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.

Wedding Blessing
Wendy's youngest sister Joanne was married to Marouane in Tunisia in January, and they had a Wedding Blessing in Radstock Methodist Church on July 28th.

The two photographs above are 'proofs' from the website of www.theimagefile.com/web/martinchivers, from whom prints can be ordered.

The second photo is of Jo and all her sisters, and her brother Rod.

Below is a picture of the chocolate wedding cake made by Leila.

Joan's Birthday
We took Wendy's mother Joan to The Courts at Holt for her birthday outing.