First commute of the year….

#traitors got that one right!

Playtime in the snow!

Last day of annual leave (though still have the Crewe panto tomorrow)… clean the fridge, make pot of lightly spiced carrot soup, complete online supermarket delivery order… and await arrival of new mop and bucket by post!!!!!

This always makes me smile… Wales reclaiming Crewe!

New Year’s Eve… all laundry sorted, ironed as appropriate, and put away. Seems appropriate somehow… back to the jigsaw after lunch!!

Beautiful, feel good, poignant … especially Sr Monica Joan and Sr Catherine #callthemidwife

And that’s a wrap… lovely Christmas Day service

Merry and Blessed Christmas everybody

What a fantastic Christingle… had to send out for extra oranges. And so much fun!

Almost ready now… Very grateful to serve a church where people work in supermarkets and can get Christingle oranges for free😊 Compromising my ethics to use a pre-scripted ‘chocolate nativity’ story… but Rowntrees were Quakers and it is the season of goodwill to all after all!

Sorted…

Our Radio Stoke Christmas Coffee Morning was great fun

Looking forward to hosting one of these tomorrow 9.00-13:00 at Union Street Baptist Church Crewe some free parking. Ten to fifteen minutes walk from railway station. Buses stop on nearby Edleston Road. All welcome… all free… there may be music and other activities too😊🎄🔔🧑‍🎄 Please share Thank you!

Community Carol Festival… and a little bit of craziness!

Hanukkah/Chanukkah ... a time of remembering and celebrating... of light in the darkness, of hope in adversity, of miracles and faithfulness. Pausing to think of those who went out to celebrate on Bondi beach, and whose lives are irrevocably changed by the violence they experienced. Kyrie eleison.

‘Tis the season… Pop-up Nativity with the Grumpy Owl, led by J. So if there’s an owl there needs to be a pussy cat… the Sophie lookalike jumper… and elf tights, naturally 😂😂😂

This popped up in my FB memories from thirteen years ago! Worth a reshare I think… (original via Unvirtuous Abbey)

Looking forward to this Community Carol Festival @USBC_Crewe tomorrow… all very welcome for a great evening of festive music… and refreshments🎄🔔🎼🎶🎤

Coming up this Sunday… all very welcome

So, for this Enneagram 1, ISTJ, it’s ‘take your shopping trolley to work’ day 😂😂 Looking forward to a great Staff Development day , followed by a buffet lunch (soup and sandwiches) … hence the shopping trolley 😊

Today is the great, high liturgical feast otherwise known as College Christmas Jumper Day…

This the season to share what’s happening at churches around the land…. Next Sunday (14th) we have… 10:30 am Pop Up Nativity… come as your favourite character from the nativity story… 6p.m. Community Carol Festival with local community choirs. More info below.

This is good thing… an Advent book that hasn’t annoyed me in the first week! And includes stuff about how Christmas was invented… not new, but so refreshing to see it recognised in a devotional book.

A grand morning

Advent 2… candles… infant blessing… gifts for Salvation Army appeal… Communion… chaos pretty much guaranteed… bring it on!

22 years today since I was ordained as a Baptist minister… grateful to everyone who has shared, and still shares, that journey.

Because sometimes you need to stop work and savour the sunrise…

Church foyer looking very festive 😊

So, this morning I achieved the requisite skill in uploading a video from Zoom to YouTube... I think I now need a lie down in a darkened room!!

I absolutely loved reading this over my train rides today. I will be adding it the ‘fiction’ suggestions on our NAMs reading list and sharing with colleagues.😊

Advent under way in assorted activities…

Thank you so much to the person who left this beautiful wreath on my doorstep… at church today wreath making was central to the service, and, knowing I was teaching, some made me one ❤️

Behind the scenes of Zoom Communion… a bit of a Nepali-Caledonian mash-up methinks. Fits with my ordinance/memorialist theology.

Recapturing that Advent-2020 vibe for college prayers on Zoom!

Tomorrow I will be teaching all day… but for anyone able to get to Union St Baptist Church in Crewe there is the opportunity to make their very own seasonal wreath as part of worship for Advent 1

speed-reading revision before teaching tomorrow… Much of this learned in ‘Engineer in Society’ module >40 years ago… it has recurred in every avenue of study/learning & practice/praxis since then… I know this stuff enough to be aware of complacency… hence revising!

Grumpy old woman alert… It’s good job I am not in charge of trains, otherwise there would be a ban on smelly food, slobbery eating, and non-stop sniffing!!

Only in Crewe… what on earth is in this that I need to be age checked???!!!😂😂

Pastoral garden centre cheesy singing reindeer…

Yesterday I was grateful for a colleague who knew the whereabouts of the radiator key, and bled the air-solid radiator in my office!

Church lunch… perfect way to warm up after a successful fire drill!!

Day off treat… Mini Beans, Crewe Market Hall.

Chariot ride to Nantwich to see the V.E.T. (routine)… as ever their adoring public flocks to meet them!

Tell me you work in Manchester without telling me you work in Manchester… First soggy walk of the academic year (yes I know I shouldn’t dry my socks on this radiator, yes it will be on only when I am in the room to keep an eye on it )

Remembrance Sunday School using adapted Messy Church resources. Active, quiet, busy, thoughtful.

Yesterday I finished marking my first set of essays… it has certainly been a learning experience!

Cheeky night out in a school night…

Watched the first episode of ‘Game of Wool’… won’t be watching any more, it’s not for me!