Visitations

The departure of the Pastoral Visiting co-ordinator to a new parish created an opportunity for Joan to step in. The church has many elderly and housebound members who love to have ‘official’ visits. People who go into hospital also expect a visit. So Joan is given a couple of days a week to make sure the visiting is done. She’s has started recruiting more people to join the team, making the visiting documents more businesslike, visiting with our Associate Minister, and, of course going out on her own to see people around the city.
Enough to says she’s getting quite a lot of praise for her efforts.

Barrie is trying to give up being the Team Leader for the Belfrey Groups because his work with Restore is taking up more and more time. So far he has been unsuccessful – but who knows what the new year may bring.

 

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Watch the Neighbourhood Grow

jubileeparty  228CTRA Jubilee 1After a number of years of maintaining a functioning Neighbourhood Watch in Claremont Terrace it has now become a fully fledged Residents Association – constitution, committee, AGM – the lot.
Barrie is Chairman and Joan, Social Secretary. We put on a Jubilee Street Party in June and a Bonfire Party in November. (It would have been silly for them to have been the other way round!)
They were both a great success despite the inclement weather. A real community spirit gripped the street; lots of people pulled together to hoist bunting, make banners, put up gazebos, provide food and make sure everyone had fun. Sadly two families have moved out of the street recently and we’re still waiting for some new neighbours to move in.

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Other family news

Aberdeen

Aberdeen

After just over a year in Aberdeen, Matthew and Laura are moving back to Cambridge before the end of the year. Laura has a lectureship at Gonville & Caius College. Matthew has been animating a pilot for a children’s cartoon programme, and now he’s waiting for the next step on the way to it being commissioned.

Alex and Emily on the beach

On the beach

Wesley has started an attachment as senior producer in BBC Radio Current Affairs. Deborah is now Assistant Editor of BBC Essex. Emily has started at nursery at Alex’s school. Both are doing well. They loved their stay with Nanny and Grandad this summer – especially the visit to Scarborough – and so did Nanny and Grandad.

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Warwick in Scarborough

Warwick on his birthday

Warwick is well despite some changes to his diet this year. There is some concern about his swallowing – sometimes he coughs whilst eating his meals. His speech therapist has given advice about the texture foods he should eat leading to some rather heavy handed application of guidelines which at one point lead to all his food being blended. Some firm negotiation on our part was needed. Things are improving, but we’re not quite there yet. Frequent staff changes also make things difficult. In himself he’s otherwise healthy and enjoying life.

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Minster Carols – honoured to have been there

I’m still glowing after last night’s Minster Carols – what a great team – so many people working together to create an event so moving and relevant. I can honestly say it ignited the spirit of Christmas in me for the first time this year. The sheer enormity of it all – God being born on earth to be our Saviour – is truly overwhelming. The impact of the Riding Lights theatre, the simplicity of Alyson’s preaching, the music from the choir and the slick work of the technical team all played out in that magnificent building – stunning. Not to mention all the stewards, welcomers, fetchers and carriers, pray-ers and all the rest of the people behind the scenes. Thanks St Mike’s for being a great church. Honoured to be part of it all.

It Rained

daleshol2012  049

A refreshing break from the bad weather

It rained – suddenly roads were turned into streams and my inadequate clothing leaked. I was soaked to the skin in seconds. We were travelling downhill into Askrigg when water gushed up through the drain tops. The gentle rolling countryside of the Dales was transformed in moments into a threatening place where rains lashed, water courses overflowed and lightening crashed around us. All we had were two frames of metal and wheels of steel against all those forces of the natural world.
As we sheltered in the village pub we dripped and waited for the storm to pass. The damp stayed with us for the rest of the day. The short ride to Hawes felt like a long trek into town.
But when a taxi finally delivered us to our cottage, warm dry clothes never felt so comforting. The stream outside the window had turned into a torrent to live up to it’s purpose as the source of the mighty River Wharfe – feeding the waters collected from the hills above Oughtershaw into the channel that finds it’s way to the sea through the beauty of Wharfedale to Ilkley and Otley and on to join the Ouse at Drax south of York.
That was just one day of our holiday. Some days we walked, others cycled, but the rain was constant.

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