnitude is very rare, thankfully. 

May I be one of the last to wish you a Happy New Year? I'm not sure how you feel, but I think it's time to put it all down now. We sang an Epiphany hymn this morning (As With Gladness, Men of Old) and, I'll be honest, I couldn't be bothered with it. I do believe it is quite important to some people, but I sort of feel that the world is on fire and people are getting all worked up because we are not "doing anything properly." Whatever. I come from a long line of women who spent their teenage years being pulled to one side after the meeting to be warned about the length of her skirt, so I like to think I  have a healthy disregard for some of the things that people call "doing things properly" and I actually wore red trousers to church this morning to prove that I am a rebel. 

You may have seen on the news that the South West of England had a Red Weather Warning this week, which means danger of death. We did very well here, and the nearest I came to death was when the National Alarm went off through my mobile phone, and I jumped out of my skin. It was certainly very windy, and we are usually used to that because we are so near to the coast, but this was extra gusty. As I say, we did ok - especially as we are behind scaffolding which could have signalled a huge problem. However, lots of people still have no power, and some still have no water.  I don't know if you have been to the South West of England, but the first time I visited, I was struck by how - well primitive - the power supply seemed - especially in Cornwall. A lot of the power lines seem to be looped over the nearest hook. This can make the utilities a bit on the vulnerable side at this time of year. I banned HOH from sea swimming for a couple of days. He wouldn't go out when it was really rough anyway, but one day he came back a bit of a strange colour because it was so cold. He has a group of friends that he meets at the water's edge (The "Chilly Dippers" - get it?), and they said that he had overdone his

time in the water. 

They are all a bit grumpy at the moment because Spearmint the Seal has turned up again, and they have to keep closing the beach because she is very vulnerable as she is growing her adult coat or something. Apparently, this makes her quite delicate. Although she doesn't seem to be that delicate when she approaches swimmers in the water to "make friends" and jumps on top of them to play. 

It's very dark most of the day at the moment, so I have contented myself with booking a weekend away in London (Marie Antoinette here we come) and doing a bit of reading. I have seen lots of people online say that they are Wintering during this time. That means that you allow yourself to slow down almost to a halt. You hunker down, eat stew, sit under a blanket and knit and take your whisky with hot water. I like the sound of that, but I'm not sure how well it would go down at work. 

I have developed into a bit of a Father Brown fan over the last few weeks. Sometimes the solutions are a bit off (the girl who didn't recognise her own brother because he was wearing a false nose didn't exactly ring true), but I'm liking it. Does anyone watch the telly version? Is it worth my chasing it down, do you think? 

Speaking of books and authors - which I wasn't, but anyway. I suppose you will have seen the news about Philip Yancey and his eight year extra marital affair. Not to be judgemental but eight years is long-term adultery, not an "affair". Yancey is a high-profile Christian author, and, not to make it about me, but I was broken-hearted about this. Yancey's books have had a profound effect on me. His take on Grace changed the way I saw myself before God. HOH and I were chatting about it, and we both shared the same stories of bits that had stayed with us. Books such as "What's so amazing about Grace" and "Disappointment with God" changed the Christian landscape among my peers. I remember blubbing my eyes on the bus on the way to work because of something of his that I was reading. I have no right to take this personally - Mrs Yancey - after 55 years of marriage - does. I read an article this week by someone who has, regretfully, taken his books off her shelves. I'm not sure if I will do that, but it feels a bit off. 

There is an argument that points out that most of the people who were chosen to write down the Bible didn't exactly have unblemished records, but I feel that, as a rule, they tended to be honest and open and not pretend to be something that they weren't. 

Sometimes I am less than cheerful, you will be surprised to learn. However, we are ploughing on, expecting it to get both warmer and lighter soon. Have a good week.