I am sure you are all puzzling at the title of this, and I will come to that in a minute! Andrew and I have just returned from an H.F. Classic Walking Short Break in the Peak District, based at the H.F.Country House, Newton house at Dovedale.
We arrived on Monday, 7th July, and after our welcoming afternoon tea, some of us took a short walk along the Tissington Trail (a former Railway Line which was closed down by Beeching in the 1960's which runs directly behind the H.F.Centre.) as far as Alsop en le Dale. In that short space of time, we gained some new and exciting insights into nature from Chris, who was leading the walking and Tai Chi section. He explained to us about the genetics of stripy snails, and we learnt that Ragwort is one of the deadliest wild flowers around!
Our first official walk took us through Dovedale itself, and we saw rock formations such as the Tissington Spires, Raynards Cave and Lover's Leap. It was here that we found an area where money DOES grow on trees! There are a number of tree stumps along this stretch, known as money trees, the reason being, that over the last 45 years, (in fact all the time I've been alive!) People have hammered coins into the stumps! Nobody knows who or why it started.
The second day, bad weather was forecast, with severe warnings all over the rest of Britain, though we were the lucky ones! We went along the gritstone edges of Froggatt, Curbar and Baslow, and saw many spectacular views. We looked down on the building that was used as Colditz Castle, and which has now been converted into posh flats! We also saw Wellington's monument (one of a number in the British Isles) and passed through the grounds of Chatsworth House, where it was fun to watch school teachers trying to quell their mobs of children, and stop the boys from going in the ladies' toilets! We saw Deer in abundance in the nearby Deer Park, and we got lost at Edensor. Outside the church was a man in a dog collar, so Brian, our leader asked him for directions. The reply was, "well, I'm not actually the vicar, but I think i know the path you want". Our day ended in Bakewell, and rather than sample the real Bakewell Puddings, Andrew and I sampled one of the pubs, and it was only as we were heading to the coach, that the heavens opened big time!
Our third and final day started at Chich, once famous as "Cardale" in the original "Peak Practice". Here, we watched the trams go by, from the National Tramway Museum, and we admired the view from the top of the Sherwood Foresters Memorial. We passed Riber Castle and gradually made our way (Wading through a deep puddle at one point!) down to the Cromford Canal towpath where the day ended for us two, with a cup of coffee at Cromford Wharf.
Finally, came our last dinner and Final Fling, where it was our turn to entertain the leaders and join in the dancing, before we hit our pillows in readiness for our return journey!
Sunday, 13 July 2008
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
What a Wonderful World
Two years ago this June, Andrew and I went back to the H.F. Holidays Centre in Brecon, to celebrate ten years since we first met there, on my very first H.F. Holiday (In our case, H.F. means Husbands Found!). I have chosen this title, because on our first morning, we heard Louis Armstrong on the radio, singing his well known song!
Indeed, Brecon was a wonderful world, and throughout the week, we got some really cracking views from the mountain tops, but there is one particular walk which really sticks out in my mind! On this particular day, our planned walks for both medium and harder levels, involved a very tough ascent to Pen-y-Fan, the highest point of the Brecon Beacons, where the itinerary told us that we "may be rewarded with truly spectacular views in all directions". However, as we ascended, we were enveloped by a huge white cloud, and as we reached the summit of Pen-y-Fan, all we saw was a mass of mist, as the fierce wind blew us to pieces! would we ever see anything through it? However, we plodded along with our walking poles, to the top of neighbouring Corn Du (pronounced Corn-Dee), which is 50 feet lower than Pen-y-Fan.It was here that amazing things began to happen! The mist started lifting, and little clear pockets began to appear.As these gradually got bigger, we began to glimpse the spectacular views we were promised, through them! As the mist continued to lift, the view widened out, until we could see for miles and miles! The views were incredible. The mountains, hills, streams, sky, etc, looked perfect in every way. A true example of the wonders of God's creation. These views remained clear, and as we descended, we continued to absorb the beauty of what was around us. Not only was the vastness of it amazing, but also the smaller details of what we saw (Wild Flowers and Unusual Birds), heard (Sheep and Skylarks), and tasted (Wild Strawberries).
