The Hound of Endcliffe Vale Park - and a part in the School

 

I had a part in the School on Thursday night, and did manage to make it in person. Col helped me get ready, practised the script with me, and chauffered me. Penny joined us, via pixel.

Our Circuit Overseer gave us such an encouraging talk, and we all did our best in our various assignments.

My brief: 6. Following Up

(4 min.) PUBLIC WITNESSING. During the last conversation, the person accepted the Memorial invitation and expressed interest. (lmd lesson 9 point 3)

The script:

HH: Hullo, I was hoping to find you here. I lost the contact card you gave me after our talk last week and I wanted to tell you that I won’t be able to come to the Memorial on Saturday and so I don’t need the lift you kindly offered.

Sue.  It was so thoughtful of you to find the trolley and find me and tell me. But I would have rung you tomorrow just to make sure.  I hope you haven’t run into any problems.

HH.  No. Nothing like that.  My husband has come back early from his business trip and wants to take me out for a meal on Saturday night to celebrate our anniversary. But I haven’t forgotten what we talked about, or the invitation.  I feel I must get back to going to church, to finding my belief in God again, so I thought what I would do is go to the Easter Sunday service at our local church. 

Sue. I hope you have a lovely anniversary dinner.  And I am so glad you have been thinking over what we talked about. And indeed you could go to the Easter service, although that memorialises Jesus’ resurrection rather than his death.

HH.  Oh yes, of course. Well I guess what I could do is go to the Good Friday service, and then come to Easter at your Church.

Sue.  We only memorialise Jesus’ death though, not his resurrection.

HH. Oh. Why is that?  Isn’t the resurrection even more important?  It really made me think when you were showing me how Jesus was resurrected to become a powerful king in heaven.  

Sue;  That is a very good question. Both Jesus’ sacrificial death and his resurrection are of such importance for all of us. So why only memorialise one of them?  Would you look at this Bible verse here, at 1 Peter 2:21, which says: “In fact, to this course you were called, because even Christ suffered for you, leaving a model for you to follow his steps closely.”  To follow his steps closely. To illustrate, suppose you were following a guide over dangerous ground - for example Grimpen Mire from the Hound of the Baskervilles - if you have ever read that book.

HH. Oh yes. It’s so scary!  Though to be honest I always felt sorry for that poor hound.

Sue. Well, bless you for that. I agree. I have often thought if only the Baskervilles had not been so full of superstitious fears and instead had a pocket full of doggy treats and a few kind words for the poor hound the story could have been very different.  No, what scared me was  the horror of Grimpen Mire, because if you took one wrong step while trying to cross it you would find yourself being pulled down into the swamp. And the more you struggled the more it pulled you down. You had no chance.   So if you had to cross that Mire following a guide, a local man who knew every inch of it, would you watch very carefully where he put his feet, or would you decide to take a shortcut instead?

HH.  Of course you would watch every step, and put your feet exactly where he put his feet.

Sue:  Yes. It’s as simple as that. So we try to look at exactly where Jesus put his feet, so to speak. And we notice that Paul quoted Jesus as saying at the Last Supper after he passed round the bread and the wine “For as often as you eat this loaf and drink this cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the Lord, until he arrives.” (1 Cor. 11:25, 26) So is it Jesus’ death or his resurrection we are to keep proclaiming?

HH:  It does say his death. Yes.  This is making me wonder if I really do know the Bible at all.

Sue:  Do you know that we offer a free home Bible Study to all who want one. It can be for an hour a week, even for ten minutes a week whatever suits you. If you like I could call round next week and demonstrate it to you.

HH. Yes, I would like that. Do you still have my contacts?  If so, could you give me a ring and I will check with my diary.

***************

I had wanted to say something about why we are memorialising Jesus death on Saturday the 12th April this year, and not on what is called "Good Friday". It is because Jesus died on the Passover - which was a deliverance that prefigured the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ - and the date of the Passover is decided by the phases of the moon. But I couldn't discuss that. I only had 4 minutes, and it is important to keep to time.

The dog in the photo is Ollie, the Hound of Endcliffe Vale Park (in his day). You were in no danger from him, though he did come over a bit Baskerville when people were picnicking with their food at doggie level. But it was only the food that was harmed.

