seeing red

Here in this part of Wales, when there is a funeral everyone wears black, whereas in the South East of England, I stopped wearing black in the 1970's!
We had another funeral last Friday and again, about 200 people came to pay their respects! Unfortunately, our Chapel only seats about 80; the Baptist Union handbook includes the number we can squeeze in with seating in the school room and the stable! We usually have folk standing outside - these are the people who would never come into a church or chapel!
The weather was not quite so cold as at the previous funeral but everyone came in - shoulder to shoulder standing in the porch and the kitchen!
It was very sad to say goodbye to Barbara as she was so incredibly active in the community; at 77 she was still writing the village news letter and cycling everywhere - including to Chapel. One Sunday last year she was not in Chapel and we learnt that she was with a friend in his micro-light up in the sky!


She died while line-dancing with her friends in the village hall!


There seemed to be nothing wrong with Barbara - such a fit active lady. 
But over the previous few weeks I had noticed that she was one of the first to arrive at Chapel rather than one of the last, and she was singing the hymns even more lustily. On her last Sunday with us, she was one of the last to leave, it was as if she didn't want to go - was she making the most of her time in Chapel? She talked to me about the previous funeral and said that she would like everyone to wear some red to her funeral! I thought that would be a long time in the future!


We could always see Barbara coming as she always wore red - she loved the colour! I was not the only one she had told about her funeral arrangements and word soon spread around!

Everyone did wear black but there were red scarves worn by the most conservative of men, red gloves and hats - it was an amazing sight!

The family said that they would love it if the Christmas tree was up for the funeral - and it was decorated with red decorations.

It did stop snowing, and the Council followed the family's request and gritted the minor roads!

The sun shone and a red kite (the feathered variety) flew overhead!

So many stories were told; she taught her french Grandson how to play football, she had organised village pantomimes, she had even arranged for a donkey at Chapel one Palm Sunday!

She was a wonderful lady and will be missed.

a nice surprise

Yesterday I awoke to a couple of inches of snow and as I was tired after the emotions of my first funeral with burial, I decided that the settee was the best place to spend the day!
With the aid of my trusty laptop I was able to prepare Sunday's service, and then contemplated my monthly visit to Spurgeon's which enables me to see all my kiddies - they are all in their thirties now but I still refer to them as little goats! I decided to cancel as I did not want to get stuck on the motorway! So as well as being tired I was now sad as I would not be seeing the kiddies and SuperStan and TrifficTed, the grandboys, before Christmas.
Then the front door bell rang, it was my neighbour who helps out at the school with a large brown envelope and a small present.
Inside the envelope were 11 A4 pieces of paper all with a photocopied sketch of the Chapel, each coloured in, with messages of thanks from the pupils who visited the Chapel a couple of weeks ago. They are so lovely that I'm going to put them up on the porch wall so that folk can look at them as they come into Chapel. The present was a box of Maltesers which I love, and allow myself just a couple after dinner!
They were all quite unexpected and it was lovely to see that the children had had a fun time! It quite brightened my day!

under it all

We were on one of our regular trips to London last week when we got the news that one of our elderly gents had suddenly died.
On our return home, having visited the family and then prepared the service, I heard the weather forecast, so set about finding a warm winter-weight jacket. Non to be found in the two towns that I frequent and so I resorted to buying warm black fabric, lining etc. etc. and making it myself.
Although the weather forecast predicted clouds it was a beautiful sunny morning but still very chilly - so on went layers of clothes.
Usual undies, then cami-top, long sleeved silk vest, thin black jumper and clerical blouse on the top half, with one pair of usual tights, one pair of thick black tights, silk short johns, petticoat and lined skirt all topped with new lined black jacket plus gown - Welsh funerals are done in style! Nose and hands were still cold!
We have about 20 at our Sunday service but today the Chapel was packed, and the school room was packed and the 'stable' was packed and yet more were standing outside - rough guess; about 150! We have loudspeakers on the outside of the Chapel so that the whole village can hear the service!
George was the gent who was persuaded to get a scooter so that he could get to the Chapel for his grandaughter's wedding and he has been coming to Chapel ever since.
How can one not love a 90 year old guy who winks at you across the Chapel when we are saying the Grace to each other!
God bless you George - see you on the other side.

