FIRST BIRTHDAYS
We went down to Plymouth for a joint celebration of the first birthdays of Rosie (Andrew and Deb's daughter)and Lubin (David and Frances' second son)

CHURCH ACTIVITIES
Two pictures taken in early November when we visited the Lox Lane retreat Centre near Shaftesbury, and two pictures taken at the dedication of Miriam Ovens and the twins Matthew and Benjamin Everett.

A touch of Autumn

We have been able to take advantage of recent good weather to get out into the countryside and enjoy the autumn leaves.

Karen

A new friend of ours, Karen Smith, was baptised at our church (Priory Street Baptist Church, Corsham) last week. Karen became a committed Christian quite recently, and she wanted to make this bold statement of her faith at this time, becase the day afterwards she had to be hospitalised for intensive chemotherapy in the hope of extending her life.

Cousin Eve Lockett had her 50th birthday celebration at the end of September. (Click on pictures to enlarge). The cake was designed to look like a medieval book.....

Martin and Cathy

Our friends Martin and Cathy Donovan were married in Uganda in January, and had their marriage blessed in our church in September.

North Cornwall

The well-known 'Harbour Light' shop by the river in Boscastle was completely destroyed in the floods in August 2004. When we went on a short break to Cornwall recently we were delighted to see how well it has been rebuilt. It is now a cafe, and 'Harbour Light' has moved to a shop on the other side of the river.

The Camel estuary near Rock.

(Click on pictures to enlarge)

Isaac and Lubin

Isaac, not to be outdone by Leila having snakes, has his own snake, which appears to have given birth to several spaghetti babies!

Wendy with Lubin

Leila
Leila has passed her exams and is now a qualified electrician! She passed on 13th September, which happened to be her 28th birthday. Here she is relaxing with Charlie the pheasant earlier in the year.

A mini-break

Cousin Mary Thurlow lent us the use of her flat in Southsea whilst she was away. Much appreciated! Apart from our visit to Chichester (see previous blog entry), we went to Osborne House (above) on the Isle of Wight - this was once owned by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; and to Portchester Castle (below). The walls in the distance date back to Roman times. This picture is taken from the top of the keep. Click on pictures to enlarge them.

Ebenezer Prior Ltd

We visited Chichester recently to do some research on the family business of "Ebenezer Prior Ltd, Woolstaplers and Fellmongers" which used to have its headquarters in Tower Street. Chichester Museum has a small display dedicated to the firm and in it we were pleased to see the following quotation:

 "No better firm could be found than Messrs Ebenezer Prior Ltd at Chichester. Their offices in Bradford give the manufacturers of the North access to supplies that are the best that can be bought in England." (British Industries Review, March 1924)

The premises have long since been demolished, but on the site are these two reminders of what was once there...

A thought for the day

(for my Christian readers). A phrase from the Lord’s prayer says “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” I have often thought of this as a prayer for God’s Kingdom to come at some stage in the future, and this is partly true. However, as we Christians are citizens of the Kingdom of God, whenever we bring peace to the anxious, grace to the needy, company to the lonely or love to others, we act as agents of the Kingdom here and now. This is first and foremost the most likely way in which people will see the love of God at work in this world, and some may be impressed enough to follow suit and believe in God too. Thus our own actions can help to make this prayer self-fulfilling.

Grandchildren and grandsnakes, August 2007

Jacob enjoying his food

Above: Grace, Frankie the big grandsnake, Wendy and Eva

Below: Zippy, a new baby grandsnake. There is another one called George too.

SHERBORNE CASTLE
A bank holiday outing with our friends Barry and Pat

(click on picture to enlarge)

Prayer

I am reading Philip Yancey's book 'Prayer: Does it make any difference?' Every page is loaded with interesting and thoughtful observations, so I am having to read it in short doses, so that I can absorb it. Today I read some of his observations on the difficulty of praying (p153):

Prayer remains a struggle for me. On the other hand, so does forgiving someone who has wronged me. So does loving a neighbour. So does caring for the needy, I persist because I am fulfilling God's command, and also because I believe I am doing what is best for me whether or not I feel like it at the time. Moreover, I believe that my perseverance, in some unfathomable way, brings pleasure to God. We must always pray, and not give up, Jesus taught. . . . . .
I appreciate prayer mostly in retrospect. The process itself feels like work. I look for ways to avoid it, and keep glancing at the clock as I'm praying. During the day, however, thoughts and impressions come to mind that stem directly from my prayers. I am far more likely to view events that occur and people I encounter from God's point of view. Like a lingering scent, prayer carries over into the rest of the day.

HOLIDAY CLUB

Our church (Priory St Baptist Church, Corsham) put on a holiday club for children, with singing, drama, puppets and much, much more!

SHEEP

These sheep are being herded past Great Chalfield Manor on an August evening.

STANWAY FOUNTAIN
Stanway fountain, near Winchcombe in the Cotswolds, was constructed in 2004. It is 300 feet high, making it the highest fountain in Britain, and the highest gravity-fed fountain in the world. Truly impressive!

Stanway House

RAILWAY AT TODDINGTON

7903 Foremarke Hall at Cheltenham Racecourse station, and taking water at Toddington

Saltford

These two pictures were taken at one of our favourite local places, on the River Avon at Saltford, half way between Bath and Bristol. (Click on picture to enlarge.)

ANDY AND DEBS' NEW HOUSE

Our son and daughter-in-law Andy and Debs have bought a victorian terrace house in Plymouth facing onto a large park. This gives them a pretty big front garden - all looked after by Plymouth Council. In the picture below, the terrace is hiding behind a row of trees

Wendy, Rosie, Debs and neighbours' cat on the front drive.

Sean
(See also the bottom of the entry to this blog of August 2nd) Our son-in-law Sean went into hospital to have a cyst removed from his abdomen. It turned out to be a tumour weighing 7 lb, and larger than a rugby ball. This was a blow, because it will mean regular CT scans for a while into the future, to check on his health. However, the better news is that the hospital thinks that it was all removed cleanly, and they are hopeful that there will be no recurrence.

More fun with Frankie the snake.
Would this be suitable headgear for Ascot next year?

My belated 65th birthday celebration
It was not until 29th July that we could get together with our 'Devon family' for a birthday celebration: - a selection of photos follows.

Sean was in hospital, having had a huge cyst the size of a rugby ball and weighing 7lb removed. However, he was able to come home on Monday 30th July, and is making a steady recovery from his ordeal.