Brill

What a great day - I took the car to Tollbar for it's beauty treatment, swapped it for a spanking new C30 & went shopping for the day.
What more could you want?
I went to Alcester - a really pretty little town full of alleyways, with an array of antique & charity shops..
I had a potter around, then bought some bits in the antique shop, which I am delighted with, then drove back to Warwick, had a nice lunch, pottered round the shops, then went to reclaim the car.
I finished the day out in Knowle where I bought chicken from the butchers, for dinner.

We have had a fund raising meeting tonight, to sort out the details for the Mid advent festival, then a glass of wine, to get over it.

G had an altercation with a driver who parked on the grass outside, ploughing it up.
When she turned round he realised that it was a friend who went to the Holy land with us.
Oh Dear.
I shall e mail her to invite her to park in the drive whilst she walks her dog.

I still have a sermon to write. 

Time for bed.....

To make up for going to bed ridiculously late last night - I kept nodding off as I was so tired after doing the sale, then it becomes hard work to go to bed.
I had a really lazy morning - let the girls out then went back to bed with a cup of tea & read the paper then had a long bath & didn't start the day until lunchtime.
Lazy or what?
I walked to the village to deliver some letters & get some exercise, did a few jobs en route then realised that I had a lot to do.
I've emptied the car,ready for it's beauty treatment tomorrow, sorted & put away the remnants from the sale, done washing & ironing, cleaned the bedrooms & made the beds up ready for W & MK, etc, arriving on Friday.
I drove to Sh & NW churches to take stuff that was in the porch - NW was fun as I had a drawer of bric a brac, which was cumbersome & I had to negotiate the two doors in the dark.
I had a prawn salad for dinner - daren't risk another banana sandwich!.
Off to bed - sermon still to do!  

Flog it.

Aj gave me a couple of boxes of objets d'art to sell on my "Hollylands Heirlooms" stall at the open evening in the village hall this evening.
I spent much of the day putting together a couple of boxes of really good things, washing & packing everything.
This afternoon, G set off to visit M in Guildford.
I visited Blyth Mill to check on the Christmas trees then loaded the car, set the burglar alarm off - had to re-open the back door because I'd left the key in the lock - put the chickens to bed, then off to the village hall to set up my table.
I sold over £100 worth of things -  far more than any of the other stall holders, I think - drank a glass of wine, packed it all up again & came home before 10.00pm.
I've since had a banana sandwich & two pints of decaf coffee, reported back to aj - £10 of her things sold, done some ironing & made up the bed.
Tomorrow, I'll empty the car 

Wet, wet, wetter.

I can't remember what we did on Saturday - I remember reading the paper, but that couldn't have taken all day. It did rain all night, loudly & we were flooded out by Sunday morning.
I had services to take at Shustoke & OW - only three at Shustoke as as even Whitacre was flooded in, & I couldn't get to OW, despite trying to go through Furnace End, Shawbury & Whitacre.
We put on our wellies & cycled round the villages, walking through the floods.
Wow.
 I vacuumed & mopped downstairs whilst G watched the grand Prix - i was ttrying to shut out the noise - unsuccessfully - then cooked stew & dumplings & lemon sponge.
Jan & Chris came to dinner, then we looked through holiday photos.

This morning I caught up on e mails - creating a group to invite to our "Final Fund raising Lunch of 2012" & arranging a mtg for the MAF - then we took a heap of G's clothes to the charity shop before going to solihull to shop & on to Shirley to pick up J & Th from school, tea & a play.
we visited JS on the way home as they have great deals on wines, including a favourite of mine - Glenridge Point sauvignon blanc for half price with 25% off for 6 or more bottles.
Dinner, TV & a nap.
Raining again!

Wet, wet, wet.

Aj & I had a fun day in York on Wednesday - we visited J & aj's new grandchild, Lily, both  gorgeous, & then to town to shop - mainly at M& S to be honest, they had everything we needed, well, almost - clothes, food & a coffee shop.
I drove home at 7.00pm, all well until near home, when the floods caused me a slight problem, as did G, who had left the key in the door, so I couldn't get in!

We went to see J & G on Thursday,via Airkix at Milton Keynes for G to do his indor skydiving (see pic) having lunch en route, I went on to collect T & KP from school, to shop in Tesco - self scan - KP holds, T scans - then on to swimming lessons, collecting Ben on the way.
We collected G on the way home & had a lovely evening with B & E.

We stayed over, both wearing B's pyjamas!

The journey home involved over two hours stuck on the M40 due to an overturned car transporter. 4ours from bicester to Tamworth!!
I had my hair done, then we scrubbed up & went to DMP to the conservative dinner, which was scrummy - soup, roast pork & fruit salad.
The speakers were Christine & Colin Still - BBC commentator & Olympic coach.