There is a message here, that as we walk with the Lord, we go through periods where a deep mist envelops us, and we wonder if we will ever see anything through it. It is when we keep plodding on and remembering he is there, that we start to see gaps in the mist. Keep trusting him and the gaps get bigger and bigger, until the mist clears completely, and we can appreciate the vastness of his beauty! As we keep searching and listening, we discover that there is more to life than we realise, and that is when we notice all the finer details!
Around the time we went on this holiday, we had just had a sermon at church, on the theme of "Windows to Heaven", and how easy it is to get clouded by the mist and not to see God through it. This experience was definitely a "Window to Heaven!"
There is a message here, that as we walk with the Lord, we go through periods where a deep mist envelops us, and we wonder if we will ever see anything through it. It is when we keep plodding on and remembering he is there, that we start to see gaps in the mist. Keep trusting him and the gaps get bigger and bigger, until the mist clears completely, and we can appreciate the vastness of his beauty! As we keep searching and listening, we discover that there is more to life than we realise, and that is when we notice all the finer details!
Around the time we went on this holiday, we had just had a sermon at church, on the theme of "Windows to Heaven", and how easy it is to get clouded by the mist and not to see God through it. This experience was definitely a "Window to Heaven!"
Sunday, 25 May 2008
Parable of the Rock Scrambler
The year was 1999. Andrew and I were not yet engaged, and we were on an H.F. (Holiday Fellowship) walking holiday in Malhamdale, Yorkshire. For those of you who are familiar with that part of the Dales, i am sure you will get the picture.
Our walk for that day (we were doing the highest level walk) involved scrambling the Waterfall Gordale Scar. Luckily, the water was only falling down fairly lightly, but even so, it was a challenge, and when it came to my turn, panic gripped me! I asked Geoff, our qualified leader if there was an easier way of ascending, and was told no, he was sorry but there wasn't. Still, I gritted my teeth and did it. Andrew was in the lead, and he kept guiding me and saying "put your foot in there!" "Keep going" etc, as I hung on to dear life, not daring to look around, in case i lost my grip and fell.(It was limestone, so it was extremely slippery!) Our mutual friend, Roy from Manchester was just below us, so i had the reassurance that he would catch us if we fell!
To cut a long story short, we finally got to the top, and the first thing that Geoff said, was "Well Done. You 've made it!" and he then declared that it was time for our first tea break!
As a Christian, I see the message in this story as follows. As we go through our journey of life, following Jesus, we meet many obstacles along our way, and have to face many dangerous situations. Roy, Andrew and myself are ourselves dealing with the situations, and Geoff the leader represents our Lord. We know that God does not promise us an "easy" way once we accept him in our lives, but that he is there to guide us through the dangerous situations and to stop us from falling into temptation. He also sends us other people to guide us through these situations. when we reach the goal, the Lord says "Well Done! You've made it!" and he tells us, "Let us Celebrate" so we have a party! (our tea break).
One of my favourite Traditional hymns is all about what i mention here. i will not quote it word for word, as I do not want to risk breaching copyright laws. The hymn is "Father Hear the Prayer we Offer" Here, we ask our heavenly father that we should not ask for an easy life, but that we should have courage and strength to face all the dangers and challenges that life throws at us, and that we should rejoice in treading the steep and rugged pathways. The hymn ends up with us asking him to be at our sides at all times as we deal with with worrying and dangerous situations!
Our walk for that day (we were doing the highest level walk) involved scrambling the Waterfall Gordale Scar. Luckily, the water was only falling down fairly lightly, but even so, it was a challenge, and when it came to my turn, panic gripped me! I asked Geoff, our qualified leader if there was an easier way of ascending, and was told no, he was sorry but there wasn't. Still, I gritted my teeth and did it. Andrew was in the lead, and he kept guiding me and saying "put your foot in there!" "Keep going" etc, as I hung on to dear life, not daring to look around, in case i lost my grip and fell.(It was limestone, so it was extremely slippery!) Our mutual friend, Roy from Manchester was just below us, so i had the reassurance that he would catch us if we fell!