Gloaters Elbow?

One of the chefs on The Great British Menu said that he was "Removing the spice out".  "As opposed to removing it IN" I screamed, hurling my rubber brick at the telly (yet again).  I am well used to doing this every time they say they are "reducing the sauce DOWN", but if this goes on I will soon need a new brick. 

Among the sad headlines is news of a large earthquake which has hit Myanmar and Thailand. There are some frightening pictures from Bangkok.  We have emailed our friends there, hoping they are OK.

So I was thinking about heading this blog with a photo from one of our Thai trips, but they do not appear in Col's photo gallery - unless I can find one of a Thai butterfly.  You will know if I did or not by now.  For the first time I am regretting we don't post pictures of our meals on facebook, as I could have used one of those to head the blog, given I started of with Chefs.

The Great British Menu is finished now, with a fine flourish.  Mind you, I watch all these wonderful chefs with their brilliant varied dishes, but continue cooking the same rather ordinary food day after day. I was much more adventurous in our Expat days. 

The Thai butterfly, taken on one of the lanes off Sukhumvit on our first trip to Bangkok, is a Painted Jezebel.  That earthquake looks devastating as we see it on the News, with likely more problems to come as it has left so many buildings, bridges and dams damaged.

And this earthquake has shown up a new problem - well, new to me.  It seems that a lot of these high rise apartment blocks have swimming pools on the top of them. And suddenly there were floods and waterfalls everywhere as these pools tipped, or cracked, under the pressure of the quake.

It does now come back to me that in The Towering Inferno there was a pool at the top of the building, and - spoiler alert - it came in very useful.  But I had not realised it seems to have become a routine feature of so many buildings.  Will they need to rethink this?

We both had a bad night last night. I was up with shoulder pain etc, as usual.  And poor Col had such a painful elbow that it kept him awake. We took painkillers and watched the last bit of the The Steeltown Murders.  And we did manage to get some sleep, in spite of the sadness of Steeltown, a true story about three young teenagers killed by a serial killer, who went undiscovered until after his death.  Those girls were so young and they did not stand a chance.  The programme did at least take murder and its awful ramifications very very seriously.

I Zoomed to the Special Talk this morning.  It was titled: CAN TRUTH BE FOUND, which is very timely in a world system so full of spin.  I was hoping Col might give himself a day off metal detecting to give his elbow a rest, but no, he was off at the crack of dawn as usual.  I do have my own theory about what is wrong though.

Every morning we play the Ordles - Wordle, Quordle, Octordle.  I am aiming for a draw, he is aiming for a win.  When he does win he pumps his arms in victory.

I have had a few bad Ordling days and lost consistently.  So I think he might be suffering from Gloater's Elbow.

The Number One Bestseller!! and a Flare Up

Col just bought me back a book from the Book Exchange that he walks past on his various trips to the Clinic. I sent him off with a Morse book, and he returned with something called The Secret Keeper, by Kate Morton.

Like every single book published these days it has the words "Number One Bestseller" emblazoned on its front  Every book except my books that is, which is why a note of envy may pervade this blog. Though hopefully I will have got over it by the next paragraph.

I might just post another of my book covers to prove the point though.  Do you see "Number One Bestseller" anywhere on that cover?  If you do, its more than I can.

Anyway, I am so grateful to be in print, properly. And with such lovely covers for my books.  And at my age, I don't think I am up for the whole red carpet bit.

Tuesday was quite busy - for me, these days.  I did three different types of Not Home letters for those who are going out on the door to door work.  And I went through our study material for Wednesday, which is about prayer. And the study on Wednesday went well. Our student says she looks forward to seeing us. And of course it does all three of us good to be able to spend an hour studying the Inspired Word.

The Captain left very early for The Field, with his metal detector and sandwiches - and is hopefully having a wonderful treasure hunt even as I type.  And Bea and Co are coming for a visit next month.

My right shoulder is still bad - wakes me up at least once a night - and I have left a message with Rheumatology asking if the results of the Scan are in yet  - and this evening my right knee has decided to join in.  Very very painful and swollen.   I did have a "busy" morning in that I did the washing, made an apple crumble, and made some veggie and lentil soup.  And maybe that moderate amount of movement has been too much.

