Various ramblings by the small hobbit

Yesterday was a sunny day, so we decided to visit Prinknash Abbey, which is not far from us.  It's somewhere I've thought of going for some time, but we finally got around to it.  After our lunch of carrot and coriander soup and cheese toasties we went for a walk in the gardens.

It is cold, frosty and misty and generally miserable, so there's not been many events going on - and frankly staying inside in the warm is considerably preferrable.

However, for this month's post I decided to share another church activity:



Run in the school hall, we begin with toddlers and preschool children and carers:

   

Lots of activities for toddlers: cars and a carriage, the very popular kitchen, ride on toys, things to push, plenty of space in the church hall to run around.  Playdoh to make things.  Tea, coffee, squash and snacks.  And all free.

We then move into the after school session:



where we provide a craft activity of the week (yesterday was junk modelling) plus board games and other drawing/colouring activities.  Yesterday we had 24 children plus carers - mostly primary age (5-11) although some come with younger siblings, who play with the other toys.  Originally we had planned two separate sessions but we found there was an overlap so we leave out many of the toys.  Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, squash, snacks, mini cakes.  And again, all free.

It's not a care provision, and parent/family friend/grandparent comes with them, but they enjoy the time to chat and relax and let the children do things, like messy crafts, which they don't do at home.  We do have a few Y7s (11 year olds who moved up to secondary school this year) who come by themselves, but we have specific permission from parents for them to do so.  They enjoy a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, and one even created a popcorn machine out of cardboard boxes.

Strangely, this is yet another post which involves my church.  Which in fact is not so unreasonable if the church is involved in the life of the local community.

Yesterday was Remembrance Sunday, following Remembrance Day on November 11th.  There are many Remembrance services and events throughout the UK, both on the 11th and on the nearest Sunday.  Many involve wreath laying by groups and the laying of individual crosses or poppies in memory of specific families and friends.  Some years ago, when I was involved with guiding in another village the older brother of one of our guides, a serving soldier, laid a small cross in memory of one of his comrades - a particularly moving moment.

At St George's we always invite the Brownies, Guides, Beavers and Cubs to our Remembrance service on the Sunday.  As an active guider (although not in this district) I'm involved, and have the pleasure of receiving their flags as they parade in.  Because I'm wearing my guiding uniform there's an instant connection between myself and the youngsters and their parents, which helps in many ways.  One of the great delights this time was a Brownie who was extremely nervous, very shy, who was encouraged to carry their flag.  She managed it without difficulty and was so happy to have done so.

I also gave the talk this year, based on my visit to the D-Day beaches in Normandy in May and using some of the photos I'd taken at the time.

Not the most traditional of services, but appropriate to where we are and who it was for.

Continuing on with last month's theme, I'm once again talking about an activity within our church.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II has played a major part in our lives this past week.  I'm a republican (small R) and have no particular interest, other than noting a change of monarch.  I also appreciate that for some people this has made a major impact, which should be acknowledged.  However I do not appreciate being told how I should be feeling when I quite simply don't.

( Read more... )

When I considered the idea of doing a monthly blog post on Local Events, I realised that there might not be sufficient to cover, so I decided that some of the events I would write about would be specific to me and my life.  This means that some will refer to my church involvement, and you are under no obligation to read or agree with me.  However, my aim is to explain what happens, so you may like to imagine yourself as a visitor.

( baptism )

Again this month, a very local place, right in the middle of the city of Gloucester is Alney Island Local Nature reserve.

( Alney Island )

We haven't visited anywhere of interest this month, so I thought instead I'd repost some of my older photos, to give a glimpse of areas of the Cotswolds.

( Cotswolds )

This month is a trip to part of Bristol Harbour.  We were early for the Hippodrome, so we wandered down to take a look at part of the harbour.

( Bristol harbour )

This month's local place is St Margaret's Church in Whaddon just south of Gloucester.  It's one of the two churches I attend - it's a joint benefice.

The church dates from the 1200s.  It was formally dedicated to St Margaret of Scotland in 1315, but the building had already existed for some time then. 

( St Margaret's Whaddon )