To cut a long story short, we finally got to the top, and the first thing that Geoff said, was "Well Done. You 've made it!" and he then declared that it was time for our first tea break!
As a Christian, I see the message in this story as follows. As we go through our journey of life, following Jesus, we meet many obstacles along our way, and have to face many dangerous situations. Roy, Andrew and myself are ourselves dealing with the situations, and Geoff the leader represents our Lord. We know that God does not promise us an "easy" way once we accept him in our lives, but that he is there to guide us through the dangerous situations and to stop us from falling into temptation. He also sends us other people to guide us through these situations. when we reach the goal, the Lord says "Well Done! You've made it!" and he tells us, "Let us Celebrate" so we have a party! (our tea break).
One of my favourite Traditional hymns is all about what i mention here. i will not quote it word for word, as I do not want to risk breaching copyright laws. The hymn is "Father Hear the Prayer we Offer" Here, we ask our heavenly father that we should not ask for an easy life, but that we should have courage and strength to face all the dangers and challenges that life throws at us, and that we should rejoice in treading the steep and rugged pathways. The hymn ends up with us asking him to be at our sides at all times as we deal with with worrying and dangerous situations!
Sunday, 30 March 2008
Green is the Colour!
My family and I are all very passionate about Global Warming and recycling, and the prospect of all the landfill sites becoming full up within the next few years, does not fill one with confidence!
I don't think there was ever a time in my own life, when there was no such thing as recycling or conservation, and I can think of things that go back even earlier than that! I know a retired couple who now live in Dorset, where the husband (now in his seventies) refused to learn to drive in his youth, on the grounds that he, personally did not want to be responsible for contributing to global warming and pollution! When i was a child, we had a Great Aunt and Uncle who lived at the other end of our home town, and every time we went to tea with them, we always used to take along a bagfull of milk tops and tin foil chocolate wrappers, because Auntie Elsie collected them for "Guide Dogs for the Blind". Even as a child, i was intrigued by the fact that they were then melted down to make new ones!
In the early 1970's came the first transmission of the Wombles as a popular children's T.V. programme. You could say that they almost introduced the idea of recycling! As early as then, schools, churches, etc, had Newspaper Collections, so i was well aware then that newspapers were being "pulped up" to make egg trays, etc.
In the present day, and since i first became a Christian, I have become more and more passionate about the idea of recycling and we are working our very hardest as a family, to ensure that we can slow down the effects that pollution is having on the world. My Brother and his wife have two allotments where everything is grown organically, so any chemical fertilisers and pesticides are a "no no". We also have a little vegetable garden at the back of our house, where everything is grown in the same way, and we have a weekly delivery of an organic box of fruit and vegetables.
Separating rubbish also plays an important part in our lives. Living in Norwich, we have a fortnightly rubbish collection, where the ordinary domestic rubbish goes one week, and the recyclables go the next. Our door to door scheme does not take glass, so all our bottles go to the nearby somerfields car park Bottle Bank! It is amazing how little we throw in the bin in the way of ordinary rubbish! Any non recyclable paper goes in the incinerator, and when it has been burnt, the ashes go in the compost bin, eventually to be dug into the garden. Needless to say, we compost all our fruit and vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells and hair clippings, and we look aghast at the number of people in our vicinity who pay however much it is, per year, to have a brown wheelie bin for their garden rubbish!
Such is my passion for recycling and freeing the city of litter, that in my daily(hour long) walks to and from work, I invariably pick up glass bottles, cans, pizza boxes etc and either bring them home to put in our recycle bins, or i deposit them in the glass, cans, and paper banks that have recently been installed around the city. I wrote to Norwich City council and complimented them on the installation of what they call "bring banks" and suggested they put out more. I got a nice reply back, complimenting me on my passion for recycling, but telling me that it was not on their agenda to put out any more. it also grieved me a lot, to find out that all the recyclable stuff that goes in the street bins, or that the street sweepers pick up, goes to landfill!
