Went to the Toby carvery in Old Windsor this evening to celebrate Sam’s birthday. I hadn’t been ot a carvery in ages, so it was a nice change. The meat was delicious and succulent, with my only gripe being that there wasn’t much of it! Ah well, limitless veg, Yorkshire’s and gravy, so nothing to grumble about really. The evening finished with a walk from Windsor to the statue of George III in Windsor Great Park, enabling us to survey the surroundings at 11.30pm. Happy birthday Sam!

I learnt a very new scale today – B flat major, in sixths, double stopped. Fortunately, reading more than one note at a time isn’t too difficult! I also did a review all quite a few of the pieces I’ve learnt over the past six months – I’m amazed how much I can play! Now if only I can get them in a presentable state!

Another quiet week on the blog front as I was in Aberystwyth for the annual EMW English speaking conference. This year’s theme was looking at the first and second chapters of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Ted Donnelly led the addresses in the morning, opening up the Scriptures, and showing how they apply so aptly to today’s church. From the opening paragraphs, where Paul veers from his usual commendation for faith, instead pointing out the disunity and lack of faith, through his rubbishing of worldly wisdom and the strength of the foolishness of God, and ultimately to his plea that they build their church not on the popular trends of the day but on the word of God. The issues which the church of God in Corinth faced are not much different from the issues the church of God in the UK faces today.

In addition to the main addresses, there were many other talks and seminars available.

The week was also a holiday, with trips to the beach and general relaxation available. A good week to re-energise!

After much planning, we convened this evening to have a ping pong tournament. Various contestants from HWEC and HTC lined up to represent their respective churches. Despite my cold, I participated, and by the end I was shattered! All was not in vain though, as HWEC came out victorious in both singles and doubles. I imagine a rematch is likely in the near future. A very different, but very fun, evening.

On a complete tangent, the table tennis ball is made of celluloid.

I had my annual week away from civilisation in sunny Tywyn with CCIW! I was slightly apprehensive about the week, as the previous two months’ weather was slightly damp, to say the least! On Saturday night it was raining, but come Sunday morning, the sun was shining brightly and the weather stayed warm and sunny for the rest of the week.

The week revolved around the Acts of the Apostles, especially looking at the life of the apostle Paul from his conversion, on the road to Damascus, to his incarceration, in Rome. We traced how God used Paul to spread the gospel of Jesus to both Jews and gentiles, to people like Sergius Paulus, Lydia and Timothy. People of different backgrounds, but people who all needed the salvation which was only available through faith in Jesus.

It was good to be able to share the bible with children from all over the country, as well as to join in activities with them. I finally got to climb to the top of Cadair Idris, but spent most of the latter half of the week suffering with a cold!

A great week, none the less!

We played Hayes Town Chapel at 6-a-side football again. The final score was a little under debate; Was it 6-0 or 7-0? Although academic as we lost again! Saying that, the game felt a lot better with possession of the ball appearing to be even. We just couldn’t finish! Ah well, could be worse! 🙂

After a hearty breakfast, and a run around the football pitch, a group of us headed to the BBC Proms, at the Royal Albert Hall, for an evening of Debussy, Saint-Saëns and Fauré.

The line-up was Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, by Debussy, followed by Cello Concerto No.1 in A minor, by Saint-Saëns, and then the Cantique de Jean Racine and Requiem by Fauré.

The only piece I thought I wasn’t familiar with was the Cello Concerto, but when it started up and got going, I realised I knew it. The only niggle I had was that some of the soloists were a little hard to hear, although the Pie Jesu could be heard clearly throughout the auditorium.

A thoroughly enjoyable evening, even with the inclusion of a Roman Catholic Mass for the dead in Latin!

My life appears to have become a routine. Not that I’m complaining. Football on Monday and Saturday was fun and enjoyable, if slightly tiring! My violin lesson on Tuesday introduced a few new pieces and scales, as well as another opportunity to play some duets. Thursday was a bible study from Psalm 119 and Friday was spent sharing the gospel with young people from around the area in both word and deed. This evening was spent at Feltham Evangelical church to listen to a talk on Biblical parenting and then down to Windsor for a walk down the Long Walk. The only problem with this routine is that it’s not very interesting to read! I apologise profusely, but I found it to be a hugely rewarding week! I think the only unusual day was Wednesday as I picked up a bicycle, given to me by Ally as she’s bought herself a new bike, with the intention of using it to cycle to work. We’ll see how we go in that respect!

After another sunny afternoon playing football, I met up with some of the former members of the Harlington Singers at Brown’s in Windsor for a meal. The food was great, and I started off with mussels for starters and then a seafood platter for a main course. A distinctly fishy meal, but delicious none the less. It was good to catch up with various members, to see how people are getting on, how circumstances change and a slightly broader age range than I’m accustomed to on a Saturday evening, resulting in some slightly broader conversations! A good evening.

My work colleagues and I were playing our usual game of five-a-side football this evening, and the skies appeared to be clearing. The whole day was showers on and off and I wondered how the evening would be. About 20 minutes into the game, the skies darkened and then the heavens opened. It was as though someone had taken a paddling pool and emptied it on us. Within seconds we were all drenched, but it wasn’t so bad. The weather was still quite warm and so we played until our time was up. The shower was so short that by the time we finished, my shirt had dried!

This Saturday was the annual day trip to Littlehampton. Of all the years I’d been, it has never rained. Today was to be a new experience! I guess the signs were for a wet Saturday as the whole of the previous week had been peppered with showers and downpours. As such, I took my umbrella and fleece thinking I’d be prepared for the worst.

It would appear I’d underestimated. On arrival, it started to rain. Up went the brolly, as my legs got damper by the moment – good job I was wearing shorts. Some of the young people had decided they wouldn’t let the rain dampen their day, so got into their swimming gear and were frolicking in the sea, until they started to freeze. Even spectating from land, I was getting wetter and wetter. It would appear that the water would run down my leg, be absorbed by my sock which would then transmit the water to my foot. The end result being wet feet.

Warm food was the order of the day, and after warming up slightly, a few of us played football on a slightly sodden pitch! 5 goals later and we headed to a church hall, which was booked in case of inclement weather (good thinking Mike),  where we shed our drenched articles of clothing and played games.

After a few hours, we made a brief visit to the Littlehampton Museum and then headed home.

Despite the weather, we enjoyed ourselves as people of all age groups mixed and enjoyed each other’s company. It was also good to mix with those who we didn’t know so well.

After last week’s defeat, a few of the lads decided to do some running and stretching exercises before the football game this afternoon. I’m not sure if it will help, but time will tell. Saying that, the pitch awareness was better with some marking happening, although there was still a little of the bees round a honeypot syndrome.

After a bath and some food, some of the usual suspects came round for some Perudo and Poker.