Friday was a day for celebrating Wedddings. We held a Wedding in St Michael's in the morning, a happy occassion with lots of family and friends present to witness Jayne and David's marriage. It may not have made the national press but did get a mention in the Romford Recorder and everyone in church could see the whole service!
Richard and I were invited to a street party in the afternoon.
A toast to William and Kate.
The party in progress
There were plenty of Union Flags to be seen
Some reflections.
Lots of chat, games and quizzes and a certain amount of temptation.
For someone who doesn't photograph people I managed rather a lot of pictures.
Saturday 30 April 2011
Labels:
cake,
celebration,
fun,
reflections,
smiles,
st michael's,
street party,
temptation,
Union Flag,
wedding
Saturday 23 April 2011
Holy Saturday
Friday 22 April 2011
Good Friday
Washing One's Hands
Washing one's hands of the conflict
between the powerful and the powerless
means to side with the powerful,
not to be neutral.
Paulo Freire
The Crucifixion
You were one with the Father.
Then the Father turned his back on you.
You felt forsaken,
hanging there between heaven's thunder
and the dank spittle of earth.
For that moment you belonged nowhere.
You were love, cut off from love;
truth nailed down by lies.
You must have wanted to explode, to disintegrate,
to disappear into a void.
But that was forbidden.
And that was the test.
Your blood burst through your skin
and ran down like sweat.
Your sweat ran cold
and drained into your heart.
The universe caught hold of your pain.
The sun went blind with grief.
The earth shivered in shock.
History was torn in two.
I stood at a distance,
my collar turned up,
like a murderer witnessing
a wrongful arrest.
Steve Turner
Maundy Thursday
a foretaste of things to come.
A day of story telling;
the Passover
the Last Supper
Foot washing
The Garden of Gethsemane
When Jesus Shared
When Jesus shared his bread and wine
and faced his final day -
Did we not promise, we will stay?
When Jesus in Gethsemane
asked us to watch and pray -
Did we not sleep the night away?
When Judas kissed him on the cheek
and soldiers took our Lord to slay -
Did we not also run away?
When Jesus was reviled and mocked
and we were asked to own his name -
Did we not also love betray?
When Jesus walked towards his cross
and stumbled on the way -
Were we not hidden far away?
Colin Ferguson
Labels:
foot washing,
Gethsemane,
Last Supper,
Maundy Thursday,
Passover
Palm Sunday
Cross-marked beast
bearing cross-burdened Christ,
what is you message today
as you travel the palm-strewn way?
Stumbling on a stony track,
people's coats on your back,
you were chosen for faithfulness.
This is a calling we share,
as the cross-marked hill
comes closer still.
Your job is to carry him today,
yesterday's weight forgotten;
tomorrow's burden still uncertain.
May we, his cross-marked people
bear him just as faithfully.
Janet Lees
Saturday 16 April 2011
Reflections by Waterloo Bridge
Peace
Windows and Walls
Friday 15 April 2011
The Followers
The idea behind this burial wall “The Followers” by Ximena Garrido-Lecca came from the Peruvian tradition. As well as photos and flowers in the niches were many things that the deceased would need in the afterlife, including bottles in Inca Cola & Cusquena beer. It reminded me of our visit to Peru in 2009 and the many times people mixed Christian faith with traditional spiritual worship. People would return from church with Holy Water and sprinkle it alongside coca leaves and corn beer left in offering to the gods.
Newspeak: British Art Now
On Monday Richard and I returned to the Saatchi Gallery to see the second part of the exhibition Newspeak: British Art Now. This runs until the 30th April. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first part but there were still some really interesting artworks on view.
Tessa Farmer had created this display using insects; tiny “people” sat astride a variety of insects.
Spartacus Chetwynd created “the lizard” and “the stick insect.”
I liked these paintings too. David Brian Smith’s “Great Expectations – wow” of a shepherd and his sheep and Toby Ziegler’s “Designated for Leisure”
Tessa Farmer had created this display using insects; tiny “people” sat astride a variety of insects.
Spartacus Chetwynd created “the lizard” and “the stick insect.”
I liked these paintings too. David Brian Smith’s “Great Expectations – wow” of a shepherd and his sheep and Toby Ziegler’s “Designated for Leisure”
Saturday 9 April 2011
Changing April weather?
The beautiful weather we had yesterday for the Wedding at church led many to comment on how unseasonal it was. This led me to wonder was it really unusual? I was sure I could think of warm sunny days at the beginning of April before.
I decided to do an unscientific trawl through photos on my computer to see what sort of weather we usually have at the start of April.
On 16th April 2004 the weather in Southwold was good enough for people to be sitting outside enjoying the sunshine in their shirt sleeves.
I couldn't find anything on my computer from early April 2005 but in April 2006 we had blue skies once again.
The shadow from these trees on 9th April 2007 imply reasonably strong sun.
The weather can change on a daily basis as these photos from 6th & 7th April 2008 show; heavy snow one day (it was a colour photo, not black and white) followed by an overnight thaw and sunshine.
11th April 2009 brought another bright day, this time at Maldon - there was very little wind so not ideal for our trip on a Thames barge.
Last April there were bright skies and good reflections in Ipswich on the 3rd and the lambs enjoyed the sun on the 10th.
It could be that almost every other day in April was grey and wet, hence no photos. Or perhaps the beginning of April is almost always bright and sunny! Perhaps it tells us more about the assumptions we make, our expectations and selective memories.
I decided to do an unscientific trawl through photos on my computer to see what sort of weather we usually have at the start of April.
On 16th April 2004 the weather in Southwold was good enough for people to be sitting outside enjoying the sunshine in their shirt sleeves.
I couldn't find anything on my computer from early April 2005 but in April 2006 we had blue skies once again.
The shadow from these trees on 9th April 2007 imply reasonably strong sun.
The weather can change on a daily basis as these photos from 6th & 7th April 2008 show; heavy snow one day (it was a colour photo, not black and white) followed by an overnight thaw and sunshine.
11th April 2009 brought another bright day, this time at Maldon - there was very little wind so not ideal for our trip on a Thames barge.
Last April there were bright skies and good reflections in Ipswich on the 3rd and the lambs enjoyed the sun on the 10th.
It could be that almost every other day in April was grey and wet, hence no photos. Or perhaps the beginning of April is almost always bright and sunny! Perhaps it tells us more about the assumptions we make, our expectations and selective memories.
Labels:
April,
blue skies,
snow glazed,
sunshine,
unseasonal,
weather
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