Now to the ongoing issue of plastic bags! Working in Boots as I do, I very much support their principal of giving customers the option of not having a bag! I am pleased to see that more and more people are using re usable hessian bags (for sale in most outlets). i have twice written to Boots Head Office and suggested they jump on the Tesco bandwagon and award "green points" on the advantage card, every time a customer refuses a bag, or uses one from home. But I have never heard anything! Friday, March 28th was "Carrier Bag Free Day" in Norwich, where everyone was urged not to take a plastic bag unless it was vital. Inspite of the pouring rain, many people were very supportive of it. There was a choir of "Bag Ladies" outside the Forum, dressed in reusable bags on their heads, singing about their concerns, and free hessian bags were being given out in the same vicinity. i would like to see more campaigns like that, taking place, and it will be very interesting to see if Gordon Brown gets his way in imposing a complete ban on supermarkets giving out free carrier bags!
I hope that many will feel encouraged by these words, as i am sure a lot of you are already doing your bit to make a stand against global warming, to slow down the fillage of landfills and make the world a tidier and safer place.
I don't think there was ever a time in my own life, when there was no such thing as recycling or conservation, and I can think of things that go back even earlier than that! I know a retired couple who now live in Dorset, where the husband (now in his seventies) refused to learn to drive in his youth, on the grounds that he, personally did not want to be responsible for contributing to global warming and pollution! When i was a child, we had a Great Aunt and Uncle who lived at the other end of our home town, and every time we went to tea with them, we always used to take along a bagfull of milk tops and tin foil chocolate wrappers, because Auntie Elsie collected them for "Guide Dogs for the Blind". Even as a child, i was intrigued by the fact that they were then melted down to make new ones!
In the early 1970's came the first transmission of the Wombles as a popular children's T.V. programme. You could say that they almost introduced the idea of recycling! As early as then, schools, churches, etc, had Newspaper Collections, so i was well aware then that newspapers were being "pulped up" to make egg trays, etc.
In the present day, and since i first became a Christian, I have become more and more passionate about the idea of recycling and we are working our very hardest as a family, to ensure that we can slow down the effects that pollution is having on the world. My Brother and his wife have two allotments where everything is grown organically, so any chemical fertilisers and pesticides are a "no no". We also have a little vegetable garden at the back of our house, where everything is grown in the same way, and we have a weekly delivery of an organic box of fruit and vegetables.
Separating rubbish also plays an important part in our lives. Living in Norwich, we have a fortnightly rubbish collection, where the ordinary domestic rubbish goes one week, and the recyclables go the next. Our door to door scheme does not take glass, so all our bottles go to the nearby somerfields car park Bottle Bank! It is amazing how little we throw in the bin in the way of ordinary rubbish! Any non recyclable paper goes in the incinerator, and when it has been burnt, the ashes go in the compost bin, eventually to be dug into the garden. Needless to say, we compost all our fruit and vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells and hair clippings, and we look aghast at the number of people in our vicinity who pay however much it is, per year, to have a brown wheelie bin for their garden rubbish!
Such is my passion for recycling and freeing the city of litter, that in my daily(hour long) walks to and from work, I invariably pick up glass bottles, cans, pizza boxes etc and either bring them home to put in our recycle bins, or i deposit them in the glass, cans, and paper banks that have recently been installed around the city. I wrote to Norwich City council and complimented them on the installation of what they call "bring banks" and suggested they put out more. I got a nice reply back, complimenting me on my passion for recycling, but telling me that it was not on their agenda to put out any more. it also grieved me a lot, to find out that all the recyclable stuff that goes in the street bins, or that the street sweepers pick up, goes to landfill!