school trip

I loved the school trips all those years ago. We 'did' so many of the London tourist places - Tower of London, Madame Tussauds, the Planetarium etc.
One of the classes from our local school came to our chapel this morning! This is rather special as it is a Church of England school (in Wales!) and they have all their special services at the 'big' church, but the teacher wanted the children to know the difference between church and chapel.
As I live just round the corner from the school I went to meet the children there and we walked in crocodile fashion the half mile to the chapel.
They loved the huge old Bible with colour plates and brass catches, placed open on the communion table and the long-handled candle snuffer for the central candelabra (we do have electric lights as well!)
I explained the difference between Infant Baptism and Adult Baptism - not the theological points but how wet or not one gets! One lad wanted to know how it was done and he was game for me to hold him and lean him back - but we didn't get into the river to do it - it was rather swollen, brown, and I expect it was cold!
Another lad asked the best question -"How long do you stay under the water?" along with "Do you wear swimming costumes?"
They were intrigued with the grave stones, noting that many of them have the name of the farm or house where the person lived. 
And then there was the gravestone with the mistake, '1985 - 1973' - whoops!
Over an hour later we walked back to the school with many sketches done of the chapel - such fun.

diabetes

I note that it is World Diabetes Day and that they are promoting physical activity as more and more people are becoming type 2 diabetics through eating more, or the wrong, food than is needed for the activity they do.
But that is not the only reason that people become type 2 diabetics as I know from experience! I've been told by my friends not complain because M&S have stopped selling trousers in a size 10 long. From that you should be able to tell that I am far from being overweight!
Little is made of the fact that stress can cause diabetes and although my life has changed and I am no longer in that stressful environment, I am still diabetic - and slim!

facebook

it was my daughter who persuaded me to join facebook - it seems to be the easiest way to contact her!
Then I found that I was able to stay in touch with many friends from way back including college friends from the 1960's! other college friends from the 1990's as well as my sons, my brother, step brothers and all their sons and daughters. However, my eldest son says that knowing that his mother can read his facebook wall does cramp his style!
Over the weekend my younger son posted a photo of his foot, with his little toe swollen and a beautiful shade of purple! Several friends were able to leave sympathetic comments, asking how he had hurt himself.
He replied that he had stubbed it on a chair, had taken the Lord's name in vain, and that the toe had actually fallen off but he had managed to fix it back on with wrigleys and a cocktail stick.
I then felt quite awkward... should one really fall about laughing when one's baby boy has hurt himself?

bust, busy, busy - rest!

Life seems to have been very busy over the last few weeks and today I've stopped - but that just means that the dust and general clutter and the liberal sprinkling of papers and books over my study floor are shouting to be cleared up!
So instead I sit here at my computer, gazing out of the window at pockets of blue sky wondering where the rain forecast for this morning has gone?


I have returned from my monthly fix of study at Spurgeon's. I love driving so the journey from South Wales to South London is a delight.
I journey the day before and stay at college overnight. This time I visited friends 'from way back when' we were teenagers. It was lovely to see the result of their hobbies since retiring. He takes photos and beautifully transforms them with the aid of his computer, while she has discovered that she has a talent for water colours.
Then shopping and a meal with my daughter.


After the course it was a drive to Brighton in time to bath the grandsons - such fun! and read bed-time stories to the eldest while Mummy was feeding the little one.


Saturday morning was a drive up the M23, round the M25 to Epping Forest where my eldest is living the good life, complete with chickens and loads of home-grown veg.


Then back into my trusty steed, back to Wales and into Sunday with a sermon on Titus, with folk looking up all the passages where he is mentioned to imagine the man he was! 


Life is very full and never boring!