We cleaned the church this morning to prepare for preparing for the Mid Advent Festival in ten days time.
It has since rained - yard flooded, I've written tomorrow's sermon, ironed, cleaned the cooker & changed the bed - leave a bloke at home on his own for a couple of days........

Dinner by the fire 7 an early night, I think.  

Up North.

I am having a short break in the frozen North, visiting aj.
Yesterday I visited the new Morrisons supermarket in Coleshill - it's opening day.
It is brilliant!
Wonderful fresh food, lots of variety & helpful staff - everything the Co-op lacks!
I had decreed that I would always support the old shops, but after 2 minutes in Morrisons, I changed my mind - the Co-op does not deserve my custom.
I may feel guilty about this.

I then played a couple of sets of tennis, went home for lunch, then drove North, arriving in time to have a nice cup of tea, watching "Flog It" - by the way, did anyone see G & I on the Flog It auction from Bigwoods, last week?

I woke up by 4.30, then walked into Acomb, pottered, shopped in Morrisons, then came back a couple of hours later to get a meal on before aj came in from work.
She was critical of my pan fried haddock with sugar snaps & stewed vegetables - the "Strangest combination she had the misfortune to eat".
Well!
You try & give folk healthy food & they throw it in your face.
She only managed to get it down with 3/4 bottle of Sauvignon Blanc!

Today we went to Wetherby for a potter this morning, then we did Acomb this afternoon - much warmer today - 12 degrees, only 5 degrees yesterday - colder than CPH!

Waiting to see Last Tango in Halifax".
Looks good.
Home tomorrow evening, after seeing aj's new granddaughter, hopefully.   

shops to avoid.

The Sunday Times has listed the shops to avoid/use depending on fairness of tax paid:
Coffee; Avoid Starbucks, shop Costa
Books: Avoid amazon, shop WHSmiths
Clothes: Avoid Topshop, Miss Selfridge, BHS, shop John Lewis
Selling:Avoid e bay, shop Freecycle
Computer search engines: Avoid Google, shop Wikipedia.

I'm safe on all counts apart from Google - don't know how to avoid.

Lovely day today, once the hard frost went - hedge cut & cleared, half-way up the garden.

Well I voted!

Along with 59 other people in Shustoke - a good turnout compared with the rest of the country.
One Polling Station in Wales had no voters, the average turnout was a mere 15% countrywide.
I believe that the turnout for the 3 bi-elections wasn't a great deal higher - Labour won all 3 .
Well done Ed.
Possibly the most satisfying result was the rejection of the day was that of John Prescott, not the Police Commissioner in Humberside.
One gravy boat he won't be in!
Yes!

Totally political tonight - I urge everyone to boycott Amazon & Starbucks until they start to pay the taxes due on the large profits they make in this country.
I don't go to Starbucks but boycotting Amazon, especially at Christmas will be a nuisance but I really do enjoy Waterstones & they have excellent staff who do know what they are talking about.

Good news - we had an egg today - the first for 3 weeks.
The less good news - winter arrived today - cold & damp, colder than CPH.
The bad news - Hamas & Israel are blasting rockets at each other & a ground invasion is on the cards.

I have a sermon to complete on Mark 13, 1 - 10 - a gift as it is set/refers to the very spot that we visited last week - the temple in Jerusalem & the Mount of Olives, just across the valley.
JC predicts that "not one stone of the temple will remain".
He was right - only the steps remain - see photos posted yesterday. & read it, if you have time.

Polling Day - time for photos!

We have done our bit & voted for the Commissioner of Police for Warks or some larger area.
We have had no information on which to base our choice apart from a phone call from the Tory Party!
Why is the appointment political?
Surely it should be the best wo/man for the job.
I was tempted to take the advice heard on Radio 4 - veto the vote.
We were voters  no 15 & 16 at midday, so no great rush on.

Cold & foggy this morning, now just cold & damp, so not a garden day - the chickens were all perching on the branches of the large shrub by the front gate - entrance really since the gate went  over 30 years ago, quickly followed by the brick gateposts, as one was "Pisa like".
A domestic day - I'm on the third load of washing - everything not nailed down!
E mails to do & a sermon to start, which I can finish tomorrow morning whilst serving in the village shop.

Israel trip seems to have been just in time - the troubles are escalating sharply after 4 years of peace.
A selection of our photos - hope they are of interest.

 Me, photographing jerusalem of Christ's day - the cardo.

 Old Jerusalem - following the Stations of the Cross.

 The Western /wailing wall - mens' end!
 Prayers are written & pushed into the gaps in the wall, removed regularly & buried on the Mount of Olives.

 Drink pomegranite juice - live forever!.

 Locals in Jerusalem.

 Jan at theEighth station of the Cross, where Jesus consoled the women of Jerusalem -
"Weep not for me. Weep rather for yourselves & your children".