Col was at The Field all day, with the lads. I listened out for the clanking of chests full of gold coins as he drove back home - but no clanking, no chests, no treasure. He had a good day out though.

We have had two sea frets today - one in the morning and one late afternoon that is still hiding the sea from us.

The Speed of Light

Col picked me up from the Kingdom Hall on Thursday night and rushed me off home at the speed of light - well, at the speed of an elderly lightbeam zimmering slowly through the universe.  Another bad night on Friday/Saturday.  That is par for the course nowadays and seems unlikely to change, well not this side of Armageddon anyway.

I am now so sleep deprived that I am wondering about trying that anti-depressant again...  it's my age really I guess. I am now nearer eighty than I am seventy.  And that is old.  Yet how quickly it has gone.

I have decided to cheer myself up by choosing a couple of flower pictures to head the blog. The first is one Col took in NZ - so many years ago - of a fuschia growing wild.  Fuschia was one of my mother's favourite flowers.  It grew all over Cornwall where she spent her childhood summers.  And the second is Thrift, which I associate with my own early childhood summers in Cornwall.

That has reminded me of the flower called Honesty, which I loved to have in our garden, when we had a garden. We just have a sea facing balcony now and a blaze of geraniums.  Thrift also thrives there of course.  My mum-in-law Eileen liked Honesty too - and Iceplant - both of which she had in her London garden.

So many layers of memories - so how will it be to have hundreds and hundreds of years of memories behind me - and all of them so happy?   

Monday was a double Zoom session, one with my congregation sisters and one with my siblings. All seems well with all of us, thank God. I now have requests for more Not Home letters, I need to continue to send invites to the block of flats I was given, and start my study for the week - plus think about how to do my part in the School next week. So, thanks to Jehovah, I have a lot of positive things to take my mind off my medical miseries.

Fantastic Books Publishing

Us Fantastic authors, or six of us anyway, met up via Zoom on Monday night for a chat about how to market our books - especially by Youtube type videos.  Our publisher is Fantastic Books Publishing by the way, just in case you thought I was calling myself fantastic!  

I can write, but for sure I am not Dickens.

Author James Vigor gave us a great lesson in doing this - though I will need a lot of help from my Resident Tech Expert. And I still can't afford Kate Moss to be me in the video. Its a Catch 22 really, to afford her I need to have the blockbusting bestseller, but to have the blockbusting bestseller I need her to be me in my video.

https://www.fantasticbooksstore.com/

Oh well.  I am just so grateful to be published. I put a lot of work into those books, into making them page turners and I have a few appreciative readers who would happily buy the next one if I can ever get it written.

But I suspect I no longer have the energy.  And it does take energy to keep returning to the world of the book and moving it along.   If only I could get some sleep. Having said that, I do get some, but the pain keeps waking me.  A friend very kindly offered to bring me round some sleep tea, but I had to point out that it wasn't sleep that was the problem as such, it was the pain that keeps waking me.

I got to the Kingdom Hall in person on Thursday night - rather than in pixel form - so I hope I may be back on a regular basis now.  It all depends how the pain goes I guess.

Or whether it goes!

I have been enjoying watching both The Great British Menu, and The Apprentice.  There was an Apprentice first yesterday when Lord Sugar declared both teams "losers" and sacked one candidate from each team.

That could often have been said and done before, but this is the first time he has actually done it - over a Hot Sauce challenge too, which did not  seem like one of the more difficult ones.

Climbing Everest by Cake

The Watchtower study on Sunday was about how husbands can honour their wives. And one way is by being appreciative.  

"Praise your wife for the good things she does. (Proverbs 31:28,29: Her children rise up and declare her happy; Her husband rises up and praises her. There are many capable women, But you—you surpass them all.")"

And I am happy to report that Captain Butterfly scores very high on the Being Appreciative scale - while, being a truthful chap, not claiming that I surpass them all.

Though he might say that my apple crumble does.  And so I had better be humble and admit that it is based on a Jamie Oliver rhubarb crumble recipe - and works well with either fruit.

