a nice day out

Joined friend Mark for lunch in Guildford yesterday. Is it always true that when restaurant food portions get smaller, the size of the plates and the prices get bigger? It was quality though, and a lovely atmosphere. Thanks Mark.

Mark is Communications Director for Guildford Diocese, and back in their office I caught up briefly with John Gooding and fellow Old Elm, Bonnie Appleton, in the Mission, Evangelism and Parish Development team (snappy title). Since leaving Elmhurst Bonnie was also chaplain for the school for a while. We agreed that the nativity play written in the 40s by the founding principle, Helen Mortimer – that we all performed every Christmas term while Bonnie and I were at the school – gave us a particularly good heritage in our Christian faith. In spite of the old language of the title, “Ye serve the Lord” is a robust presentation of humanity’s relationship with God and our responsibilities to each other. It was revived last year by another Old Elm now working at St George's School, Windsor, and I took a trip out from Burford one day last week to see it presented by the school in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. I preferred the original sound of piano rather than organ accompaniment - but the performance and singing were excellent, and the simple power of the presentation got to me as much as ever.

It’s great to enjoy British road systems when they’re running well, as they were on my route yesterday. And coming home, the winter afternoon sky was breathtakingly beautiful, with chiffon effects of orange through turquoise, pink with grey, blue and purple, and flowing patches of white or grey mist and fog. It seemed such a privilege to be travelling freely like this, and witnessing the dusk spectacle coming on. From the M40 cutting on the Chiltern ridge the vale of Aylesbury sat blanketed in plump mist populated by dark tree tops, and to the south west the emissions of Didcot power station’s cooling towers formed big grey-purple shapes rising from the white blanket.
Something like this sky near Amsterdam

Originally uploaded by Benjamin Rossen.

or Norwich

Originally uploaded by shashamane.

or Chesterfield

Originally uploaded by glowingtones.

I couldn’t stop on the motorway to catch the moments, and hoped Algo was out there somewhere plying his photographic genius …

one of Algo's from last autumn
Originally uploaded by algo.