This was my journal during training for the ordained ministry, read that story in the archives

Hmmm!!

Following writing on Britain from above, and listening to yesterdays Thinking Allowed I have been pondering on the question of vocational living in any one of these places, rural, semi-rural, urban, city etc.

There must be a vocational element to living in each of these, I’ve always been drawn to the rural setting, I don’t seem to be built for the city somehow…

However after the illuminating picture of Britain from above, and listening to reflections on rural living, perhaps the real challenge is to live in a more heavily populated area and work towards reducing the footprint away from the centre of that geographical area, keeping money and travelling local rather than spreading it across a larger area.  I think, rather than suggesting one lifestyle, (rural, urban etc is better than the other), the thing to focus on is locality.  Following the reflections on Thinking Allowed, it seems to rural has as much to learn about community from urban centres as the perhaps idyllic rural images people may have are either not true or created rather than natural.

Those who seek the urban ‘pretty gardens and perfect lawns’ need to see the real rural life which ocasionally contains a little mud on the road, or perhaps a chicken or two and the idillyc rural seekers need to learn about small communities needing the involvement of each individual and of a life lived more in the open.

So where does that leave to vocation to a rural setting?  Answers to that may be short, but certainly not closed.  It may take on an altogether different style of ministry from the traditional rural…

Andrew Marr investigates Britain from above (BBC1 Sunday) - a revelation - if in reality there is no new information, it is truly a revelation to see Britain in this way, it really does display the preference of the country, in its movements, daily struggle to get to places, the transport networks, infrastructure and information paths. Rather than looking at the ever increasing light trails that the program used to display our movements and those of the transport we use, including telephone and internet, I was more interested in the ‘blank’ patches and found myself wondering where these were, some obvious like Snowdon, or Aldermarston but others not so obvious. These blank patches represented a slower pace of life, a life which perhaps was more in tune with the land around it, rather than racing about around the country. The website dedicated to this program has quite a resource of information… Thankfully Holywell seems to be a little out of the ‘mad rush’ areas, I plan to move (when I get the chance) to an even less ‘mad rush’ area next, (and hopefully expand it!)

It’s been one of those weeks, culminating in today, when I have been humming along to a tune.  Fortunately this week it has been one I’m quite familiar with and fond of!!

I treated the congregation to the full three minutes and five seconds of what is perhaps one of Paul Simon’s best known pieces of writing.  I’m not sure what the inspiration for the song was, I try to find out, but all the official sites seem silent on that subject!!

The sermon took a wide angle lens look at the passages (1 Kings 19:9-18 Matt. 14:22-23)

and suggested that:

“The point at which the miracles happen…    … is the point at which we re-enter and engage with the world”

All this stems of course out of both Jesus and Elijah dwelling with God atop the mountain…

 Hello darkness, my old friend,
I’ve come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.

John has been following the trail of the superlambanana’s around his delightful city, well now one is set for the dizzy heights of Moel Famau - according to yesterday’s Daily Post.  The links between North Wales and the Superlambanana’s are growing, three have seemingly escaped and been seen at the Llangollen festival amongst other places.  Now after being decorated by children one is set to climb Moel Famau as part of a family fun day with music and poetry.

Chris Jeavans is trying the nigh on impossible - to live for a month without any ‘new’ plastic.

I  must admit it’s had me in a bit of a tangle.  On the one hand it is quite a high minded ethical peak oil aware kind of thing to do - on the other, it seems not only down right impossible, but pretty impractical too.  Plastic is pretty much ingrained in the life of the world, we even have green-plastic too, that’s made from plant extracts, not sure how many worlds we would need to supply that demand!

It has to be applauded for it’s awareness raising side, but small amounts of plastic - (re-cycled and used sensibly as apposed to the packaging industry) has to be perfectly acceptable if not useful.  It is, though, a good dig at the throw-away society and for reading merit worth a gander over this month!!

Last week really was a wild week, first night in the tent there was a thunder storm I can’t remember a better one!

Despite the weather being damp and a bit wild we did explore places once visited regularly - especially ‘Pete’s Eats’, the best cafe in North Wales, the occasionally open bakery in Llanrug

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(fantastic eccles cakes!) and the co-op in Menai Bridge. Yes I know the last one is a bit odd, we actually went to Brynsiencyn for Hooton’s Homegrown and stopped off at the Co-op on the way back. We don’t have a Co-op in Holywell and I miss it!! Although Somefield has been taken over by the co-op, so hopefully we will get one soon!!  See the report on the Co-op’s website

It is an unfortunate day when you rush out to the morning services on your trusty steed with inappropriate footware - in my case the wrong sandals.  I was wearing the old, brown, garden, lazy sunday afternoon sandals with little in the way of sole and relatively no connection to the feet!

This would have been no problem, except that it poured down and, them being old etc, were becoming slippery underfoot.  Of course you would have had to be there - ‘there’ being on the road between Holywell and Greenfield between 10.40 and 10.50.  Not much chance of that!  However if you had you would have seen a late curate slipping and sliding down the hill (on the bike) trying to keep his feet firmly on the pedals.  I, and the few intrepid dog walkers who I happened to pass found this highly amusing!!

Today is slow Sunday, a Resurgence phenomenon. Happily (for those able to go) it coincides with the Resurgence readers weekend - funny that! I’m not one of the lucky ones, instead we are preparing slow food and gearing up to run away to the wilds of the north west (wales.) The literary companion of the week is ‘Thirty Miles’ a book written around food sourced thirty miles from Aberdaron where Ian Walker - a chef stayed and browsed to local cuisine. Happily it mentions old friends, organic gardeners we knew when living there. - (but misses out Chalkies cheese - shame!)

In the spirit of freedom food, HFW’s assertion that we should be willing to go through the whole process from beginning to end if we want to eat meat, and the large proportion of animals who die needlessly…

… We decided to try a local and very populous animal - the poor roadkill bunny.  It certainly hadn’t been dead long, and well, it was a waste not to.

Caution photo’s below!!!!

Bunny on

Bunny going

Bunny gone!