It means a lot to be appreciated.  For example, on Saturday, finding I had just used the last piece of cake from the freezer, I managed to make a fruit cake.  I had enough of the basic ingredients in to cook something approximate to the Boil and Bake fruitcake in my Crank's recipe book.  I am in such a sad state that it felt like climbing Everest - without Sherpa support and oxygen. 

I had to keep pausing, and resting. But in the end it was done. And there is a natural pause with this cake anyway. You have to simmer half the ingredients in butter and orange juice, then let it cool down before adding the dry.  So I could go and lie on the bed during the waiting stage.

To illustrate my mountain climbing metaphor, I managed to find a picture of a mountain in Col's photo gallery. Its not Everest - as you have probably noticed.  It's in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.

Anyway, the point of this sizzling anecdote is that the cake turned out nicely - perhaps even better than usual! - and Col was very grateful. He really appreciated the effort, which made the effort well worthwhile.

I know you can buy excellent cake, but there is something about homemade. And anyway, they are what Himself likes.  My cakes are sturdy, not in the least fancy. But as a sister once said, in the days when we had a meal after our main meeting on a sort of potluck basis: "Your cakes don't look much, but they do taste nice".

Ideally of course they should look a million dollars AND taste nice. But, if I can only have one...

And anyway, they have to be sturdy to stand up to the rigours of The Field (it used to be "the rigours of the dive boat, or the desert" in what are now the olden days).

How quickly the years rush us along to that edge... but how wonderful to know that there can be an awakening from the dreamless sleep of death and the hope of seeing this lovely world again.  It is a hope we want to share with everyone.

Which is why we are inviting all we can to the Memorial of Jesus' death on the 12th April.  It is through his perfect life, given as a ransom for the life Adam so tragically threw away, that we have this hope.

Andy Fairweather Lowe and the Low Riders at the Ropetackle

Wednesday was a busy day - for me, nowadays.  Neither the Captain nor I had a good nights's sleep - him constant coughing - me, my pains - so he slept in (very unusual). The pain got me up early, which was good as I had to get ready for the study.  My sister comes at 9:45. I was OK timewise, but was wondering how I was going to get myself dressed without my resident (unpaid) Carer in attendance. I did not want to wake the poor guy, but he did wake up in time, and got me all ready to go and brisked me out the door on the very second of 9:45.

We spent two hours with our student and got back before lunch to find everything set out ready - I just had to heat up the soup and the apple crumble. 

It was an afternoon Zoom with another sister as we got on with our field service together - and hopefully encouraged each other.

Supper was pizza - easy peasy - and then a session watching The Bay - talk about gloomy - but true to life, alas, as the fruitage of the rebellion in Eden becomes more and more evident.

Given that I seem to be making so many crumbles, I wondered what would happen if I put the word  "crumble" into Col's online photo gallery. So I did - and this came up - an Orange Crumble Sponge that Col took in the Maldives!

Today I am making a fruit cake - as I am down to my last piece of homemade cake, which is now reposing in the Captain's lunch box along with his sandwiches. And he needs another lunch for tomorrow.

I think I experienced another of the "lasts" of old age too - the last outing - on Friday night. We went to see Andy Fairweather Low at the Ropetackle.  It was almost beyond me to cope, I was in such a lot of pain.  But we did it.

He and his band are very good - seasoned musicians - and he still has a great voice - he is our age. But what he does not do is the 60s/70s nostalgia tour that I (at least) was expecting.

He packed the venue - not a single empty seat, well apart from the one next to the Captain, but that is probably because he spent the first hour (before the concert started) coughing.  He did test himself for Covid  before going out in public by the way - and the test was negative.

So a good evening out, but perhaps such things are no longer for me.  Not this side of Armageddon anyway. And afterwards, who knows?  Will we sit listening to music, or will be all be able to get up and dance to it then.

I just hope that the Captain and I will be there to find out.

The Memorial Campaign starts today.  We will be issuing invitations from door to door - letterbox to letterbox - for the Memorial of Jesus' death which will be after sunset on the 12th April  It is through Jesus' sacrificial death that we, the damaged, dying children of disobedient Adam - can have back the life, the perfection, the joy, the paradise that our first parents so tragically lost.