 Me, in blue, to celebrate the Obama victory, in Manger Square, Bethlehem.

 The marble slab, similar to the one on which Christ was laid, in the Church of the Sepulchre,Jerusalem,yards from the site of the cross & the tomb of Christ.

 The El Aqsa Mosque on the temple Mount in Jerusalem.

 Rules for church entry in Jerusalem!

 Looking over Jerusalem, when not posing!  Note G's new T-shirt & my camera.

 Nazareth - the Cave of the Annunciation where Gabriel appeared to Mary, in the crypt of the Basilica of the Annunciation.

 Hotel room with mezuzah - prayer holder, by door.

 New York...........

 Church of the Beatitudes on lake Galilee - site of the Sermon on the Mount.

 Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven - start of the Beatitudes.

 Sailing on the Sea of Galilee in a deluge - Brian, Steve & Keith.

 The storm brewing....

 Total immersion ceremony in the Jordan.

 War memorial  in the Golan Heights.

 Haifa -  The baha'i Shrine & gardens.

 The Roman aquaduct near Caesarea - 11 miles long, some buried in sand.

 

The river Jordan for a paddle & communal blessing of each other.
 

Leaves away.

It has been a glorious day today, perfect for gardening!
We went out & cleared leaves for a couple of hours,I tackled some of the prize nettles from the top of the field, whilst G put right the damage done by Bostock's cows along the verge outside.
After showering & ham rolls we went to Solihull, had a potter, a cup of tea/coffee in M&S, courtesy of aj tokens, then on to see "Skyfall" at 5.45pm - home in good time for dinner & bed!
The film was really good, with some brilliant vintage Bond bits.
Home for Vienna schnitzels & julienne veg - all cooked & served in 4 minutes!
We've watched some TV, by a nice fire - Michael Palin in Brazil - a remarkable likeness to G, only more wrinkled/older??

I phoned the new wedding venue in the village (crippsshustoke.com, if you're interested) this morning. We went to look at the barns yesterday - only shells at the moment, they open for business next July.
I hope that they may agree to host a church do as a trial run & do some good public relations.
Fingers crossed.

Thanks for statin comments - research to be done.

Bother.

Today has had it's highs & it's lows.
After an early start, a lie in & a bath, we did the DT crossword (easy), then I wrote an account of our Holy land trip for the parish Magazine, The tidings.
G typed it up in the correct format & sent it off, whilst I went shopping, via Coleshill.
I collected G's prescription from the doctors, they had my blood test results & a cancellation at 2.50pm, so I did an economic drive to Ventura Park (45 miles to empty), shopped at M&S, had a large skinny, decaf cappuccino, courtesy of aj's premier club tokens - still 4 to us by 15 Nov - filled the tank at JS, then went back to the doctors.
I went in feeling young & fit - I was told that my cholesterol level was 6.9 (high), having risen gradually from 4.7 in 2001!  HDL is 1.7, not good enough to cancel out the bad?
This, combined with my BP, Mum's demise at 59 with a coronary thrombosis, my weight (73kg), gave me a heart age of 71!!!  CVD risk in 10 yrs, 17%.
We agreed that I was not going to take statins at the moment (be it on my own head), but would have another test at the end of January to see if it would go down with diet & exercise.
Any advice?

A little light relief - "Flog It" (recorded this pm, as usual, to watch later) came from Coventry, with the auction sale at Bigwoods in Stratford - the sale that G & I went to, when some of our things were sold,
We featured quite widely, me wearing a rather eye-catching sugar-bag pink gillet.
There was even a full screen close up of me, smiling.
Of course, this was before I knew how old my heart was.

An enormous hornet did a few circles of the lounge, having stowed away in the log basket.
Scary.
It went outside again, trapped in a coffee cup. 

Home again

We returned home from the Holy Land yesterday  in time for a nice cup of tea.
A party of 16 of us flew out to Tel Aviv last Sunday & have visited Masada, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the Sea of Galilee, the River Jordan & the site of Jericho.
It has been a wonderful experience & the group, joined by  ten others, has been supportive & fun.
We have lots of photos - some to follow.
Now to lose the weight gained......

Recovered.

We woke up at 8.30am this morning!
Steve had already freed the chickens, who now rush to the back door as soon as they hear us about, led by their stomachs, not their hearts, I'm sure.
J & Th have entertained us today - we went to Solihull after lunch as G had a battery to collect, for his camera.
We had a potter & went to JL to the toy dept & then met up at McD - Th being hungry as it was at least two hours since lunch!
Back home for J & Th, who were going to a firework party -flash, bang, wallop.
G bought fireworks to put down the mole runs on the lawn - hate them to miss out on the celebrations!OW, LM & ?

Hope you could place some of the photos.