Now to the ongoing issue of plastic bags! Working in Boots as I do, I very much support their principal of giving customers the option of not having a bag! I am pleased to see that more and more people are using re usable hessian bags (for sale in most outlets). i have twice written to Boots Head Office and suggested they jump on the Tesco bandwagon and award "green points" on the advantage card, every time a customer refuses a bag, or uses one from home. But I have never heard anything! Friday, March 28th was "Carrier Bag Free Day" in Norwich, where everyone was urged not to take a plastic bag unless it was vital. Inspite of the pouring rain, many people were very supportive of it. There was a choir of "Bag Ladies" outside the Forum, dressed in reusable bags on their heads, singing about their concerns, and free hessian bags were being given out in the same vicinity. i would like to see more campaigns like that, taking place, and it will be very interesting to see if Gordon Brown gets his way in imposing a complete ban on supermarkets giving out free carrier bags!
I hope that many will feel encouraged by these words, as i am sure a lot of you are already doing your bit to make a stand against global warming, to slow down the fillage of landfills and make the world a tidier and safer place.
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
I'm Dreaming of a White Easter!
As I write this, we are still very much focussed on Easter, and a very unusual Easter it has been too! For a start, this is the earliest Easter has fallen for 95 years, and of course, the weather has been somewhat unusual, compared to last year, when we were all going to church in tee shirts and shorts and worrying about the chocolate melting on all the easter eggs. Instead, we had the opposite extreme, namely our first "white Easter" since 1983.
Andrew and I spent Easter with my immediate family in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, where we enjoyed watching Disco, who is mum's black cat, fighting with the snow, and seeing Lucy, my 9 year old Niece, building a snow bunny, and a snow cave, before it all melted. We shared Easter Eggs (non chocolate ones aswell as chocolate ones), and we walked along the local railway cycle route, where we met a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel wearing a Barbie Pink coat to match that which her (we presume it was a girl dog!) mistress was wearing. We had a Sunday off church (this was advised by the family, after I managed to faint in the middle of dinner the previous night!). Due to our work commitments etc, we had had missed the Maundy Thursday re-enactment of the Last Supper and the traditional Good Friday service at our own church, but I, for one, made sure i packed a bible for our mini holiday, so i could remind myself of how Jesus gave his own life for all of us, and having gone through all that totally barbaric torture, he rose again from the dead!
Now we are back in Norwich, and we are both enjoying our last day off, before the reality of work hits us again. When the schools go back, i wonder what the weather will bring? Will it be like Easter 1978, which fell only three days later than this year, and resulted us walking to school for the start of the summer term in deep snow?
I have just used up the test film in the new camera that my lovely husband got me for christmas (yes, I still use film!) and I look forward to seeing the pictures of our White Easter!
Andrew and I spent Easter with my immediate family in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, where we enjoyed watching Disco, who is mum's black cat, fighting with the snow, and seeing Lucy, my 9 year old Niece, building a snow bunny, and a snow cave, before it all melted. We shared Easter Eggs (non chocolate ones aswell as chocolate ones), and we walked along the local railway cycle route, where we met a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel wearing a Barbie Pink coat to match that which her (we presume it was a girl dog!) mistress was wearing. We had a Sunday off church (this was advised by the family, after I managed to faint in the middle of dinner the previous night!). Due to our work commitments etc, we had had missed the Maundy Thursday re-enactment of the Last Supper and the traditional Good Friday service at our own church, but I, for one, made sure i packed a bible for our mini holiday, so i could remind myself of how Jesus gave his own life for all of us, and having gone through all that totally barbaric torture, he rose again from the dead!
Now we are back in Norwich, and we are both enjoying our last day off, before the reality of work hits us again. When the schools go back, i wonder what the weather will bring? Will it be like Easter 1978, which fell only three days later than this year, and resulted us walking to school for the start of the summer term in deep snow?
I have just used up the test film in the new camera that my lovely husband got me for christmas (yes, I still use film!) and I look forward to seeing the pictures of our White Easter!
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