For Dizzying Excitement and Fearless Political Controversy...

... you will have to find another blog.   This seems to be mainly: What I Did in my Holidays.

And what we did yesterday was shop and have Jacks round for supper  - and watch the Commonwealth Games.    Supper was fish pie (Cooks, not cooked), ratatouille (made with the courgettes from a friend's garden), creme caramel (Lidl's) and rhubarb crumble (cooked by me and Linda, rhubarb grown by Linda's friend).

It is always lovely to see Jacks. We heard the latest saga from the Channel Islands - always fascinating.   And laughed a lot about the awfulness of ageing.   And what a hot night it was - we had all the windows open but there wasn't a breath of air.  

We also talked about marriage, and about a mutual friend who has problems.    So, while I don't think I can manage any controversial, Politically Incorrect opinions to spice up my blog, I was wondering if I could say something useful about marriage after 41 years.

The main thing is that the Inspired Scriptures, both Hebrew and Christian Greek, really are the Users Manual. They are inspired by Jehovah, the Maker of marriage.  He knows how it works, and if we follow his advice, it does.    It tells us that marriage is a sacred arrangement, and that the husband should cherish his wife as a really precious gift, and the wife should have deep respect for her husband.

And its interesting and chilling to see how effectively "the world" destroys the family arrangement by promoting the opposite values.  Societies where women have no freedom and no choice can promote behaviour in husbands that cannot be respected, and certainly does not lead to a wife being valued.   In the West now, the idea that all men are foolish children and all women tough and independent (and "need a man like a fish needs a bicycle")  does much the same job.

But, if we stick to Jehovah's standards, and the wonderful teaching through the congregation, we can make each other happy instead of unhappy.

The other thing is that the longer a marriage goes on, the more running jokes you have, and the funnier they get.  Which helps a lot too.

The Day of the Rhubarb Crumble

Linda came over for a swim and tea yesterday (quiche, salad, and a creamy dessert from Waitrose), and she brought us some rhubarb, which I crumbled today.  Captain B had a day in for a change - it was roasting hot - and so he had crumble and custard for his lunch (along with a plate of salad left over from yesterday).

It was the meeting tonight...  I must try to get back out on the doors...  had a long chat with Tamar, and of course Maggie, who always saves my seat for me. And Val. She and I have regular commiseration sessions about our operations/arthritis/medications and what the doctor said to us when we had our tubes tilted.

Old age is a strange strange business.

I have been reading Gordon Ramsay's autobiography and a biography of David Jason, which I found in the Charity Shop round the corner from Waitrose.  Not a lot to say about either of them, though they were both very readable.  The David Jason bio brought back some wonderful moments from "Only Fools and Horses". And Gordon Ramsay's book shows that it is possible, though painful, to rise above a difficult childhood.

Another passenger plane has gone down.   Air Algeria, with 116 people aboard. There is no suggestion it was shot down.    Jehovah has so many to remember, but if we keep in mind that he knows every star in a universe more vast than we can comprehend, we don't have to be anxious about it.

Once again, I hope that, whatever happened, it was over very quickly for passengers and crew, and they have the joy of an awakening ahead of them - when the time comes.

Flying Ants

"Look at all these darling little silvery moths hatching out!"  I trilled, fetching Captain B from the other side of the meadow on Sunday evening.    "Flying ants hatching" he said setting up his cameras.   "Ants! Flying at me!!"  I screamed in girly fashion, running off.

Though it wasn't running in the way that Usain Bolt would have understood the word - and in any case I had to watch where I was going, in case I crushed a whole other colony of hatching flying things under my great feet.

It was a beautiful evening.  Though the terrible events worldwide loom larger and larger, as lawlessness increases.   Bible prophecy tells us that things will get worse yet - but on a "darkest hour before the dawn" basis.  The only thing I can do is to stick as close to Jehovah as possible, and tell others about Him, so that they too can come to the Refuge.  

And if people learn and accept that vengeance belongs to God, he will repay, and we trust him and leave it to him, it would instantly calm things down.  Instead we have revenge upon revenge, retaliation upon retaliation.
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What a mess we, the children of Adam, have got ourselves into. As the Hebrew Scriptures warn us "it does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.

I don't have any political answer to this. As far as I know there isn't one. See the warning above.   If both sides were prepared to stop it...  but clearly they aren't.

So I must go on trying to tell people what our Creator, the God of Abraham,  is doing now, and what he is going to do - and beg them to come to the Refuge. And of course I can at least try to avoid wiping out whole colonies of little hatching creatures with my feet in the meantime.

