Birthday Trifle... 48

Utterly horrific clergy nightmare last night. I had a big wedding with a very stressed bride, but then decided to go on holiday to Florida instead without getting cover. Panicked in airport, cancelled holiday but then couldn't get back in time. 16yo daughter arranged emergency cover & was VERY cross

A loooong desk day in a chilly study means all my muscles are tight. Bath and yoga before bed, I reckon...

Did my last-night-of-leave sneaky peek at my email inbox. No disasters await me there in the morning. Phew!

I nicked an idea from Instagram and challenged my girls to make a PowerPoint of their year. Oh my goodness, it was brilliant and hilarious. They were brilliant and hilarious. We might do this again...

Today I dropped the teen at the cinema to watch Wicked for the second time in a week. She had booked a Singalong showing AND WAS THE ONLY PERSON THERE. Three hours of belting in her own movie theatre. What a way to end her year! 🤣

Happy Birthday to this ball of fluff. Five years old today!

I am looking to improve my everyday German language skills. Are there some good German language posters on Blue Sky I could be following? @mthrjo.bsky.social can you help?

Oh dear goodness. The musical theatre obsessed teen started crying at the opening number of #Wicked continued through the entire two and a bit hours of PART ONE and sobbed all the way home. Apparently we do this again next autumn... It was VERY good though.

Bribed Luna with many treats to wear her Christmas jumper. As my children are officially too grown-up to do cute, we needed a new model for the photo on the Christmas thank you card!

Thoroughly enjoying watching @revrachelmann.bsky.social on University Challenge tonight!!!

Happy Christmas to all members of the #clergymaltclub (Remember, despite the name, it is a very inclusive bunch. You don't have to be clergy or drink malt, just be one of those hard working church folk who comes home from Midnight Mass, pours a drink and thinks "Made it! He's here! Alleluia!")

I have a cold. No big deal. But on top of Long Covid, it is limiting. I have no energy at all. Even my modest to-do list is looking daunting. Hey ho. What will be will be. Three services and then I can stop for a week...

Argh, the Advent 3 lurgy has finally got me with 24 hours to go! However, it is my Proper Day Off so I am staying snuggly and giving my immune system an encouraging pep talk. Come on white cells! Blast those bugs...

Back from a morning at school with genuine face ache from laughing so much. The Staff Panto was an absolute riot. I am so grateful to the school staff I work with for their determination not just to give our children the best education they can, but to give them the most incredible memories too.

Ugh. Clergy/Church Leader Festive Insomnia. Normally I can sleep for Scotland but in this season my brain is so full!

YEEEEEEEEEES!

Day off plans ended up including half an hour of yin yoga and half an hour of weights. It's is remarkable how exercise gets rid of the tension I am holding in my body. Much needed at this time of year...

After Quite A Week™️ it is a Proper Day Off before another equally lively six days. There will be some resting, some parcel wrapping and some Strictly watching...

Okay, who am I telling the Christmas Story today? Checks which day it is... Checks notes... Ah, 700 school children at their Christingle Day. Makes Christingle costume out of stuff in study before breakfast...

Making up Christmas bags for families in our community is one of my favourite jobs of the year. It's also the most nerve-wracking as we never know if our budget will cover the need. But this year we've done it again and I am so grateful for the generosity of our community and the goodness of God!

This is a mood - as the youngsters say...

Theology students & book lovers. We have a large range of high quality secondhand theology books for sale at St Clare’s, all priced much lower than Amazon. Spread the word 😊 #books #theology #cofe stclaresatthecathedral.org/product/qual...

Turned up for a school Winter Wonderland expecting to waft around eating mince pies. Instead I was assigned to a craft table supervising (very loosely!) a multitude of children and their carers as they made snowflakes. Harder work than planned, but I did get a lovely snuggle from 8 month old Olivia!

It turns out my #LongCovid wasn't "better". After 4 years, I am just very good at pacing. Deciding to "push through the fatigue" on a busy weekend has resulted in a week of pain and exhaustion. Hey ho. Lesson learned. Grateful that my case is mild so such errors are just inconvenient not disastrous

Chris McCausland is an absolute utter legend. I want him to win. He is maybe not as perfect as the others but what he is achieving surpasses anything I have ever seen on this show...

Where are my Strictly buddies at?!

Do something nice with your folks, OH suggested. Like a Christmas Market. In Birmingham. The day after Black Friday. 4 Saturdays before Christmas. It was not exactly relaxing, but a quick visit to the stunning Cathedral provided an oasis of beauty and calm in our afternoon!

As a veteran of many winter Blue Coat Theatre events 🥶, I went to tonight's performance appropriately attired. I also had a blanket... The show was excellent and I was toasty!

What a fantastic evening, welcoming so many people to Coventry Cathedral to hear about my book. Feel really grateful and blessed. @canterburypress.bsky.social @coventrycathedral.bsky.social #cofe

A GLORIOUS final walk this morning to get us over the 50 mile mark! We have also raised £250 for the Samaritans which, as the graphic shows, can do a lot of good! Thank you for all the encouragement and support - moral and financial! 💚 www.justgiving.com/fundraising/...

This is rather marvellous news, although Mary will be missed in Coventry www.gov.uk/government/n...

With three days to go, we have passed the 45 mile mark in our 50 miles of dog-walking in November for the @samaritans.bsky.social There have been a few miserable rainy trudges, but then there have been mornings like this...

An important reflection on conversations around assisted dying...

So during November, my mini labradoodle Luna and I are trying to walk 50 miles for the @samaritans.bsky.social A week to go and we are over 40 miles and have raised £250. Delighted to be supporting this brilliant charity.

Let’s remember that social media -even with all its drama- is the lesser hell for some people who come here to escape bigger dramas in their real lives. Do your little bit to make this place welcoming of the tired and the bruised ☀️

So everyone is here now? This reminds me of student nights out pre-mobile phones when you would go on a pub crawl to find your mates... 🤣

Yeah yeah, so it's Hogmanay (NYE for you unfortunate non-Scots) but it is also MY 4TH BIRTHDAY! Can I have a boop?

Covid update - still got it! Feeling moderately rough and majorly bored In other news, Luna remains the cutest dog on the planet...

It wasn't a cold...

So just after settling one long covid flare, I have a cold which has set off another! Seriously?! I am a Vicar at Christmas with a to-do list which won't do itself. Resting wasn't the plan...

Today's triumph was - after many setbacks and calls to the bank helpline - completing an application for a bank account for an organisation I help run. When it is actually up and running, I shall open some bubbly...

Current view... #rest #longcovid #labradoodle

Luna clearly knows that I need a bit of TLC tonight... Important work at Synod this week, but exhausting and costly for all concerned.

Our families at CAKE (Church for Adults, Kids, Everyone!) made wreaths of red, white and purple poppies today as we remembered our armed forces and all victims of war.

Our second hoglet in a fortnight rescued and taken to our local wildlife sanctuary. Out during the day and far too small to survive winter in the wild...

So our church energy bills are going up by £3.5k and our parish share by £2.5k next year. My lovely congregation are already generous. Hit me with your best community fundraising ideas!!!

For various reasons, including my own rank stupidity, today was a seven service Sunday. I have never done it before in a dozen years' ordained ministry, and never intend to do it again. But God was amazing. I am so blessed to do what I do...

A cope, mitre and crozier on the high altar in Coventry Cathedral awaiting the next Bishop of Coventry... An emotional service to bid farewell to Bishop Christopher.

Back from a week in a tiny cottage in a forest in Suffolk - very good for the soul!