Four out of four

Well we have managed to visit all four RHS Gardens in the one year. A trip to stay with our middle daughter Rachel saw us go on the next day to RHS Wisley.

 

What a brilliant place to walk within.

The canal looked super and must look amazing when all the water lilies are on the surface and in flower but it is only April.

Now this is meant to be the Queen and her partner recognise the likeness? 

Great to just stroll with daughter and chat.

The Glass house was fantastic both from the outside and within....

  

Bird of paradise looking good

Wonderful small flowers just breaking out in the warmth and light.

The lake helps to provide the water for the glasshouse which is super efficient.

Great rollng borders

Wonderful small areas drawing on a Japanese style.

Trees everywhere, Sheffield City council take note!

 

Of course Tulips in great swathes 

And some very odd looking fir trees

We will need to go back to see the grounds again to explore the gardens in a different season.     

So a post Easter week is over and its back to work tomorrow. Seven weeks of electionering  to look forward to !!

Plus the one in France.... We are just so lucky. However democracy is a great thing.

Tideswell

A day to recover from Easter saw a walk around Tideswell.

And what a treat to see this 

Just havng a rest with mum.

Catching up

The Easter holiday gives opportunity to stop and do nothing. Time however to look back on a number of weeks and play catch up on my blog. 

Harlow Carr looking stunning 

Hares or Rabbits squaring up for a fight! 

February half term and the chance to visit a Welsh Vineyard over looking Tintern Abbey.

It may be a ruin but you can still imagine what it must have been like at its height. 

Well you do have to test the wine!

A trip to Cardiff and the assembly building the slate and wood is a brilliant design. 

So time for a coffee, but no we were too late as the woman just served the person before  us!

So no welcome on the hillside here  - is it because I voted to remain?

It was birthday time with our Family Worship Centre and they went to town in decorations, singing and celebrating. One of the many hopeful signs at Firth Park is the fact the two congregations are going to explore creating a covenant relationship. 

Good news at last, we can now start to remove the pews and fittngs as we have conservation approval. So we may one day see this space transformed into two. A soft play centre for the community and new worship space that's warm, comfortable and accessible to all. It will be a space to do social cohesion work.

A trip out to Renishaw Gardens always worth a visit .

And of course a chance for tea and cake. 

Well we had never made it to Wentworth Castle Gardens so we did  which was a good job because they have now closed due to lack of funds.

Firth Park saw another two classes from Hinde House Lower School visit , and in groups they all made an Easter garden. It was of course the opportunity to share the story and look at art work that seeks to say something about God's story of love. 

Our own Sunday morning youngsters made this beautiful Easter Garden below.

So its been a busy Lenten period and Holy Week.

It began with tge ashing service at St Peters, with a three week lenten course ' is the cross necessary for firgiveness?' Then the joy of a Palm Sunday to an early Maundy Thursday communion I led at Dronfield. It was really encouraging   to see so many folk from different churches at  St Pauls Dronfield at 7am. Each day through holy week they gather at 7am. 

Then in the evening a simple meal at Firth Park so we could go out into the dark night like tise first disciples, to await Good Friday.

The procession this year saw a few teenagers trying to be clever shouting and pushing. It was however so appropriate to have a sense of people looking , jeering and laughing. Then in the evening at St Peters a Labyrinth for people to take time to reflect on their lives in preparation for Easter Day.

 

Malcolm had taken time to give our church doors some real focus with creative crosses. 

Easter Day itself saw the cross transformed by flowers.

Of course none of this is just about making us feel good . So sitting in the church are the parcels ready to go to Asebu In Ghana an expression of God's love and the need to go on sharing our rich resorces with others . 

Easter Day proved to be full on. Early morning communion at our Hatfield church followed by a service at Firth Park, and finally the celebratory service at our Dungworth Methodist Church  which is to close in June. No one can be happy about churches closing but our work and witness is never about buildings. Christian community changes and needs to keep moving. Death and Resurrection is part of our story . 

When our work in a set of buildings has been completed we need to move on in anticipation that we might once more become that subversive community that disturbs power and unsettles lifestyles.

So catch up complete and its full steam ahead for a general election. We may never know the true motivation for why the PM called one. We may have our own views on the reasons which firmly make us cynical. I can only hope, that the fears which were played upon that led to the vote to leave the european union, will not be played upon  again, to hide what is in fact going on in our society. We have a social care system that needs major investment but we have a government in denial. We have an education system being starved of funds while money is being provided for free schools not needed , and  a false story is being told of the need for Grammar schools which will only create division and not a cohesive society. We have an enormous need to build social housing but the lack of political will to do so. What we are not seeing is a shift to the values of God's Kingdom. Most strange that it was a PM , the daughter of a Methodist, who created a divided society , privatised everything going and used a war to gain popularity. Now we have the daughter of the vicarage who is once again shifting the balance of power to the right. So get ready for the poor to become poorer and the rich even richer. 

Hinde House School Visit

60 year 3's came to Firth Park as part of our programme of visitations from all classes over the school year. Looking at how Christians explore the nature of God in art. Once again their behaviour was excellent and really good ambassadors for their school.

After a brief look inside the worship space we moved into our Hub building to talk about and look at various representations of God from frescos to Icons, to tapestry. The youngsters expressed a variety of views of what they thought God looked like, and one boy helped to remind us all that we don't know what God looks like. That helped us then to move onto understanding that art doesn't tell us what God looks like, rather it seeks to speak about what God is like. A loving creator. One who invites us to share and who is prepared to suffer to show us how much we are loved. That God is not a man! 