In harmony with that, I have finally got my July magazine route started - the ones I have to post, as they are up flights of stairs, which still loom in front of me like Everest.   At least, its not so much the going up them now as the coming back down.

Another hot night  - and another hot day looming up.

The Harebell

Harebell, Campanula rotundifolia

We went out for a walk this evening and found, among other things, a patch of harebells at Fairmile Bottom.  If we had ever owned a pub perhaps we could have called it "The Harebell" - or, if we had had a restaurant, it could have been "Harebells".

They are wildflowers that remind me of my childhood.

I talked to John at the meeting - we are still swapping hospital stories.

We had a lovely supper with Jacks on Saturday night. She gave us salmon with new potatoes and asparagus and a yoghurt and dill sauce, followed by cheese, and raspberries.  So good to have her back.

We are having a hot hot summer, with thunderstorms.

The Beautiful Names of Moths - Part 2

Black-tipped Ermine, Yponomeuta plumbella

The second batch of newly hatched July memberships have been done and dusted, if not actually posted yet. The carrot cake got made and has turned out well.  That meant I had to shop first.  Yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far, and being out in it for just 30 minutes knocked me out so much that have not been able to go out this morning...   Its worrying.  Could it be a side-effect of the medication.  Certainly a previous med, the one I had to come off, made me super-sensitive to the sun.  Perhaps that side effect is long lasting.

Growing old is a tiring and complicated business.  But it was never meant to happen to us. Not in this way. Not stuck in a dying body.

Jacks is back, hurray. And we shall see her for supper.

Captain Butterfly - should I say Captain Moth - has found a meadow full of  Black-tipped Ermines.  A lovely name for a lovely creature.  I hope to visit the meadow with him one evening and see them for myself.

There is much flutter in the Butterfly World as a Yellow-legged Tortoishell (or Scarce Tortoishell) is visiting us this summer.  

Jill and the Swallows

We were looking at the old swallows nests in the barn/garage.   They have nested there for years, but this year when they came, they stayed a couple of days, then Tom saw them looking in the kitchen windows...   Then they left.

We have to wonder if they were looking for Jill. She was a great cook and often in the kitchen. And she died on Christmas Day.   At any rate, the swallows left and have not nested this year.

Tom had taken us out for a lovely lunch at Angmering Manor.  The boys had steak and chips, I had haddock and new potatoes.  Then we all had panacotta with berries.   Plus a bottle of wine.  And coffee and shortbread biscuits in Tom and Jill's lovely rambling cottage garden afterwards.

Still expect Jill  to come out and join us...   the wrongness of death... and the hope of the resurrection.


Lara and I did our talk at the Hall this evening.  I was very troubled by not having my hair to hide behind, but we got through it - and within the time constraints.     The Congregation is stressing the importance of the informal preaching work alongside the door to door work.

Shooting Fish

"It makes you look much younger"  said Malcolm after he had finished shearing me.   "Are you sure?"  I quavered.   "Yes,  MUCH younger." he said firmly.  So I simpered happily home and he went off to shoot some fish in barrels.

Lara came round yesterday and we practised her talk.   The material Lara is using is this extract from the book "Reasoning from the Scriptures":

"Will God, in his great mercy, eventually save all humankind?
Does 2 Peter 3:9 indicate that there will be universal salvation? It says: “The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish [“he does not want anyone to be destroyed,” TEV], but that all should reach repentance.” (RS) It is God’s merciful desire that all of Adam’s offspring repent, and he has generously made provision for forgiveness of the sins of those who do. But he does not force anyone to accept that provision. (Compare Deuteronomy 30:15-20.) Many reject it. They are like a drowning man who pushes away a life preserver when it is thrown to him by someone who desires to help. It should be noted, however, that the alternative to repentance is not an eternity in hellfire. As 2 Peter 3:9 shows, those who do not repent will perish, or “be destroyed.” Verse 7 (RS) also refers to “destruction of ungodly men.” There is no thought of universal salvation here.—See also the main heading “Hell.”"

The title of the talk is:  " Universal Salvation Is Not Scriptural"

She has written a good talk - we had to trim it by about 40 seconds, and it came in at 4.56 minutes.

I just hope I will be OK on Thursday.  I am still feeling quite sick as I had a bit of a do (right leg) on Monday and had to take some anti-inflammatories and painkillers.  

Its another beautiful summer day.  So hot there are thunderstorms on the way.  Post-haircut, I was out on the balcony doing my studying - me and the geraniums basking in the sun.   The Captain is off transecting butterflies (in the numerical, not the scalpel sense!).  He has requested a carrot cake for his packed lunches, so I must go and get some carrots.