Finally the two classes had the opportunity to make their own simple stain glass window. So I hope a number of childrens bedrooms now have them attached to their windows, and as the sun light from outside hits them, it will remind them of their visit and just maybe something of what we shared together.

Has the world gone mad?

I would like to think I could give everyone the opportunity to show that they are in fact okay.

Even allowing for the press taking sound bites and catching a photo and implying it says more , you can't ignore the words and actions that play on peoples fears and promote both fear and even hatred to others,  The latest action of Donald Trump to exculde refugees, and even US citizens, speaks of a paranoia  that is now driving the new American administration. 

There are amusing moments this tweet of a photo says so much ...

You have to wonder how the Queen copes with her royal duties after all she has had to sit with dictators in all their forms, even elected ones!!!

I think what really riles me is the way God is invoked to give approval for actions which are inherently un God like. You know 'look after the widow , orphan and refugee' The constant reference to God   feeds off the weird American idea that somehow their land is special in the eyes of God.  So dismantling a health care system will impact on the poor, how is that heaven blessed? Or  refusing  entry to many from certain parts of the world, many of which are the very same places where ill conceived wars have played out and produced the refugee   crisis in the first place, by the very same USA and ourselves, this is a scandal. 

What is also scary is the fact I am conscious that many of the views now being expressed by the President are echoed in our own British society. Even more worrying sometimes within church communities. The rise again of nationalism under the banner of being patrotic recalls a very dark time in european history. So we have to work even harder at walking in the footsteps of a Jewish Rabbi who challenged the nationalism of his own day. We have to stay faithful to a compassion that is for all people. We have to be generous with what we have for it is already a gift to us by a loving generous God. Such generosity calls us to share. 

I guess Jesus wasn't really concerned with how many turned up for the feeding of the five thousand! He was more concerned those that did were fed. But then he was humble and it wasn't about him . It was about people who all had needs to be be met. So Mr Trump get off your ego trip. It's not about you its about everyone but you, and how as a leader you make sure that everyone is included, welcome and accepted. But please don't evoke God as backing your plans and actions , God has his own plan and is sticking to it. God is planning to redeem the world and is doing so with Love. It's costly and tough and it most certainly is for everyone. 

Tinsley meadows Friday - Fish and shell fish cookery course at The Milestone

It was a challenging time havng been invited to talk with three year four classes at Tinsley Meadows Academy in their new school building. What makes Jesus inspirational for Christians? Yes a straightforward topic. Each class was different with challengng questions that kept me on my toes, and the need to be honest if there wasn't a simple answer or even an answer at all. But yes I really enjoyed myself having the opportunity to reflect upon my own faith and why for me Jesus the person is so life     changing. From his openness and acceptance of all, to his breaking of cultural norms, to his belief in peoples God given potential, to seeing women as equal to men, Mr Trump take note! 

I found myself touching on so many areas of life it was a brillant time and can only hope that something  will be remembered.

So Saturday came and the chance at last to take up my daughters birthday present. So down to 'The Milestone' for a cookery course. I had previoulsy taken the 'Pig in a day' so today it was 'Fish and Shell fish' . It was a very relaxed time with nine of us on the course. Coffee to start and on we got with making Salmon Gravlax after being shown how to fillet a fish properly. So a new skill learnt and how to cure. With it we made a mustard dressing and it should be ready to eat by tomorrow afternoon but will keep till Monday. 

A cossiant with raspberry puree kept us going as did constant supplies of water with cucumber. 

On we moved to a Malasian Prawn and Spinach curry.  The ingredients above look fairly normal but 

Once in the pan  with coconut milk and it was delicious and became our lunch with fresh bread

It was scrummy and a small glass of red accompanied it very well. 

Then we went on to fillet a mackerel and a sea bream, the later was much harder to do.

A pause to wash and clean the Moules for what would be the last dish to cook.

Then back to pan roasted Mackerel on a bed of Kale, Beetroot and Samphire Salad , with a wonderful dressing made from horseradish, creme fraiche, chives, dill and lemon. 

Then to the Sea Bream - 'Pan fried Sea Bream' , braised gem lettuce, peas, mustard and tarragon veloute. This served as the evening meal once home.

Finally it was time to cook a classic Moules Mariniere. So simple but so delicious .

Sadly cooking was over and how the time had flown having met some people from all over Sheffield who love to learn about cooking.

Thursday night at city hall

Always a delight to take time out and attend a concert at Sheffield City Hall.

It was the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra with their conductor Edward Gardner.

We were treated to Grieg's Lyric Suite Op. 54 and then onto Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor Op 85 with a wonderful performance by Truls Mark on the Cello, very intense throughout. How did he keep playing all the way through. I'm sure they were all ready for the interval , we were, having rushed from work to get there for 7pm so a much needed cup of coffee. 

Then we had Sir William Walton's Symphony No 1 in B flat Minor. The audience clearly appreciated the performance and we had an encore as a reward for our applause.  

Once more I get to appreciate what this amazing city has to offer and unlike London we were soon home reflecting on a great evening.

Tomorrow beckons and its a series of talks to three four year classes at Tinsley Meadows Academy about what makes Jesus inspirational for Christians. So an easy one then!